# What are the most common trigger foods?



## Countrygirl (Nov 22, 2004)

I know that everyone's trigger foods can be different, and that some people can't pin point down any trigger foods (like me) so since I'm fairly new to this board, was wondering, what are the most common trigger foods across the board? Thanks


----------



## rrobin (Sep 8, 2004)

Hi Countrygirl - By far for me who is IBS D my trigger food/drink is Pepsi/Coke. --------------My story http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...c;f=17;t=000155


----------



## JoanneThomas (Jan 17, 2002)

I'm an allium avoider now as this causes my symtoms (the allium family are onions, leeks, garlic and chives as well as aloe vera).


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Generally diarrhea prone seem more triggered by certain foods.Biggest common culprits:Fatty/greasy/fried foodsAlcoholCaffieneHigh fructose corn syrup sweetened drinksCarbonated beveragesDairySorbitol (Either in products using this as a sweetener or raw/juices of apples, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, peaches).K.


----------



## Daveyboy (Jan 10, 2003)

My worst triggers are alcohol,spicy foods,caffeine,fatty foods


----------



## Countrygirl (Nov 22, 2004)

Wow. That covers just about everything lol


----------



## jeanne2 (Jul 19, 2004)

CountryGirlLook further down on the posts and you will see one about trigger foods, that I asked a while back.(It is called "are you like me, can't figure out triggers?)Info for you in those replies too.Jeanne


----------



## Summer Ivy (Dec 7, 2004)

I have almost all the same triggers as Kath M. And in cases where those of you avoid caffeine, but drink root beer - Barqs has caffeine, but Mugs doesn't!! This discovery made all the difference for me eating out. I didn't know Barqs had caffeine in it. Also, I react severely to Codeine. I was taking strong Codeine pills for migraines and didn't realize that Codeine could be a trigger. I would just get over the migraine, but go immediatly into an IBS attact!







Other than that, in my 7 years suffering, I've discovered it's really hit and miss. Everyone reacts differently. I have a friend who isn't even bothered by caffeine. Good luck on finding your triggers Countrygirl!


----------



## alyssmarie (Nov 8, 2004)

OMG-yeah I was just gonna say the same thing. Caffeine for me is like, the absolute WORST. I've gotten so bad that I can't even drink one half a CAN sometimes without horrible cramps. It's so weird. Then other times i can drink 3 cans and not so much have one cramp. I never know when it's gonna come on, so i curb it with IMO.I know my IBS symptoms would subside about 65% if i just STOPPED DRINKING POP. I've been trying for 2 years. I just... keep relapsing. lol. I crave Diet Mt. Dew so badly. Seems like even though my tummy feels better without pop, my body doesn't. I know the headaches go away, but I get them horribly when I don't drink caffeine, AND i'm tired all the time. *sigh* can't win, eh? It dawned on me that caffeine was the culprit one night when i was gonna pull an all-nighter, and instead of drinking pop, I just thought I'd pop a few caffeine pills. bad, BAD idea. lol. Horrible cramps. I thought it was the carbonation in the pop, not the caffeine. So i don't even ATTEMPT coffee. I also realized the "genius" of root beer. I can get away SO EASILY drinking that! I love it! I go with Diet A&W. Drinking noncaffeinated soda helps a ton, for me. I guess, also for me, it's not so much the food at times, but the amount I eat. I suffer from a panic disorder- HORRIBLE fear of vomiting. So everytime I eat until I'm full (a regular person just feels "full" and they're fine) I completely panic and start to shake and breathe fast. THEN i get the cramps, of course, probably because of my own self-induced panic. My worst episode by far was a night I went to Applebees with my mom- having a grand old time, drank 2.5 captain cokes and then ate a HUGE BBQ chicken sandwich. Hour later i was laying on the bathroom floor holding my stomach, shaking wildly and sweating and having the worst pain ever.


----------



## rrobin (Sep 8, 2004)

Hi alyssmarie! I know what you mean totally. I have been trying to get off of Pop for 3 months now. I lived on diet Pepsi and now can't drink it anymore ......well sometimes on the weekends I have a can of Pepsi for a weekend treat and 1/2 of the time I am ok and the other I am suffering so bad that I have to go to bed to calm the spasms down...... I suffer from anxiety disorder and everyone says no caffeine. I don't drink or do drugs and sometime I treat myself to 2 cans on a weekend but most of the time I avoid it. I wish I could stop it all together......


