IBS - Stomach friendly recipes

for my husband it's wheat, dairy and gluten that set him off. He's not celiac just bad IBS.

I agree with Elle, note what you eat and check back if you have symptoms.
I used to have lots of trouble with my stomach too, when I reduce my lactose and wheat intake Im fine though. the same goes with fatty foods (i.e. pizza)
good luck!

I find it's bacon in a cooked breakfast that does'nt agree with me...probably a very good reason to avoid this in the morning ! But sometimes when I smell my wifes bacon and eggs cooking I give in and merrily join in only to suffer later, so I generally avoid it. I've found a serve of Greek yogurt settles my stomach down if I do indulge...

There are so many conflicting theories about what is good or bad for IBS that the best starting place is tracking your own food intake and symptoms in a food diary. It is a bit of effort and rather than just tracking on here I tend to keep a paper diary with times of symptoms as well as times of food. That way you can start to see patterns and make small changes one at a time to see if it works.

Personally there are a number of things that I now consiciously avoid - all beans and pulses (lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, beans in chilli even black bean sauce), bread, processed food as much as possible, green peppers, milk except in small amounts in tea. I'm sure the list is longer but I focus on what I can eat whcih for me means oats and berries for breakfast with natural/greek yoghurt. Emphasis on the protein part of meals so small servings of pasta/rice/noodles and much more vegatables/meat/fish. Some things I thought were a problem have turned out not to be like eggs, chcocolate, caffeine and spices but high fat foods (particularly if you combine it with wheat to make pastries or high levels of spice in curries) and alcohol are off limits.

When I first started having problems I lived off rice crispies and bananas for a while, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that but it did help and once my stomach had settled I added things back in gradually. Good luck!

Thanks - someone also suggested peppermint tea, fish oil capsules and a few other dietary supplements. I don't have any probiotics in my diet (don't eat a lot of cheese) so maybe that might help. I have been reading a few research articles lately.

Urgh it's just difficult - I'll have to keep a proper food diary and as people say find out which things work/don't work. I've a feeling wheat is the main culprit but given my reaction this weekend to pizza (first time eating cheese in months and months) that might be to blame

One IBS book I read advised an exclsuion diet cutting out foods and then challenging your body by eating them again. Problem is that in the pizza off the top of my head you could have been triggered by presence of wheat, the quantity of wheat, yeast, the rising process used, lactose, high fat, large quantity of food or preservatives used. I'd go with your gut (bad pun intended) reaction as to what it is but don't rule out other possibilities as IBS so far seems to be as varied as the people that suffer from it. If you do want to try out foods that you think may trigger symptoms it is better to test out just that food in isoltation along with other safe foods or you may end up avoiding things unnecessarily.

Ah yes, I remember the years of IBS. Anything with lots of sugar or with cooked tomatoes upsets my stomach. Ginger is my friend. I put it in most of what I cook now, especially anything with tomatoes. It adds a little kick to the dish. More importantly, ginger is a great aid for almost any stomach ailment. It's good for indigestion, nausea, and those other unmentionable issues. I start this well over a decade ago and my IBS has been virtually non-existent. You can also get the candied variety and eat it separately, thought it tends to be hotter that way. Ginger tea is another option-I recommend the Yogi Ginger Aid variety as it's the only one that's truly medicinal level-but that too is very strong. Truly, putting it in your food is easier and tastier. Just grate the raw root into your food near the end of cooking and voila, it's done. You can store a ginger root in the freezer in a zipper bag (peeled) and just bring it out long enough to grate.

Another option for dishes that don't do well with the taste of ginger, you can use peppermint. Another great herb for stomach ailments, its goes a long way, though doesn't help with heartburn so much like ginger. It's tastier in teas and some folks prefer it in sweet dishes. It can be a great addition to some sauces (lamb and mint jelly anyone?), especially for pork or poultry. (Yes, this is why your Pepto tastes minty.) Just make sure it's peppermint and not another mint like spearmint. Again, you can choose teas if you prefer. If you want to chew it separately I recommend altoids as they use real peppermint. Cooking with it can be equally fun with peppermint.

Bonus-both are great for headaches, too.

