# Problems with starch?



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

I am just wondering how many people out there seem to have problems when eating a lot of starch, like bread and potatoes...I was trying to make myself better some time back by following the van vorous recommendations. I got worse...what I noticed is that a little bit of starch is OK and even settles my stomach, but if I eat more than 10g worth of soluble fibre in a day, the next day I will have a very PARTICULAR type of IBS pain that is very unpleasant. Not the strong cramping you get with D, but a generalized dull cramp all over, that doesn't go away for a whole day, and a feeling like your intestines are too full and they really don't like it. It doesn't matter if I give myself time to adjust to the diet, that pain stays.What I don't get is why some IBSers do well on this type of diet and others don't. If this is what I've discovered so far, should I be going to the other extreme and cutting starch out altogether??


----------



## Karen2 (Jul 31, 2004)

I find the same thing with starches, especially ones with wheat. I have eliminated almost all starch like breads, pasta, baking from my diet, and find that the only one I can really tolerate is rice, occasionally, not everyday. I"m having a hard time with this because as well as being vegetarian (besides eating fish), there is really nothing in the IBS diet for me to eat, or at least eat during a flare-up if you follow the Eating for IBS diet. I don't know what to do about that, but regardless, I find starch as a major trigger for me. Hopefully someone has some suggestions, I sure don't. Good luck, I would try an elimination diet for a few weeks, then slowly add something back and see what happens.Karen


----------



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

Yep, one sure does wonder what to eat...Well, I'm not a vegetarian, but I can see that if you can't eat starchy foods and you can't eat meat then options are very limited.Can I ask, are you a vegetarian because red meat bother your IBS, or on other grounds eg ethical ones? Or just don't like it?Again, I will eat meat but not much, because just like starch, if I have too much it bothers my guts.The only dairy I eat is hard cheese...milk, yoghurt bother me, ice cream is the worst.Things I find to eat that aren't starchy, or gassy, or otherwise troublesome!-Spinach-Zuchinis-Eggplant-Tomatoes-Chicken-Tuna-Hard cheese-Sometimes eggs, but not always good-BaconThis is basically what I eat...not much...


----------



## Talissa (Apr 10, 2004)

This was a really interesting thread on going starch free~ anyone tried completely starch free diet?


----------



## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I have problems with rice and baked potatoes (insides). I eat the skins and they give me no problem.


----------



## Kacebece3 (Apr 17, 2002)

I have been wondering the same, It seems as thou starch may be a trigger in me also. When I eat a baked potatoe it feels like I'm full of cement, had one for dinner last nite, sure felt bad bout two hours later and not so hot today.


----------



## Jan8 (Nov 5, 1999)

What I've found continues to be good news for me....please note, I say for me. The more starch free I am the better, I often do have foods that I shouldn't and I pay for it 12 - 24 hours later.I find I can eat anything and everything (as long as starch free), lots of fresh fruits and vegitables (starch free ones).All dairy and all meats, although pork isn't always so friendly for some reason. If you've not tried starch free do try it. For me its been like a gift from above, just wonderful. I've not felt this good in many many years.I've got my life back.Takes a bit of work to give up all starch when its in so many of our foods mostly as wheat, but for me wheat free was not the whole answer. Cutting back on other starch foods was.As above posting says, look up other thread for more information, also lots on the web. Jan8


----------



## sadone (Dec 17, 2003)

heya jan, are you more C or D?


----------



## Jan8 (Nov 5, 1999)

MinimumA mix of both C & D with large amounts of gas.Tend to now be (with large fruit intake) more towards C with what for me (I think) is normal amounts of gas.Have just been reading about Fluoride on another thread, another interesting line of self help. Seems to me if we can get improvement with out it costing $'s so much the better.


----------



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

Thanks for the posts all. I'm going to give starch free a go.


----------



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

People who seem to have problems with starch might want to be checked by their doc for the genetic condition Askondylosis (?) Spondlylitis which Carol Sinclair writes about in her book. I think the book explains why going starch free might benefit some, but not all, IBSers - ie if this condition is the cause of your IBS, starch free will help, otherwise it might not.


----------



## hayleyj71 (Nov 19, 2003)

I was diagnosed as being wheat & gluten intolerant- giving me a very similar reaction, but I have found that jacket potatoes, mostly the skins, have the same affect, as does rice & corn. I can eat small amounts of mash potato. I get most of my fiber from veg now. Chewing my food alot seems to ease the problem a bit, but that could be because it makes eating seem so slow it that you can't eat too much anyway!


