Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hello Elf:

I'm an "old timer" on this site. I've had IBS all of my life (more than 50 years!) and I now have it under excellent control! I had IBS-C for the first 30 years followed by IBS-A for about five years and then IBS-D for the past 17 years.

So ... the food you ate ... what was wrong ...

1. What were the ingredients in the English muffin? An English muffin isn't necessarily "safe" just because it's an English muffin. It depends what the ingredients are.

2. Same question for the sourdough bread. Just because you are eating sourdough bread doesn't make it safe. Again, it depends on the ingredients. You may have to try various brands until you find one that you can tolerate.

3. Salmon ... even though fish is generally safe, certain types of fish are very fatty and can trigger IBS symptoms. Salmon is one of those "iffy" fatty fishes and so it can be difficult to digest. I get diarrhea about 75 per cent of the time when I eat salmon. In fact, I consider it to be a great laxative when needed!

4. White rice ... the safest white rice that I've found is white Basmati rice. It's even safer if you buy organic white Basmati rice. Others on this message board have also found Basmati rice to be great for IBS. I get sick if I eat regular white rice.

5. Apple butter ... what were the ingredients? Same comments as above ... it depends on the ingredients.

6. Smart Balance butter ... I'm not familiar with this type of butter. I would, however, highly recommend you try organic Earth Balance buttery spread. It tastes great, contains no chemicals and it never bothers my IBS. It's available at places like WholeFoods and other health food stores.

7. Grilled turkey fillet ... what, if any oil, did you grill the turkey in? Depending on what you used, it could irritate your IBS. Also, by "grilled" do you mean on a BBQ or fried? It's better if you could make it on a BBQ or bake or boil it to reduce the fat content.

8. Pasta salad with light dressing. Pasta can be problematic for IBS. I can't tolerate any type of pasta, especially not made from semolina. It's too difficult to digest. Light dressing is also a no-no. Any type of salad dressing or mayonnaise is potentially unsafe.

9. Marshmellow pineapple salad (with nuts). If you have an IBS death wish, then this is a good salad to eat! None of the ingredients -- marshmellows, pineapples and nuts -- are safe!

10. Angel food cake -- again, it depends on the ingredients.

11. Beer -- this is absolutely the worst thing you can have! Alcohol of any kind is one of the biggest triggers of IBS attacks. Stay away from it at all costs. A year ago I took a teaspoonful of anti-histamine that contained alcohol. I was sick as a dog for two days and I thought I was going to die!

12. Even a "few bites" of something unsafe or iffy can cause a major IBS attack, as it did when I took the anti-histamine.

As you can see, you haven't actually followed the IBS diet ... so your continued symptoms are probably very easy to explain (assuming you have IBS).

If you correctly follow Heather's diet, your symptoms should ease. Heather's diet changed my life about seven years ago when I discovered her website.

If you want help to get onto a better diet in which you will never be hungry again, e-mail me offline at [Email]belinda958@yahoo.ca and I will be happy to provide assistance.

Please feel better soon.

Belinda

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