# Lemon juice & olive oil



## mich2002 (Jan 14, 2002)

HI heather just wondering I use alot of lemon juice to cook with and also have fresh lemon juice with hot water as a morning drink, also use olive oil to cook and often as a salad dressing etc are these ok IBS 'foods'?Also Im trying to eat more raw foods ie carrots etc and was told beetroot is an excellent veg can you give me some suggestions for eating it? and iis it also an ok food?


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

Hi Saffie - I'd be cautious with both lemon juice and olive oil, but you can certainly use them for cooking. Lemon juice is acidic, and acidic foods can sometimes trigger problems. Olive oil, like all fats, is a very powerful GI tract stimulant and as such can also trigger symtpoms. But, as long as you use both of them with plenty of soluble fiber, and aren't using them in large quantities, you should be just fine. For something like a salad dressing, make sure that you aren't eating the salad without a good soluble fiber food base first (pasta, rice, potatoes, etc.). This probably means having your green salad at the end of your meal instead of at the beginning.For cooking, use nonstick skillets so you can use smaller quantities of olive oil. For adding lemon flavor, try zesting a lemon (grating off just the yellow part of the rind) for a great lemon flavor without the acidity of the juice.For the lemon juice in water, I'd be a little careful about drinking this on an empty stomach. If you're used to it and doing fine, then no worries. But if you're unsure, you might try something like hot peppermint or fennel or chamomile tea first thing in the morning instead - they're very soothing and stabilizing for the GI tract.For raw foods, be cautious as well. Raw fruits and veggies are very high in insoluble fiber, which is a GI stimulant just like fat and can trigger IBS attacks. Cooking produce minimizes the effect of the insoluble fiber. Peeling and seeding fruits/veggies, and also dicing them up finely or pureeing them into soups, dips, smoothies, etc. will also reduce the insoluble fiber risk. If you want to eat raw foods make sure that you have a soluble fiber food base - don't eat them on an empty stomach. Have some rice or oatmeal first, or snack on baked corn chips, pita bread, rice cakes, etc. and then have a small amount of the raw foods. Beets are a great veggie, though I've never had them raw. They are a root vegetable, and a good source of soluble fiber. They're delicious roasted (just scrub, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil, and cook at 425F until tender - about an hour - , then slip off the skins). You can also peel them, dice, and steam until tender - they're wonderful with brown rice, and you could drizzle a bit of your lemon juice/olive oil dressing over the two. Or, steam the beets, let them cool, and add a mild flavored vinegar (like raspberry) for a delicious salad. Rutabags, turnips, parsnips, and sweet potatoes are other root vegetables that are great for IBS and delicious roasted. You could cook a whole batch of them, peeled and diced, in veggie stock until tender, then blend the whole batch until smooth to make a great soup - just add whatever fresh or dried herbs you like, salt and pepper, and even a little plain soy milk if you want the result creamier.Hope this helps.Best,Heather


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