----------



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

IBS and foods http://www.ibshealth.com/ibsfoodsinfo.htm "Chronic Diarrhea: Could It Have an Everyday Cause? By: W. Grant Thompson, MD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [IFFGD, 1999]Chronic diarrhea has many causes. Malabsorption, Crohn's disease, colitis, and pancreatic insufficiency are topics for another day. This article focuses upon those causes where a change in behavior may result in a rapid improvement in the diarrhea. Such diarrhea is usually painless and persistent, unaccompanied by signs of disease such as bleeding, anemia, weight loss or fatigue. Frequent loose stools are a daily occurrence. There may be occasional normal stools. Despite the need to stay within running distance of a toilet, the patient is manifestly well. Very frequently the diarrhea is due to something in the diet that is taken in excess. Here, I am not speaking of an allergy to a certain fruit or vegetable (which in fact is very rare), but rather to the excess of a sugar or chemical substance. The classic examples are alcohol and caffeine. An excess of alcohol, especially beer and wine, will cause loose stools the next day. It is sometimes not an obvious cause in someone imbibing large amounts regularly. The best test is to stop alcohol completely and see if the diarrhea abates. If it does, drinking may be cautiously resumed at a more modest level" http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/chronicdiarrhea.html


----------



## sueby (Jul 10, 2002)

I have found that acidic foods are my triggers. I now do not eat tomatoe or any citrus (juices or fresh). Too much red pepper also is not good for me. Also fat-cooked food like deep fried, battered or crumbed food is a no-no.


----------



## lbcgeek21 (Dec 28, 2004)

I seem to be alone on these ones...Mine are chocolate, pizza, and pasta.What's up with this? I suppose chocolate has caffeine and I don't actually drink soda very much so I wouldn't know if caffeine is the culprit. Now, these three foods just happen to be some of my favorites.....


----------



## dazzle00 (Jan 5, 2005)

My triggers vary so wildly one day I can eat chocolate and be just fine. The next day I'll nibble a cookie and run to the bathroom!But I in no way shape or form can eat anything Cajun or blackened. Just the smell makes my tummy grumble!!And lately I've gotten to where I can eat only a little bit of anything. And this has happened just in the past month. Like yesterday for lunch I was able to eat 2 chicken fingers and about 5 blue tortilla chips. Then I felt SO bloated and miserable, I couldn't take another bite! And I burp like an old man...it's so embarrassing!I'm a small person with no weight problem and I LOVE to eat! I hate this!!


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I don't get it often, but I sometimes get the eat a couple of bites feel full and burp thing.I find Enzyme Digestant from GNC helps, you want a digestive enzyme supplement with pancreatic enzymes in it (the prescription version has been tested and seems to help with this, but I can do just fine with the OTC versions).K.


----------



## kateandtink (Sep 1, 2004)

allium family... thouhg tolerate alittle garlic sometimes.rice, pasta (can eat hienz tinned pasta though)potatoesfruit expect melon NO CITRUSpea, corn, any high fibre vegetableanything spicy or too acidiccaffiene most of the time though i get away with the odd coffee.biscuits- stuggle most of the time but i have the odd cookiei noticed the contraceptive pill too, im on depro vera (spp) the injection my morning D is nowhere near as bad now. maye just coincidence.dark meat like beef cant have muchanything fatty eg mc donaldsoatsalcohol- hehe one of few tea total 20 yr olds! not by choice!safe: chicken, chooclate, dr pepper (does less damage of all caffiene. even drank 2litres of it last week in 2days with no side effects!) small pizzas (the chicago town microwave ones. only one day safe though i dont have them daily!)fishfingers (ross something or other. the ones without potatoe starch in)


----------



## JoanneThomas (Jan 17, 2002)

Kateandtink- ah someone else with the allium problem! Not many of us about but it is a real pain finding things to eat as a vegetarian who cant take allium!Seems like you have many other triggers tho which must be even worse!


----------



## influx09 (Oct 18, 2004)

I've noticed a lot of people say Tea. Obviously because of the caffeine, but what about non-caffinated or herbal?Pretty much anything that I put in my mouth that reaches my stomach is a trigger. It's actually kind of hard for me to figure out if there are any triggers that I am not actually allergic to since I am allergic to the following:cane sugarbeefpineapplefood coloringbrewers yeastsulfitescoconutI don't even remember what else anymore, there are so many. Coffee is definitely a trigger.


