# What is a good bland diet?



## ag5t (May 17, 2002)

It seems like I just can't eat anything. I have been prescribed lomotil and bentyl (actually the generic substitutes) but they still don't seem to help. I learned one thing - I can absolutely not eat Sonic chicken sandwiches and french fries. Am I going to have to eat smooth peanut butter and mashed potatoes the rest of my life? I think I am also going to get tired of broth for lunch every day. Can someone help me plan a bland diet? I would like to at least have a little variety. One thing is for sure - I'm losing my desire to eat anything knowing that anything I eat is going to cause cramping and eventually diarrhea. I had a GI test and everything was normal (does that mean I am mentally unstable then?) but I still want to fight this IBS and win. I am to the point now where I eat absolutely NOTHING for two solid days before going a long vacation drive. Then the first time I eat something it destroys my digestive system almost right away. I sure wish I could find a diet that works - maybe just popsicles every day??? If anyone can help me, please let me know. Thanks.Marty


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The not eating for long periods of time may muck you up further. People often have problems with digestion when they break a fast.Yep the sandwich and fries can do a number on you because the GREASE.. Add the starch from the wheat bun and the potatoes and you can be in for tons of gas and loose stools.One diet that tends to be easy to digest is the BRAT diet (often used when recovering from a bout of diarrhea caused by infection) Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast.Works well as long as you don't have problems with wheat.Basically a diet that tends to work well for IBS often looks likeRice, Rice cereals, Small amounts of Whole grains breads (if you tolerate fiber and White breads if you don't) Too much starch other than Rice can be bad for many.NO FRIED ANYTHING (varies from person to person, but many do not tolerate fried things well, so best to start with NONE and work up to find out what you can tolerate).People may find limiting Milk to less than 2 glasses a day and sticking mostly to hard cheeses and Yogurts (femented products which have less lactose).Avoiding High-Fructose Corn Syrup tends to help so most sodas/soft drinks are off the menu.Cooked veggies and fruits (like canned fruits) are usually better tolerated than raw.Lean protein sources cooked with little or no fat.Kinda like that.You may want to click the Books link in the blue menu bar as that has a number of books that may work for you.K.


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## Bunkysmom (May 17, 2002)

I am learning so much from this web site - and recalling a lot of the info that I was told years ago! No fried foods - so I went to Kentucky Fried last night! No milk - cereal for snack before bed! Calm environment - I work at a heroin detox clinic! Tons of coffee! And I wonder why this is happening to me?! It's time to change this lifestyle or remodel the house to fit a toilet in every room!!


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

Some very telling comments from different recent posts on the "diet board" include&#8230; __________________________________ "I was hoping someone would say...hey you know...eating right will fix the problem." __________________________________For many people it will&#8230;that is, not fix "the problem" of the underlying disease, whatever it may be, BUT it will fix "the immediate problem" of "the symptoms" which disrupt our lives. Trouble is everyone has a different pattern of foods or chemicals in foods that can provoke symptoms, and everyone has a different combination of the various mechanisms which can generate symptoms once "activated". So far at least 8 different wasy the immune cells of different types can malfunction and cause symptoms are known. So far. _________________________________"&#8230; CAN i eat,,,,,,," _________________________________The optimum diet for any given person, the diet that reduces or eliminates symptoms as much as is possible with dietary modification for that person, is unique. The instructions that are given by doctors, dieticians, and in books are of necessity based on statistical probabilitieis gained from watching some large number of patients selected by whatever criteria that practitioner or author applied to patient population, and then develops a set of recommended strategies and lists of foods and chemicals and eating patterns etc which can be applied in a trail and error basis from the approach of what is statistically probable, then next possible, then finally infrequently implicated but worth a try.This is of necessity been the only way to approach it in the past, since only about 8% of the overall population of people who are told their sym[toms are "IBS" have true food allergies, and the rest have some combination of multiple factors which generate symptoms.The largest subpopulation which can benefit directly from dietary manipulation beyond the rudiments of "eat more fiber" and "eat low fat" and Eat small meals" and "watch for 'triggers'" is the 70% or so of people told they have IBS and who have a diarrheic componenet to their condition&#8230;either constantly or episodically.This population, years of observation and now recent in-body experiments show, suffer (for reasons which are also multiple and variable) loss of oral tolerance to certain foods or chemicals in foods which manifests itself as the symptoms we associate with IBS.It is very hard to isolate every thing that a specific person has lost tolerance to because allergy as we have come to know it, which causes fast onset of symptoms in spite of the tiniest exposure (thus making allergy and false-allergy easy to spot with methods used to find "triggers&#8221







