# help! how do i know what to eat and how much...



## avital (Nov 17, 2003)

Hello!i just joined the forum...i wasn't diagnosed properly yet but 2 different doctors said they think i have IBS and from what i read in the web i think so too. i have the symptoms for over a year now.as for my diet, i do eat too much junk sometimes, but i eat a lot of vegetables, whole wheat bread, cereals with fibres... i'm a vegeterian, and because of that i eat a lot of milk products.i'm writing mainly because i feel like i can't tell which foods are good for me and which are bad. i read which foods trigger IBS, but what should i do? should i give up altogether eating all the foods which might cause the symptoms i have? (including milk producs which are a main part of my diet?) i know that i should check which foods are bad for me,and learn from that, but i'm having trouble doing so. today, for example, i had cereal (oatmeal) with milk and yogurt for breakfest and a big salad for lunch. a short time after lunch i started having the symptoms. so, the fact it happened after lunch means the salad is the problem (i know that's suppose to be good for this syndrome), or maybe the milk products i had in the morning? how can i tell? i feel like there's no logic- i can eat a certain food one day and feel fine afterwards, but another day i would suffer, so how do i know?i also know that i shouldn't eat big meals and i also wanted to ask you about that. going back to the example earlier: maybe it's not the salad i ate that cause the problem but the fact i ate too much of it?i have a lot of trouble knowing when i had enough to eat. i have a sensation of hunger but i don't have the sensation of fullness while eating, so i eat too big a meal, which leads to the very uncomfotable feeling in my stomach. i know this sounds like a silly question, but how do i stop eating in time, so i won't walk around all day afterwards with this very unpleasent feeling in my stomach?sorry for this float of questions, i'm just sick of having this lousy feeling in my stomach all the time, without knowing how to make it better...hope you can give me some adviceThanks!


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

Hi ther - My guess is that you're eating too much insoluble fiber, and you're eating it without a soluble fiber basis. I would also recommend that you eliminate dairy completely - use soy or rice substitutes. Dairy is a huge trigger for almost everyone with IBS - it's extremely high fat (saturated fat at that), and has lactose, casein, and whey. All of these elements can cause digestive distress.For detailed info on the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber, check here ../diet/fiber1.asp I think learning how to eat your fiber differently )not eliminating, just focusing on HOW you eat as well as WHAT you eat) will help a lot. Best,Heather


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