# I isolated foods that bothered me with a journal



## Guest (Jul 21, 2001)

I have had IBS for quite some time now. At first it was very difficult but over time I discovered some things that will help others like me. In order to isolate any of the foods that were bothering me I started with a journal. At first I started by only ingesting water and white rice ( potatoes will also work) . This is all I ate for an entire day. On the next day I ate one multivitamin pill, water, and white rice. On day three, if I felt ok, I would add another food. I should note that adding things like decaffeinated tea, and beef broth are crucial for fluid replacement and I would suggest you try these first. You might also want to try other vitamin suppliments initially as well. This will isolate the foods that are bothering you if you are consistent in writing down everthing that you ingest. This includes any fluids. After a long long period of time I have discouvered some things. Avoid caffeine. Caffeine speeds up bowel motility. Avoid INSOLUBLE fibre. Insoluble fibre also speeds up bowel motility. Avoid spices. Even pepper will increase bowel motility. EAT FOODS HIGH IN SOLUBLE FIBRE! Soluble fibre slows the transit time through the bowels. Most natural foods are a combination of soluble and insoluble fibre but you can find data on the amount of soluble and insoluble fibre in foods. This doesn't mean that you cannot eat any insoluble fibre. It just means that you have to limit the quantity of insoluble fibre in your diet. If you do end up getting a bout of diarhea, you'll know exactly what food it came from. Take Imodium ( strictly only by the instructions that come with the package ) to get your digestion back on track and stick to the foods on the list. I am certain that you will find your digestion will be back to normal. I went to a few doctors and received various opinions. The possibility of other medical conditions were eliminated but none of the doctors really came close to finding a real solution. I really have no idea why soluble fibre slows down the transit time of food through the digestive tract. It just does. I have read that it turns into more of a jell in the intestines and therefore it doesn't just wash along. This seems reasonable but who really knows exactly because it is so difficult to observe digestion as it happens. For the longest time I thought it was a food allergy or perhaps a digestive enzyme deficiency or a yeast infection or even a sensitivity to e-coli bacteria. It isn't. I have a final note here. When I was dehydrated from diarhea and spending far too much time in the washroom and feeling bloated from gas. I also felt frustrated, depressed, sleepy, and I suffered from some anxiety attacks. I also noted that when I didn't have diarhea I felt wonderful and I didn't suffer from any of these psychological problems. I think that as the diarhea is racing its way through our digestive tracts it becomes more and more acidic because the bacteria are being fed far too much nutrients. This acid is taken up by your intestine and monkeys with your acid/base balance of your body. I do not have scientific proof of this but I believe this acid base imbalance causes your brain acid base balance to go awry. Its something like the battery of your car not being charged properly. Anyways, the good news, for me at least, was that any of these psychological problems will be immediately rectified as soon as your digestion is up and running properly again. Please, give this a try. The only purpose I have here is to offer people hope if they have gone ... are going through IBS. Good luck. Feel free to email me any questions or positive comments.Sean


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