, is usually not the major problem. There are other immune cells involved which react slowly, and the effects build with dose-exposure-time relationships (delayed onset and dose dependency) so observation as it is taught misses most of the offending foods or chemicals since it APEARS TO EVERYONE that there is NO PATTERN. There is a pattern but it is much more complex than the checkerboard pattern of "food goes in, diarrhea comes out" that the masses have grown accustomed to looking for. _____________________________________________________"It seems like I just can't eat anything&#8230;" _____________________________________________________The most common experience of the person who has been trying to follow the "look for triggers" advice and is slowly but surely seeming to not be able to eat anything. Sometimes this is the total dissociation of apparent cause-effect in the observations and sometimes it is progressively worsening loss of tolerance&#8230;another thing they said does not happen, but does in some people you know what to look at. _______________________________________"I am to the point now where I eat absolutely NOTHING&#8230;." ________________________________________It is usually at about this time that people have reached the realization that what they are doing is not working and thus they may be open to ideas which will be new, or run contrary to the old beliefs and dogma that pervade medicines approach to this problem.This is a good time to add (2) other books to ones library, then when reading also review the experiences of others who have experienced the benefits of a Disease Management Program approach, a multi-modality approach, to the IBS symptoms and treatment options and see if there is some parallel to their own situation.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, London http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...6487508-3420903 Then it might be helpful to read through, top to bottom, some of these threads which reflect extensive discussions of approaching IBS symptom reduction from an integrative approach to multiple therapies and based on new and unique methods of isolating as many of the personal sources of symptom provocation as possible, and dealing where need be with the effects of stress and anxiety as symptom generating mechanisms as well, integrated with optimal dietry therapy: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=026240 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=027553 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=026885 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=027465 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=027557 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=027549 If one reads the books, the rationale for much of what is discussed, and the results that people attain, becomes more clear.But one need not despair in 2002 as there are ways to find what you can and cannot eat which are more effective than those that have been used up until now, simply because the tools available have been recently expanded and will be becoming more widely available over the next year or two.Eat well. Think well. Be well.MNL


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## ag5t (May 17, 2002)

Thanks everyone. I bought a book that has 175 recipes for IBS by Heather Van Vorous. The first thing I'm doing is giving up coffee. I bought some peppermint tea. It tastes kinda weird to me but I feel a whole lot better. I'm not quite sure how to fix it though. Anyway, I've been reading the book and taking notes. I've already lost weight and am carefully planning all meals now.


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## smurf1 (Oct 23, 2001)

The bland diet is old overused term, which we have learned today does not necessarily help IBS.The bland diet was best for Ulcer sufferers as it helps reduce acid intake.Additionally..."EATING HEALTHY" is a very relative term. Foods that can be considered healthy and good for the rest of the body, can also be difficult to digest, and can irritate the symptoms for IBS sufferers.


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## WD40 (Jun 7, 1999)

Wait a minute, there's such a thing as a "good" bland diet???ag5t, hope the recipes work out for you!


