Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Good article, whacko conclusion

This article is in the IBS Research Library. Fructose and lactose GI problems are common, even in folks who don't have IBS. Sorbitol is an artificial sweetener used in diabetic candies and cookies - it's long been notorious for causing cramps and diarrhea (products that use it will actually carry warnings). This study can in no way be construed to apply to sugars other than lactose and fructose, and to apply it futher to carbohydrates in general is crazy.

Your muscles and your brain run on one form of food energy - glucose. Glucose is a sugar, and it's found in carbs. No glucose, and you will die. There are tons of other sugars in complex carbohydrates - sucrose, raffinose, anything that ends in "ose" is a sugar. You need complex carbohydrates as the foundation of your diet for good health, whether you have IBS or not.

Should you avoid or at least be very careful with lactose and fructose? Of course - lactose is just one of the problems in dairy, so just avoid dairy altogether. Fructose is found in high quantities in high fructose corn syrup and fruit juices. Fructose intolerance is not the same thing as IBS, but they can overlap. So watch your fructose intake. Does this mean don't eat any fresh fruit? No - it doesn't. Fresh fruit is known to reduce stroke and cancer risks, and fresh fruit is loaded with nutrition.

I'm really at my limit with addressing Atkins questions and issues. The fact of the matter - and it's a fact, the research studies worldwide, over decades, are overwhelming - is that a plant-based, complex carbohydrate, low animal fat diet is by far the healthiest and the least likely to lead to obesity. Atkins is the diametric opposite of this diet. It's bad for IBS, it's bad for your overall health, it's bad for weight control, and it's even bad for the environment.

- Heather

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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