What should we be eating?

natxx05

Hi, I was diagnosed with IBS/C last year and after about 4 months i thought i had the answers of what i could and couldn't eat and i was feeling good again, normal! Then i started having reactions from egg, yoghurt, wholemeal bread and other foods i've always been able to eat and now i'm lost again! I'm bloated on a daily basis, always uncomfortable and tired ! I'm frustrated mostly because most of the foods i have been told to eat on the FODMAP diet are the ones that i personally need to avoid! I don't have as much of an issue with bowel movements now but the bloating is horrible and i just want to feel normal again Does anyone have any advice for me?

Kymmu

egg, dairy and gluten are fairly high trigger foods.
I'm fructose malabsorbant, so a lot of fruit and some veggies are too high.
I've given up most fruit, can have some blueberries. I eat a lot of vegetables.
I am also fructan intolerant so onion garlic and mushrooms can be a problem, I still eat ginger chili and other herbs and seasoning. Eggplant is a good mushrooms sub as is zuchinni.
I have problems with GOS so unless they are tinned lentils I have to be very moderate with beans peas and legumes.
I was already an ethical vegan. That hasn't changed.
If you want to look at my diary feel free to add me!

teachfl2

This has been an ongoing struggle for myself, as well as many here. The whole "what do I eat" problem can get to be so overwhelming at times and really cause major self-esteem issues due to the bloating effects. I've found that over the years my list of things I can and cannot eat changes often. I use to not be able to eat many fruits and vegtables, but now I can tolerate them more. At one point I thought I would be stuck with chicken and lettuce for the rest of my life. Sometimes you just have to remove some foods for a while and then reintroduce them to see how your body reacts. I found that keeping a food journal of how I felt after eating certain foods really helped too- the ones I did okay on became my go-to foods (chicken, rice, blueberries, bananas etc). Also, have you tried a probiotic? That may help with the bloating.

mountainrun73

I have en so confused about this, too! I have been trying to figure out which foods trigger bad episodes, but it seems that anything can make my belly swell and the pain to start. No rhyme or reason. I do know that drinking green smoothies or fresh-made veggie juices helps, because they are easy on my stomach. I've heard that gluten-free helps, I've heard that eliminating all grains, I have heard people have success with vegan, paleo, argh! I guess it's very individualized.

Flynnskie

I've struggled with Ulcerative Colitis for almost 15 years now and it wasn't til about a few years ago that I realized certain foods were my biggest enemy.
The foods that bother me the most are dairy, greasy/oily foods, citrus, carbonated drinks, alcohol and lately I've notice a big difference in the way I feel after cutting out gluten.
Everyone is different so the best way to figure out your trigger foods is to keep a food log.

PS I can usually avoid stomach problems with regular exercise and drinking plenty of water throughout the day

EllieB_5

Do some research into FODMAPS. Eat the non-triggers for a couple of weeks and see if your symptoms go away, if not then eliminate one non-trigger at a time until you find the culprit(s) (when they say 'non-triggers' they really mean the foods least likely to trigger IBS). Once you got the non-triggers down, add one trigger food at a time, waiting a couple weeks at least in between each add, and see if it triggers you. Carry on from there. Also be cognizant of the fact that while one trigger food may not trigger you, multiple trigger foods eaten may. So when experimenting, even if a trigger food doesn't trigger you, remove that food from your diet when you experiment with the next one. It takes awhile but you'll be better for it.

For me, starches (especially wheat) is a huge trigger but coffee and carbonation are not.