# Specific Carbohydrate Diet? Yeast Connection Diet? Low Fat Diet? Which is right???



## california (Aug 22, 2002)

I've been perusing the internet for weeks now and am becoming more confused by the day. I have been using Heather's book Cooking With IBS, but I am now reading other sites and books about specific carbohydrates and yeast items also causing IBS.If you combine all of the different diets it seems as though there is nothing left to eat.Which diets do you all use? Which is more effective or is it a matter of personal trial and error?


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

California, just so you know."carbohydrates and yeast items also causing IBS"They don't cause IBS.A healthy diet is best for IBS.You might want to read this. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/hist...aldisorders.htm


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

HI CALIFORNIA: ____________________________"If you combine all of the different diets it seems as though there is nothing left to eat." _____________________________What a great statement as it shows precisely the traditional problem with "IBS DIETS" and dietary advice. There are so many different things which have the possibility of provoking symptoms in IBS patients, that traditionally one has to either take "this persons" interpretation of the statistical probabilities or "that" one's, upon which they base their advice. Many doctors and dieticians, lacking a strong background in the subject, simply cover all the bases by providing avoidance lists of every possible thing with any known possible untoward effect on the gut and the patient is thus lost and/or the diet is simply undoable long term.This is one reason that traditionally dietary therapy, unless it is done very meticulously and tediously according to the rules of stoneage diet followed by serial open oral challenges over a protracted period of time, will have highly variable outcomes. even the standard "alergy diet" approach is of limited use since "allergy" is only a comorbidity ina minority of the affected population.A given population will be comprised of people it helped some, helped greatly, helped not at all, and those who recidivised thus got no benefit as they fell off the diet.The diet must be personalized to the individuals isolatable offending foods and chemicals to get the best outcomes. Period. It is not negotiable. the body has made it that way. So the trick is how do I find my own optimal diet to minimze my symptoms?Also, to get the best outcomes, It (the dietary plan) should be part of an integrative approach, melded with any other modalities which may be indicated based upon the patients NEEDS.It also must use strategies and support systems designed to anticipate untoward events which can occur in the course of lifestyle modification which can lead to recidivism, and provide response and support systems for the patient to overcome the anticipated untoward events which can occur.This is what has led to the development of 'Disease Management' approaches in other diseases, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and has led to the development of similar approaches recently to manageing certain "IBS POPULATIONS". _____________________________"A healthy diet is best for IBS." ______________________________This statement reinforces exactly what I said above by saying nothing. It says "The best gas is good gas". What is that? There is no single answer.WHAT is the best gas for YOUR CAR? The one with the right octane number and additive package. This can and does vary from car to car. Mine needs 93 octane while anothers may require DIESEL. Put diesel in my 4x4 and its dead. Put 93 octane gas in an 18 wheeler and its dead. Period.There is no such thing as "A healthy diet for IBS patients", rather each patient has a healthy diet which is personalized, unkown, and has to be identified. Then the patient has to be trained to follow it so as to get the best possible results.What is healthy for my mom is toilet death for me. What is healthy for me could be toilet death for you.Indeed you do want to read the link posted as it contains information useful in understanding certain aspects of IBS from a certain perspective. But it caontains no information on this aspect/subject of IBS care which will address your question.So to understand the 'diet situation', that is how and why foods and chemcials in foods affect different people different ways you can either make an extensive and exhaustive study of the actual literature which applies to this modality, which most people have not done as it takes a lot of effort and time and objectivity, or you can read a couple of books from professionals who do may make a lifes work of the subject and another who tries to explain how to integrate treatments for IBS.First I suggest (I know more books...but if you want to understand, not take on faith, what I am explaining, there is no choice but to study the subject) the following...IBS: A DOCTORS PLAN FOR CHRONIC DIGESTIVE TROUBLESBy Gerard Guillory, M.D.; Vanessa Ameen, M.D.; Paul Donovan, M.D.; Jack Martin, Ph.D. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...9085785-1742301 "FOOD ALLERGIES AND FOOD INTOLERANCE: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THEIR IDENTIFICTION AND TREATMENT", Professor Jonathan Brostoff , M.D.. Allergy, Immunology and Environmental Medicine, Kings' College, Londonhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...r=2-1/102-64875 08-3420903[/URL]Then get a copy of this paper, which has a good explanation of the subject and how the phsyiology integrates with other known ISB physiology:Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics Vol. 15 Issue 4 Page 439 April 2001 Food hypersensitivity and irritable bowel syndrome S. Zar, D. Kumar, M. J. Bensonhttp://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/userag ent?func=synergy&synergyAction=showFullText&doi=10.1046/j.1365-2036.2001.00951.x[/URL]and you may want to read some links and cases of people discussing the subject of integrated symptom reduction programs which are diet-driven, designed to optimize their personal diet through very specific and effective means to isolate what was the best diet for their personal needs to minimize their symptoms.http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...pic;f=4;t=00028 6;p=3#000106[/URL] http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000364 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...=4&DaysPrune=30 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000286 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000285 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=4;t=000331#00 0001[/URL] http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000302 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000287 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000364 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=5&t=000313&p=[/UR L]http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=00029 3;p=2#000069 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000276 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=5;t=000073 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=5&t=000356&p=[/UR L] http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000320#00 0016http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=4&t=000383#00 0010[/URL] http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=5&t=000126&p=[/UR L] http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000033 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=5;t=000363#00 0002[/URL] http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=1;t=028290#00 0001[/URL] http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=4;t=000335#00 0009[/URL] http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=1&t=028290&p=[/UR L]http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000353 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=4;t=000389 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...f=4&t=000427#00 0006[/URL]This can all help go a long way towards dispelling the myths and errors historically involved in dietary therapy for the various IBS subpopulations which have led to poor outcomes and increased need for ongoing pharmacotherapy and other modalities to suppress the effects of Jack ingesting the "healthy diet" of Jill and staying sick.







