Balancing ibs and eating clean and healthy

ydyms
ydyms Posts: 266 Member
edited November 30 in Food and Nutrition
Here's where I am having a hard time. Say I decide to make a healthy choice and have steamed vegetables as a side for dinner. I follow the low fodmap diet and choose low FM veggies. But I still end up distended and uncomfortable. (I have ibs-c)
How can I find a fine line between the two? And to eat small portions of veggies won't fill me up :(
Thanks!

Replies

  • tiny_clanger
    tiny_clanger Posts: 301 Member
    Have you tried keeping a food/symptoms diary for a reasonable period of time (about 6 weeks is good for seeing patterns)? FODMAP isn't for everyone, some people's IBS is triggered by other foodstuffs. Also, you say it was a side - what was your main?
    My IBS is triggered by saturated fats, dairy, excessive amounts of gluten, raw kale and spring onions, among other things. I only found this out through the food diary. You can use MFP for this as well, if you're logging food, you can log symptoms using the notes field as well.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    I'd second this advice - with IBS, you really need to discover what triggers YOU. A standard diet to control IBS has, in my experience, rarely been all that was required. Sometimes, foods on the bad list were perfectly fine. Sometimes, foods on the good list were quite bad.

    Although if it helps to take a look, folks I know with C problems seemed to more frequently have it get worse when eating either dairy, soy, or (and this one was tough) grains of any kind. Not everyone, but it seems to be more common in those with IBS-C that I've met.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    ydyms wrote: »
    Here's where I am having a hard time. Say I decide to make a healthy choice and have steamed vegetables as a side for dinner. I follow the low fodmap diet and choose low FM veggies. But I still end up distended and uncomfortable. (I have ibs-c)
    How can I find a fine line between the two? And to eat small portions of veggies won't fill me up :(
    Thanks!

    @ydyms it took six months to full work in my case but just getting off most forms of sugar and all forms of grains fully resolved my 40 years of daily dealing with life defining IBS. Plus there are many other benefits with Zero negative side effects in my case.
  • tiny_clanger
    tiny_clanger Posts: 301 Member
    I would also highly recommend Manuka honey. My nurse, who was supporting me with exclusion diets, etc, recommended a neat teaspoonful each morning, before any other food. After 6 months, my symptoms (IBS-D) which had got to the point I was worried about leaving the house, were almost completely resolved. I still get cramps and the odd flare-up, usually related to the foods listed in my post above, but my life has completely changed.
  • Pinkylee77
    Pinkylee77 Posts: 432 Member
    for the most part for I can not eat most fruits and veggies that are raw. Strawberries and Watermelon are the worst offenders the end results are not pretty. I have found what triggers me and avoid it but I can eat most vegetables that are well cooked. I also added fermented foods into my diet while they are raw they seem to help my IBS-D
  • gettingittogether15
    gettingittogether15 Posts: 49 Member
    Oh gosh, I feel for you - I used to have to avoid veggies all together - but now I can handle a few of them a lot better in small amounts. Sugar and gluten are huge though, if you can reduce those two things alone that helps. I also take a good multivitamin.
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