# Those Who Are Managing IBS with Diet- What are you able to eat?



## ibsad (Nov 25, 2013)

I have been struggling for quite awhile now trying to figure out what foods, if any, are causing my IBS. First a FODMAPS/SCD mashup diet was working but I was nowhere near pain or discomfort free. I then started reading about SIBO and have gone on a completely sugar free diet (even fruit) and I am so much better now.

I am on a very very strict diet and before anyone asks, yes my doctor is aware of my limited diet and is encouraging me to eat whatever way eliminates the IBS.

Green beans (I cannot eat any veggie raw so all must be cooked)

Zuchini

Spinach

Garlic

Yellow wax beans

Butter

Olive Oil

Coconut Oil

Mayonaise (homemade)

Eggs

Chicken

Fish

Peanuts (very occasionally)

White Potatoes (NOT sweet)

White rice (very occasionally)

Seems like a boring hard to stick to diet but when you go from being in serious pain every day to not being in any pain at all (or very little pain) it is easy to stick to the diet. I can also tolerate cheese every once in awhile, but can't eat it more than once or twice a month as it causes constipation issues.

I used to eat oatmeal but since I am completely sugar free, I haven't been eating it. Could sweeten it with Splenda but trying to avoid artificial sweeteners for now.

So... have you fixed or greatly helped your IBS with diet? What worked for you?


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## PajamaKitty (Jun 12, 2014)

I don't know if this will help but here is what worked for me...

At the height of my illness I started seeing a dietitian because my GI found my kidney and liver was become stressed and he worried they would begin to fail. The first thing my dietitian did for me was put me on a "no-digest" diet. All my food had to be well-cooked and pureed. I did a LOT of smoothies and soups. Some fresh vegetable juices too (I am lucky enough to own a juicer). Here are some go to ideas...

Smoothie: Soy/almond milk, pure hemp protein powder (this is a very easy protein powder to digest put I heard pea protein powder is good too), chia seeds (if these dont bother you too much), frozen mango/papaya/pineapple (these are some of the easiest to digest and IBS safe fruits, frozen bananas (if you can stomach them), spirulina powder.

Soups: butternut squash and sweet potato soup (boil and puree them with a bit of non-diary milk, add cinnamon or other desired herbs. Fennel is GREAT for the tummy  Cold cucumber avocado soups are nice too

Green juice: if you have a juicer or can find a place to buy fresh juice these are great! Go for ones heavy on vegetables and if it has fruit avoid ones with apple, citrius fruit... look for pineapple or beets as a juice sweetner.

Scrambled eggs: sautee up spinach with whatever veggies u find are okay, and cook them WELL! then add to scrambled eggs

Its a suck boring bland life but I did that for 4 week and then slowly started incorporating things back in. I found wheat was definitely a problem, dairy was definitely a problem. Use a food journal to determine triggers. I ended up decided to go vegan at this point and slowly i started to get better. I found taking out meat mad a HUGE difference. I had way more energy, I think the meat was just too hard to digest. For vegetables I focused on squashes for a while, since they are typically easier to digest and easy on the stomach. Try summer/yello squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetii squash (very well cooked), leafy greens cooked till very soft. As my body started to heal I found that I could even eat some vegetables raw on a good day! I have gotten to the point where I can even stomach a salad every once and a while!

I think the biggest thing was taking that 4 week break. removing all possible triggers, but still getting lots of nutrients (thats where the juices came in) I also rested a lot.

Finding a diet that works is hard... its probably the hardest part. I suggest food journaling and seeing a dietitian if you can! Call you insurance company! A lot of health insurance now cover dieitian visits under "Wellness" and the co-pay will be very cheap or even free, in my case! It's definitely worth checking your policy!

Everyone is so different so finding a diet that works is trial and error. Sometimes it is about just giving your gut a break and letting it heal a bit... even if that means the blandest most boring awful diet ever... I was losing it after 5 days on that liquid diet but it really helped calm down my gut. Just make sure you are getting enough protein and enough nutrients. this is why doing it with a dietitian is a good idea.