----------



## dazzle00 (Jan 5, 2005)

I love the scene in "Steel Magnolia's" when the dad (Dub) goes running through the house and someone asks "What wrong with Dub?" and his son says "Coffee kicked in..."I giggle every time I see that part!


----------



## Reagan26 (Jan 7, 2005)

My trigger foods are:spicy foodsmilkeating too much fruit or veggies in a dayWhen I am feeling nervous it is worse, when I am feeling calm sometimes I can eat those things as long as I am at home, then I don't worry about running to the bathroom if I have to because I'm not at work or out somewhere else...


----------



## legbuh (Jan 9, 2005)

Mine:Any dairyHigh Fructose Corn SyrupArtificial SweetnersVegetables (especially raw)FruitFruit JuiceWineAverage or more water consumptionI live on meat, potatoes (french fries and mashed mainly), rice, tofu cheese, silk, cigarettes (bad, I know!) and beer (and the occasial rob roy.. alcohol and especially beer seem to help me, but wine has the fruit juice affect on me). I also have been taking Metamucil capsules for a while, which seems to have made the biggest differences. Before I cut out all my triggers, I would say I felt 40-60%. Now, I can say I feel 80-90% better, some days 100%!


----------



## kateandtink (Sep 1, 2004)

its not too bad







besides you got to live with whatever triggers it throws at you or eat them and suffer in silence... i can cope with small pizzas and even sweet n sour chicken cantonesse style... with no onions, my local isnt too acidic so it doesnt trigger my ibs d without onions







cant have the rices or anything else but there the treats that keep me focused on staying away from the bad foods. Along with the knowledge alot of people suffer more than i do so i just get on with it or try to best as i can


----------



## lynyrd29 (Sep 25, 2003)

Whew! Haven't been on here in forever! My trigger foods were COFFEE







and popcorn. Coffee gave me immdiate d, and popcorn usually gave me d the next morning or so. But I will say after starting on anti- depressents (15 mg Remeron, and 40 mg Celexa) I'm pretty much symptom free! I still avoid coffee, but popcorn I'm fine with. I highly recommend trying anti depressents they worked WONDERS for me!! I can't even begin to express how much they've helped!





















Anyways hopes this helps. Just remember, most everyone has different trigger foods, so some that affect others won't nessesarily affect you. So experiment, cause theres some foods you don't wanna miss out on if you don't have to! LT


----------



## KarenJo (Nov 8, 2004)

I'm still trying to figure out my triggers. How long does it take between eating the food and problems start? This might help me narrow down the field. I am not eating anything greasy or high in fat. I do know that certain herbs give me problems, although I have yet to determine which ones. It seems that hormones are a big trigger for me.


----------



## JoanneThomas (Jan 17, 2002)

With me it can be straight away or up to 2 days later depending upon the amount I am ingesting and whether it is raw or cooked (my trigger is allium- found in onions leeks garlic and chives).Mind you I am c and pain rather than dDont know if you have tried a food diary?


----------



## KarenJo (Nov 8, 2004)

I'm on my third attempt at a food diary. Nothing seems to be popping out. I was awake all last night using the bathroom. The only thing that I had that I don't normally have was grapefruit juice. I've had it before, but without issues.


----------



## abigailsantoro (Jan 20, 2005)

I was awake all last night using the bathroom as well, the only thing I can think of was that I had a small Coke slurpee or icee







I am reading now that high fructose items such as sodas and some fruit juices cam triger spasms.


----------



## kateandtink (Sep 1, 2004)

yeah food diaries are best way to go but sometimes u have to be paitient and suspect the unexpected, triggers can changed after all







santoro: alot of sodoas can yeah i tolerate dr pepper well though buy not coke or lemonade


----------



## calid (Aug 4, 2003)

KarenJo: My last big attack was triggered by grapefruit juice. I've also had it before, but this time (probably because it was paired with a high fat meal), it got me. Citrus juice gets a lot of people.


----------



## KarenJo (Nov 8, 2004)

Calid: Thanks. I've been thinking that I may have had a bug that's been going around here. It is so difficult to tell anymore. I am, however, reluctant to try the grapefruit juice again for a long time. Just in case.


