| It will take some trial and error to find out what foods irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by. Learning what your safe foods are will go a long way to calming the effects food has on your system and, therefore, help to control your symptoms.
Because everyone is different, your doctor may have a difficult time making any dietary recommendations for you to follow as it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly which food or foods are responsible for your irritable bowel syndrome. The smart thing may be to try eliminating whole categories of foods from your diet and then reintroduce them one by one so you get a clearer picture of what is causing your symptoms and then you can assist in any dietary discussions with your doctor to make some informed dietary decisions.
For instance, stop eating dairy foods for a week or so then the next week have some yogurt. If that goes ok for you then try milk or cheese. Keep doing this until you find out what, if anything, triggers a flare-up. Lactose intolerance is a big reason why some people have irritable bowel syndrome.
Next, give up anything you eat made with wheat, or has gluten, this includes apples. You may just have a gluten allergy. If your symptoms get better you can suggest to your doctor that maybe some allergy testing is in order to find out if a gluten allergy is the culprit.
If you have been suffering from this for some time you already have an idea of what foods irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by and now it is time to narrow it down because life is better when you can spend it with friends and family and not all alone dealing with excruciating pain and explosive diarrhea or any of the other symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome.
Learning more about how different foods affect your system, avoiding the trigger foods like those that are high in fat, and choosing foods that can calm your digestive tract will make your diagnosis easier to deal with and your life a lot better.
Some examples of things that act as calming agents are peppermint, fennel, and chamomile. Regular tea also calms your digestive tract and helps reduce the frequency of diarrhea.
Changing the way you eat and eliminating some of the foods you really like may not be the easiest thing you have ever done but anything that alleviates the worst of your symptoms will be worth it in the end (no pun intended).
Does this mean you can never eat out again? No, it doesn't. I will encourage you to learn as much as you can about your triggers before going out to your favorite restaurant again though, become your own best advocate and stop being your own worst enemy. By becoming informed and learning to make better choices you will realize that all you are really giving up is the anxiety related to foods irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by. How nice is that? |