Good luck. There are answers for this question and there is a way out of the confusion. It's like anything else...you don't go to the neurosurgeon for treatment of hair loss even though it is your head that is involved. It's a different science and specialty. So you need to explore materials from those who focus on that area closely.MNL


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## mountaingirl (Sep 7, 2002)

What to eat? Now there's a good question! I don't have The Answer but I can offer a strategy. Try to imagine how humans ate for the thousands of years before agriculture took over and changed our eating habits forever, and then eat like that. Number one: eat real foods - green vegetables, potatoes, nice raw nuts like almonds, fruits that work for you (maybe cooked fruits like applesauce would be better than raw?), lean animal proteins, maybe tofu - and eliminate processed, manufactured foods. As the Price Pottenger people say: "eat food that will spoil, but eat it before it does." Try avoiding your trigger foods (if kiwis hurt your stomach, leave them at the market) and experiment/eliminate the common allergens, especially wheat - baked goods, flour, pasta - which are problem foods for many people including me most of the time. (I stay away from most grains, although brown rice feels very good in my tummy, and oatmeal, too.) Steamed vegetables, such as swiss chard and carrots and beets always feel good for me, as do baked potatoes with flaxseed oil instead of butter, sea salt and a little pepper, or baked sweet potatoes (garnet yams), a very soothing food. (Skip the skin, though.)Of course try not to eat too much at a sitting. And allow time between eatings, at least 3-4 hours. Drink plain herb tea like peppermint or chamomile between meals (since honey hurts you.)Sometimes you can put your hand on a food, even when it is in the jar or a bag, and your stomach will tell you if that is okay to eat. You will feel it in your gut, just by touching the food.You will discover many foods that work for you, and many that don't. Be patient and love your self through this process. It is not easy to have to say No all the time. Sometimes I rebel against my limitations, but who suffers then? Only me and my stomach. This is where I am struggling. I am coming to believe that the lesson in having this IBS problem is to recognize, accept and honor my true feelings, and to give myself permission to love my self. Eating foods that I know can cause distress (pizza, ice cream, even kiwi, strange as it may seem) or eating in a way that I know can cause distress (in the car, on the run, while reading the newspaper) is not loving my self. Finding what works takes time, and what works for one might not work for another. May your healing process be full of hope and discovery.


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Lady Of The Big Hills: ________________________________________"Try to imagine how humans ate for the thousands of years before agriculture took over and changed our eating habits forever, and then eat like that. " _________________________________________There is a lot of validity to that in the context of "modern eating". The average American consumes 20-40 POUNDS per year of chemicals from their diet. In the 1950s it was a mere fraction of this amount."FOOD ALLERGIES AND FOOD INTOLERANCE: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THEIR IDENTIFICTION AND TREATMENT", Professor Jonathan Brostoff , M.D.. Allergy, Immunology and Environmental Medicine, Kings' College, London http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...6487508-3420903 While the human organism is tremendously adaptive, and has systems for detoxyfying chemicals which may be ultimately hramful, many immunologists who have studied this issue observe that one of the mechanisms of loss of oral tolerance is the inability in some people to adapt this rapidly to the added aggregate toxin load...you just cannot process that big an increase that fast (ONE generation?)This is part can account for the strange altered immunocyte function seen in patients who develop symptom sets provoked by certain dietary exposures and why it is highly individual.MNL


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