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## tlatner (Jun 20, 2002)

Marty,Your problem might be MSG (which is in practically all processed food and in all fast food chicken sandwiches). I was having similar symptoms to you and couldn't narrow down the source. I recently purchased the book "Food Allergies - The Complete Guide to Understanding and Relieving Your Food Allergies" by William E. Walsh, M.D., which you can get on Amazon. I've been on his elimination diet for a few days (which eliminates MSG, refined sugar, and a few other foods) and I feel a hundred times better! I've suspected for a while that I'm sensitive to MSG, and I believe a lot of other IBS sufferers are as well. I'd strongly recommend getting the book and trying his elimination diet. The hardest part is trying to get rid of MSG as it hides under many names. For more information on avoiding it, check out www.msgmyth.com or www.truthinlabeling.org.Good luck in feeling better!Best,Ted


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## bobby5832708 (May 30, 2000)

Let me add my .02 here. I've had IBS-D for about 30 years now and many times it seemed like no matter what I would eat I would get major D-attacks for days at a time. Imodium would usually stop the D long enough so I could go to work and do what needed to be done but the D always came back worse than before. The last diagnostic procedure was a colonoscopy in fall 2001 that showed nothing wrong. The pains and cramps were bad enough but to constantly go from toilet to toilet took it's toll on my life. I knew deep down inside that something I was eating was causing the problem----- but what? When it came to diets I tried them all. I eliminated meat and dairy products for a short time on the advice of doctors and still had random, severe D-attacks. Eliminate this, add that, try this, try that--- years of trying everything I or anybody around me knew about. Again, it seemed that no matter what I would eat I would inevitably end up with the 'squirts'.After lurking on this board for a long while I finally listened to what several members were writing about and decided to take the LEAP test and follow their program, what did I have to lose? Well, I lost the severe pains and cramps and D-attacks I used to regularly suffer with. My life is much more enjoyable now that I don't spend hour after hour on the toilet straining and wincing and trying to squeeze every last drop of liquid out of my butt. The acid indigestion I have been popping Rolaids for since I was a kid in grade school (I'm 43 now) went away. I'm about 75% cured. I still have some anxiety issues and I still want to pull over to every rest area that I used to use in the 'old days'. It is just going to take time to readjust to the fact that I'm not 'pooping my brains out' on a daily basis anymore.What was causing the problems? Just about everything I ate! After the LEAP test results came back and I knew exactly what to eliminate from my diet I started feeling noticeably better. As time went on and I started adding back various foods I kept getting better and could also identify which foods I could easily tolerate and which foods I really shouldn't eat. There were also several foods that I absolutely should not touch. It's great knowing exactly which substances to avoid. All I have to do now is carefully read labels so I know what substances I am putting in my body. I also try to avoid restaurants because I don't really know what they are putting in the food.On this board are a number of people who either are asking for advice on what to eat or what to eliminate from their diet. There are also others who promote various foods and other products. My reply would be "how do you know this would be good for ME"? All of us that suffer with IBS have unique digestive systems and what works for one person may be 'poison' for another. As an example, Oatmeal is 'good for you' (so many people have told me this, doctors as well as others) but for me it causes major acid problems. I just recently discovered this via the LEAP program. I have suffered from acid problems for years and it was oats all the time. Oats may be good for YOU but they are not good for ME. My main point : "What works for you may not necessarily work for me". We are all different and I would recommend getting tested by the LEAP program to identify the substances you are sensitive to. I am forever thankful that Donna, Lisa, and Mike talked me into trying the LEAP program. It sure made a difference in my life! Bob


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## Mike NoLomotil (Jun 6, 2000)

BOB!I was having a really hard day today...lotsa work hassles and too much to do...did not even get to go visit the IBS boards until late this afternoon, that is how distracted it has been...see there is the phone again...







...ANYWAY bottom line isTHANKSYou made my day.This is why I do what I do for a living and why we all worked so hard to create this company and this technology...so we know that it helps people get some of their life back like I did!You reminded me why I put up with this stupid phone all day when I am here, and drive all over the cotton pickin' country 50% of my life!!! Hey at least I CAN now! HA-HAAA!!!














MNL


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