My IBS isn't set off by these things all the time so it's really a case of listening to my body and see what it's telling me but mainly it's dairy and spicy food that can trigger an attack. Also I can't eat eggs any more or mushrooms :grumble:

I agree with Elle, note what you eat and check back if you have symptoms.
I used to have lots of trouble with my stomach too, when I reduce my lactose and wheat intake Im fine though. the same goes with fatty foods (i.e. pizza)
good luck!

This. I'm with you - I've been feeling AWFUL lately and have been trying to figure out why. I've been feeling marginally better, but it's from reducing my veggies. I hate to do it, but I hate feeling like my gut will rip open from bloating more.

Not necessarily IBS per se, but two of our daughters struggle with GI issues. We had one tested (the other will be tested shortly) and have found a laundry list of food sensitivities. Not celiac's, just sensitivities. The list includes: wheat/gluten, all citrus (namely, anything with citric acid), all dairy, all corn products, soy, apples/pears, apricots, grapes, and a few other things.

Our goal is to eliminate everything irritating, then over time, give our tummies the chance to heal. Then VERY slowly, re-introduce. We've been doing this process, with varying results, for months now.

It's not easy, especially for kids. But the payoff is worth the fight. Yes, they miss their cheeseburgers. But as one daughter put it so eloquently, when I asked if she'd rather have a cheeseburger if it meant hurting at bedtime, "Dad, I don't want to hurt anymore."

We don't know if the time will ever come when the kids will have all the currently banned foods back on their diets. But if staying irritant free is what keeps us all happy and healthy, then there's really no decision to be made.

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OH! And what made all the difference for us was going to a holistic doctor who actually looked at their diets, and tested for irritations. We'd taken the kids to various doctors and specialists for years, with terrible results. I lost track of the doctors that told us, "Hang in there, take this drug to make her feel better, and she'll eventually outgrow this." OH FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!

The holistic doctor got our daughter tested, discovered the root of the GI issues, and has helped us on a path of healing and healthy living.

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A recipe (It is what you asked for, after all...) - Homemade chicken stock

I know this sounds crazy, but homemaking your own chicken stock is one of the most soothing things you can do for your gut. It works wonders in our house.

2 whole chickens, meat removed, bones broken
1-2 pounds chicken necks/backs
1 onion, rough chopped
4-5 stalks celery, rough cut
5-6 carrots, cut into big pieces
Water to cover the bones
*** We use organic meat and veggies. Cuts down on hormones, antibiotics, and other bad things. ***

Place everything in the biggest honkin' pot you can find - we do it in a 2.5G stock pot. Slowly bring to a boil. Make sure not to let this boil over, as it'll start a kitchen fire. Turn down to a very low simmer, and cover. Simmer for 20-24 hours. After an all day simmer, strain everything out. The stock is pretty fatty. We leave the fat in, as it's pretty easily digestible. But you can strain it out if you like. Cool as quickly as you can.

When pretty cool, I ziplock baggie it in 1Q batches, then freeze.

This is unsalted and will taste like it. I don't salt till AFTER I'm done cooking it, usually after I've reduced it to 1Q baggies.

I hope this helps.
TriJoe.

Everyone's triggers are a little different, but my IBS has practically disappeared since I started eating a high protein diet with little to no processed food. The only time I have flares now is when dining out. I used to think my trigger was fat, but my diet is much higher in (healthy) fats than its ever been, so it isn't that simple.

In the early days trying to figure out the girls' issues, we tried all the normally tried diets - (1) gluten free, (2) red meat free, (3) dairy free, (4) peanut/treenut free, and there were a few others. None of them worked. I kept reading and hearing from others that a lot of the time, it's not one thing, it's many things.

In the end, this turned out to be very true for us. Our list of irritants is so large, that we never had a fighting chance while trying things ourselves. In short, if you TRY a set diet (gluten free), and it doesn't work, it doesn't mean you FAILED. It could very easily mean that you gave up the gluten (which was good), but not the dairy, or citrus, or tree nuts, or any other host of irritants. Basically you just didn't go far enough.

We would have never figured this out without our holistic doctor's help.