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## tummyrumbles (Aug 14, 2005)

Do you need to go completely sugar free? Simple sugars are OK on the FODMAP diet and I think I read somewhere sugar (glucose) is usually very easily digested. I have oatmeal porridge with 1 teaspoon of sugar every morning - I couldn't imagine it without the sugar. Peanuts are a legume and legumes are one of the worst fodmaps. Garlic is a high FODMAP as well. I don't eat red meat, just because I don't like it, but I do eat pork and all lean meats except for sausages should be OK. Otherwise it seems like a good, bland IBS diet. Mashed potatoes and mashed pumpkin should be easily tolerated, same with well cooked carrots. I also have zucchini, oranges, mandarins and a banana every day with yoghurt. The biggest problem for me is finding snack foods and lunches. I'm torn between wheat toast and rice cakes and I'm experimenting with those at the moment. Rice cakes are non-FODMAP but very starchy. Wheat toast probably has less starch but still has FODMAPs. I would imagine you'd be producing very little gas - except for the peanuts! I don't think a lot of us absorb all the nutrients anyway on a high FODMAP diet. Most of it seemed to just turn to gas for me and I was hungry again very quickly. I've noticed since I've gone low starch, low FODMAP the bland food actually fills me up more, although food intake is a lot less too. The general rule with veges seems to be if they smell bad when they're cooking they're going to cause problems later on. The low FODMap low starch diet definitely reduces the gas aspect.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Thanks, PajamaKitty--great advice







. especially since you worked with a dietitian. i've always been concerned with good nutrition and found consulting a dietitian to be very helpful.


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## Wren1110 (Apr 28, 2014)

I've been following a low fodmap diet for several months now and I'm pretty sure that I'm intolerant of garlic and/or onion as I've had bad reactions the couple of times I've had them since going on the elimination diet.

These are the foods I've come to rely on:
Oatmeal with Lactaid (though I don't think I'm too lactose intolerant and wll use regular milk when necessary), maple syrup and walnuts (just 1 or 2)
Udi's gf bread
Green beans
Salad (lettuce, tomato, carrot, olives, maybe feta or parmesean) dressed with oil and vinegar
Potatoes
Rice (brown and white)
Yellow summer squash (sauteed in butter)
Tomatoes (sandwich or sliced with s & p)
Grilled chicken
Steak
Eggs
Bananas
Strawberries
Blueberries
Nut Thins (Hint of Sea Salt)
Utz Multigrain Tortillas
Nutella on a rice cake
Dark chocolate (70% or more)
GF blueberry muffins (homemade)

In the last few months I've had ice cream several times, a couple of scones and one bagel with no noticeable effect.

I've totally eleminated hf corn syrup.

I am getting to the point that im getting bored with this diet, plus I think i still too reliant on sugars and don't have enough variety especially with vegetables.


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## JuneBloom (Jun 21, 2014)

I would ditch the garlic, it and onions are really high in fermentable sugars. Have you been tested for SIBO? If not, have your dr. test your blood for elevated folate levels (that and symptoms are the give-away signs). You might try oatmeal with just a little pure cane sugar (not all sugars are cane sugar). You can also sweeten it with some Silk Coconut Milk (or almond milk), a half teaspoon of strawberry jam, orange marmalade, or maple syrup. All of these sweeteners have done well for me (I'm not a big sweet eater anyway). They work much better than honey, agave, and other highly fermentable sugars. Good luck!


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## LOOSEGOOSE (Jul 19, 2013)

Hi,

Here is I what I eat to repress my IBS-D. It comes back if I eat off the list. I have FODMAP sensitivity and a lot of food allergies so my diet is more restrictive than necessarily needed by others.

Summer squash puree

Peeled carrots

Pumpkin puree

Zucchini

Strawberries

Honeydew melon

Papaya in small amounts

Cantaloupe in smalla mounts

Bananas-lots

Ripe plaintains-lots

Carob powder

Olive oil (no seed based oil)

Canned sardines in water

White yams (not yellow)(no sweet potato)

Occasional brown rice cakes

Occasional macadamia nuts

Grass fed hamburger (I do not want to eat meats from animals fed with foods I am allergic to like soybeans)(grass fed is more nutritious than grain fed)

Gelatin from grass fed cattle

Romaine, red, green lettuce

Chunk light tuna in water

Salmon in water

As much as possible avoid sugar, sodium, anything processed. Also avoid nuts, seeds, grains even if whole, insoluble fiber high FODMAP. The above helped me a lot. Get checked for food allergies if you have not already done so.


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## Nojokeibs (Apr 14, 2014)

My diet is very hard to do if you avoid all dairy. But if you're avoiding it because of lactose, then it might be okay. I mostly only eat cream-based things which contain no or very little lactose. I've found that the Ketogenic diet is comfortable for me and works wonders for pain. I started out Atkins, but made it even more strict, too strict actually,and if you read my blog entries you'll find out that it's not all sunshine and roses. But the downsides do not include pain or bloating and if you're careful, it can be managed. (The "History in Brief" link below will take you to my blog.) Eventually my diet could no longer really be called Atkins and was a Keto diet.

