IBS is a nasty illness. It seems to come and go as it pleases without warning, and when it does come it can leave you effectively disabled and in serious discomfort for days! The worst part of it all is that there are so many possible causes for it, you don’t know what to avoid, and how to treat it properly.

I have been asked a number of times now how is best to treat IBS through diet and nutrition, and so have done much research and reading on the topic, and thought it was worth sharing.

Diet changes

• Avoid caffinated drinks, this includes coke, tea, green tea, coffee etc – caffeine is a common IBS irritant.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners, these are also know to irritate IBS
• Avoid sources of insoluble fibre such as wholegran breads, wholegrain rice etc. This can irritate the bowel.
• If you are feeling bloaty try eating some oats, which contain soluble fibre, which is thought to help with IBS.
• Avoid all fatty/ fried foods. No Sunday morning fry ups.
• Limit your intake of fleshly/ soft fruit such as bananas.
• Avoid alcohol (sorry guys)
• Drink plenty of water (plain water though, don’t add anything to it)
• Favour small meals often over large meals infrequently

They are just common dietary causes, and are pretty easy to eliminate, but you will still need to identify the source. To do this make a diary. Record everything you eat and when you eat it. You will also need tor record how you feel, as stress and anxiety are also big causes for IBS (which can be harder to treat). Finally, you need to record how your IBS is on each day.

The idea of this, is that over a long period of time you should be able to see triggers for IBS weather they are dietary or environmental. Once you identify the trigger, then you need to take steps to eliminate it from your life (with the exception of if you kids are causing you stress).

I hope this bit of info will be helpful to someone.

Courtesy of stuartpilbrow