# butter, margerine, ricotta



## roeNYC (Jul 29, 2002)

hi, i love butter more than most spreads. whipped butter on bagels and pancakes, pasta. whatever. and then there is Ricotta and mozzerella. ok, i am italian.now, my doctor put me on a no dairy diet. i dont mind no milk, i am using soy based for cereals and coffee. but what do i do about butter? oil based KILLS me. like those cholesterol lowering ones. they caused my diarreah to escalate and the pain was awful. right now i am spending time in the IBS/C department. i found tofu imitation cream cheese (havent tried it yet). Whole grain bread with nothing on it sticks in the throught!and is ricotta considered dairy? thank you for all your help.


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

Hi - Yes, ricotta, mozarella, and butter are all definitely dairy, and likely triggers for IBS. It's their high fat level, lactose, and the dairy proteins like casein and whey. Like the soy milk you've been using, there is also soy cheese, so you might want to try some different flavors and brands there.For bread, basically all of the spreads that are meant to replace butter are still very high fat, and so still triggers. The safest bet is to use a little seedless jam or jelly, or honey. If you're having a big slice of bread, you might be able to tolerate a smidgen of butter or a drizzle of olive oil, as the soluble fiber of the bread will help you tolerate the fat. I find the tofu cream cheese to work well in small quantities in recipes, but I don't think it quite works to just eat it as a spread on bread.One thing - be very careful with whole wheat bread. That can cause huge problems, because it's high in insoluble fiber, which can be a trigger. In general white breads are safer as they just have soluble fiber (the bran has been removed, so there's no insoluble left). Try some white breads when your stomach is empty, and have the whole wheat in smaller quantities when your stomach is full. Or, eliminate the whole wheat and stick to whole grains like brown rice and oatmeal, which are very tolerable for IBS.Best,Heather


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