I found I could eat sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha... pretty much anything that was fermented. I'm thinking of trying sourdough bread, but that takes some courage after feeling like a truck ran over me after every meal for years. So I'm holding steady for now. The fermented vegetables have allowed me to add a lot of FODMAPS back into my diet, but I still avoid all grains and grain products (corn starch is hard to avoid!!). After a year, I can now eat onions and garlic again without pain and bloating. I credit the sauerkraut for that. I ate kefir for years and never had that effect. But a few days of sauerkraut and I was daring enough to try garlic and a week later onions and it was fine. I think I was missing the right germs.

So I changed my diet to a keto one because I was having so much trouble with carbs anyway that it was pointless to use them as a source of energy. May as well shift to fat as my energy source. Then for the purpose of repopulating my gut, i focused on those germs that did the most good: the ones that break down vegetable matter. I can't say it has "cured" me but it helped. I feel like I've turned the clock back at least a decade.

My safe foods:

any protein, including tofu (I love tofu from having been a vegetarian and vegan for many years)

to be clear: any meat is okay for me

almost any fat (some I can't stand the flavor, others give me odd effects - poo that smells like perm solution - really)

limited amounts of high cellulose foods (greens, skins of fruits and veggies, gums and thickener additives)

limited amounts of fruit/veggies and FODMAPS

fermented foods, especially vegetable based

nuts and nut butters

I still avoid:

grains

large amounts of carbs

sugar (purified forms, fruit is okay as long as it's not a large amount)

things with added lactose

added corn anything (avoidance of grains includes this, but some people don't consider corn a grain... I do)

large quantities of FODMAP foods (4 cups of broccoli, a plateful of asparagus, etc..)

large quantities of nuts (these are constipating for me)

smoked fish (it simply isn't fresh enough ever, and I've really tried to like it, but I'll stick to the frozen fish thank you)

If you're thinking of trying a keto diet, I highly recommend some kind of food tracker that gives you the amount of grams of fat/protein/carbs every day. The keto diet is calculated by weight, not calories. It can be like an accounting nightmare until you get used to it. I hope you find the solution you are looking for. Good luck.


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## Joana (Sep 8, 2014)

Hello,

I just wanted to share with you my personal experience with the low FODMAP diet, having also food intolerances.

This diet has helped me manage IBS symptoms almost completely but I must say that it is not the same for everybody... There are some trigger foods for me that are low FODMAP. This is because I also have an intolerance to corn, eggs, caseine, just to name a few. Also red meat and some raw veggetables like lettuce seem to trigger symptoms, so I have to add these forbidden foods to an already restrictive diet.

Joana


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## Berry Boy (Oct 27, 2014)

I have IBS-A and have gone on a gluten free diet and stay away from certain fibers after doing a diary.

Beans are what I have to stay away from, unless there's just a small helping of chick peas in a side salad. Nuts such as pistachios, walnuts, and almonds I can't have too much of. 1 bowl of Cheerios would make me go to the bathroom right away. Wheat, bran, and rye foods don't agree with me either. Prepared foods with certain acids and fatty oils, such as rotisserie chicken, I can't get near. If not prepared the right way, eggs don't agree with me. Ground beef with acids don't like me. Stick with butter not margarine. Cook with 100% olive oil. Use healthy herbs on foods. Natural lemon juice is a healthy ingredient when cooking or added to drinks. Cinnamon is a healthy topping for sweeter foods.

Common meals I make for myself at home include......

Baked fish

Ziti with garlic, 100% olive oil, and fresh broccoli topped with parmesan, oregano, and parsley

Fruit smoothies

Stir fry with mixed veggies and choice of meat using 100% olive oil topped with healthy herbs

As for fluids, the only milk I used is Lactaid. I can't have tomato juice and regular orange juice due to the acids, unless it's Tropicana Low Acid.

Healthy fluids I drink a lot of include....

Apple & Eve Naturally Cranberry

Zico Coconut Water

Freshly brewed iced tea with natural lemon juice

Spring water

SoBe Lifewater Fuji Apple Pear

Bolthouse Farms Vanilla Chai Tea

Simply Lemonade Raspberry mixed with iced tea

Certain fish I eat often are ones that have Omega 3, such as bluefish, salmon, and rainbow trout. I bake them in the oven with 100% olive oil, healthy herbs, and lemon juice.

3 fruit smoothies I have stuck with include....

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries

Cantaloupe, honey dew, and watermelon

1 sliced granny smith apple with cinnamon, maple syrup, and brown sugar

3 foods I snack on often are....

Raw coconut

Cinnamon Toast Crunch topped with cinnamon powder

Tostitos with Wholly Guacamole


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