----------



## 20918 (Sep 19, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by KarenJo:I'm still trying to figure out my triggers. How long does it take between eating the food and problems start? This might help me narrow down the field. I am not eating anything greasy or high in fat. I do know that certain herbs give me problems, although I have yet to determine which ones. It seems that hormones are a big trigger for me.


This has been a problem for me too..I stop eating something for 2 or 3 days but the D keeps on..so then I figure that can't be the culprit so I try eliminating something else. My problem is that the bouts with D are so inconsistent..I honestly can't tell if it's the elimination of the food that causes the D to stop or slow down or if I'm just going through a no D period?? It's very frustrating.How long do you recommend eliminating a food or drink to determine if it is a 'trigger'?


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The problem with eliminating one thing or another for a period of tiem is that there may be other things in the diet you react to.If you want to be systematic you start with a vary basic diet. Like the BRAT diet (bananas rice applesauce toast) or Chicken and rice, or one of the other standard elimination diets and see if after a week or so your symptoms go away. Then you add foods back one at a time to build a list of safe and trigger foods.That is really hard to do, and if you may not get adequate nutrition. I'd tend to go with the keep a food journal and see what IF ANYTHING seems to track with diarrhea. Cutting out something like all fried food for a couple of weeks or raw apples and pears to see if the main diarrhea causing foods bother you can make sense.However for many people the IBS-D comes and goes for reasons that have nothing to do with what you eat. Food is not always the cause. If it doesn't track with what you eat, then just eat to be healthy and try working on other triggers or controls that are not diet based.K.


----------



## 20918 (Sep 19, 2006)

> quote:However for many people the IBS-D comes and goes for reasons that have nothing to do with what you eat. Food is not always the cause. If it doesn't track with what you eat, then just eat to be healthy and try working on other triggers or controls that are not diet based.K.


Thanks Kathleen..yes, I'm beginning to think it is not totally what I eat that causes my D..but that it is my lifestyle/stress/anxiety. I can go for days and eat almost anything without too much problem. When I am in Canada, with my family, my IBSD is not as severe. So I know that just being with my family lessens the stress, etc and helps. So somehow I have to figure out how to change my lifestyle as well as regulate my diet.I have tried the BRAT diet, but my problem is my weight. I have lost weight since this last bout with D, and I weigh only 42 kg...which I think is around 90 lb. I have normally weighed around 98 or 100 lb all my life. High metabolism I've been told.


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

A lot of people tolerate Ensure (not sure if that brand is where you are) anyway it is a nutritional drink that is high in calories and has all the nutrition you need. They often tell people who can't eat well because of treatment or illnesses to drink those to make up for any food they are lacking. Some people with Ulcerative Colitis will go on an all Ensure diet if they need to give the ulcers in the colon a rest to heal up.I had a friend who was also high metabolism and she got up to about 125 pounds by adding 4 Ensure a day to her regular meals. One can with each meal and a fourth at bed time.K.


----------



## 13478 (May 15, 2006)

i think it's pretty safe to say that anything and everything CAN be a trigger for people.for me, it's really hard to tell because i don't always have the same reaction to things.


----------



## 20918 (Sep 19, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by Kathleen M.:A lot of people tolerate Ensure (not sure if that brand is where you are) anyway it is a nutritional drink that is high in calories and has all the nutrition you need. They often tell people who can't eat well because of treatment or illnesses to drink those to make up for any food they are lacking. Some people with Ulcerative Colitis will go on an all Ensure diet if they need to give the ulcers in the colon a rest to heal up.I had a friend who was also high metabolism and she got up to about 125 pounds by adding 4 Ensure a day to her regular meals. One can with each meal and a fourth at bed time.K.


Thanks Kathleen..I had totally forgotten about drinks like Ensure. This morning, I went searching for something equivalent here and found Regain? So, I bought a few packages and just had a 'milkshake' with a sandwich for lunch..it will be interesting to see what happens as I am also lactose intolerant! If I can tolerate this one..I will have one at each meal. Hopefully that will help me to gain some weight back.Here's my 'plan of attack' so far since reading some of the posts on this forum:1. Drink one 'milkshake' with each meal.2. Immodium for 2 days.3. Take Calcium supplement daily (carbonate de calcium = 500 mg.) 4. Buy bottled water with the least amount of magnesium.5. Drink 8 glasses of water per day.6. Reduce coffee to 3 half cups per day...after meals only. This will be a hard one to do.


----------