----------



## Arnie W (Oct 22, 2003)

I'm glad you've stuck with it, Jan8. I, too, have maintained that it is a beneficial diet, but I have lost too much weight by following it strictly and have had to reintroduce rice (as well as rolled oats from time to time) because too many people were commenting on how gaunt I had become. This was despite eating several meals a day. However, I have also had comments that I am looking very toned. I have to find a happy balance.Needless to say, my digestion is not functioning as well at the moment, but I intend to go starch-free again when I have put on a bit more weight.


----------



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

Hayley, can you describe in more detail your symptoms when you eat the starchy stuff??I'm wondering, because it seems now I get the same symptom when I eat a lot of GREEN veges as well...I was trying to cut starch out and naturally you have to replace it with something else. All of which leads me to conclude, that its actually the fiber that is causing the problem.


----------



## Blair (Dec 15, 1998)

I used to think so, but now I eat starch all the time. No butter though! Thats what got me sick. I was losing weight so I put butter on everything. I avoid butter now.


----------



## hayleyj71 (Nov 19, 2003)

ModgyMy stomach becomes slightly bloated & hard to the touch. I have crampy pains & the left side of where I guess my large intestine is is particularly sore & I guess it is very irritated. I then get C & wind. Not very pleasant. I was was prescribed an anti spasmodic called Spasmonal, but I don't really take it. I get my bulk or fibre if you like from celevac now, which is a form of methycellulose (think I spelt that right?) It is very smooth on your intestines. I found that for me cutting all the foods that affected me for a few weeks to allow my tum to settle down & then reintroducing them 1 at a time, small quantities every two days to see what I could eat. If you react to something cut it out for a month, then try again. Something to be really aware of is that green veggies are full of B vitamins, which are really important to the digestive process, so if you are going to cut out green veggies you should take a good Vitamin B complex supplement.Hope this helps - anymore questions then give me a shout.Good luck


----------



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

Thanks Hayley. No, I'm not going to cut green veges out of my diet. I have issues with fibre it would seem which is a shame because constipation is my most annoying IBS symptom...and I need the fibre to go, but it gives me AWFUL pain. Not quite like you described, more like just my whole stomach sore and aching, with no particular cramps. I'm not convinced that THIS pain is the sort of pain most people complain of when they are adjusting to increased fibre intake...people generally seem to complain of more gas and bloating and cramps, but not your whole abdomen sore in a dull way for a whole day. That's me...


----------



## ghitta (Jul 6, 2002)

it's a funny thing, but very often the starchy foods that give me the most probs are those considered very "healthy" such as whole grain breads or whole wheat or most specifically mixed grains such as found in "health food" cereals, etc. when i eat plain rye breads or crackers, or even white spelt breads (for thosewho avoid wheat) i have no problems whatsoever. personally i have no trouble with potatoes and find that nothing works better for C than some baby potatoes roasted or steamed in their skins cooked very well and served with chopped cooked garlic and olive oil and some thyme and/or rosemary. for me, the key to painfree eating is cooking my vegetables well and sticking to simple breads, pastas, cereals as opposed to the "high fiber" ones. rice is fine for me and cooked rice with spinach and olive oil and chopped tomatoes and garlic if you can handle garlic is a fine meal that helps me go .......


----------



## Meesh111 (Aug 29, 2004)

Yes, starch (with or without fiber) makes me more constipated! It absorbs all the water in my system. As for the veggies, I now put them in the food processor and I can eat them raw no problem. Vegetables give me bulk to poop (I hope) but bread just dries me out and stops me up.As for the pain symptoms, I get those gas pains when I eat the raw veggies in chunks and don't chew every morsel (which is impossible for me). I can eat very fibrous bread and it doesn't hurt at all - which is why I've been eating so much of it lately until I found out I was all stopped up from it! Anyone else get stopped up from lots of bread?


----------



## dysilap (Feb 14, 2004)

I do to, If I start eating breads or starchy foods, I crave them also. I have been trying the Ezekiel breads lately. They r made from sprouted seeds, supposedly ok for gluten free etc... I limit the amount but still feel somewhat bloated.I have also heard that when u food process your veggies, they are easier to digest and better tolerated, I will have to try that. Laura


----------



## Modgy (Apr 15, 2004)

I have tried a low carbohydrate diet a few times and faltered because of carb cravings or just not being able to find anything to eat when "on the go" etc.I have gone back on low carb and decided to stick with it this time. It feels so much better than not. My constant burping, farting, and rumbling has gone down to a trickle, my stomach is flat, and the only pain I have is in the mornings when my bowels are attempting to empty themselves. I am still C, but no worse than before, and I feel better in all other areas.I am trying to deal with the C with targeted supplements (Vit C, Flax Oil) instead of fibre. Time will tell if I will have success. I have quit smoking recently, and expect that the C won't lessen until my body gets used to no nicotine, which I have heard can be up to a month or so.


----------

