hi, ive just been diagnosed with ibs and am wondering if there are certain foods to avoid ie fruit and veg with skins, wheat etc i usually have gluten free cornflakes with soya yoghurt and some tinned spaghetti with green and another yoghurt, snacking on softmints and oranges, this is quite helpfl, as the pasta and cornflakes are quite refined, but i assume my diet is lacking in quite a lot of nutrients, can anyone give me some info on how to improve my diet, also does anyone use any medicnes to ease there ibs, i have heard of apple cider vinegar being used, and thats about it
thanks

I know someone with IBS and I know that she avoids all the obvious stuff like sprouts, beans etc. Think she has some tablets from her GP to take 20 minutes before eating.

Try googling IBS - there'll be so many sites dedicated to it. Good luck Arran.
Simone.

Onions! My mother - in- law has IBS, and she avois onions like the plague, as well as pulses such as lentils, chickpeas etc.

Yeast products reek havoc on my bowels - bread and wine in particular!

onions are very triggering, i think potatoes and cornflakes are the most safe foods but fruit, can be really bad

That must be hard, when we're encouraged to eat lots of fruit and veg. I've also heard that oil of peppermint is very effective. Peppermint tea is good for digestion too.

Hi Arran,

I too have IBS, but have managed to get it under control. A lot depends on the nature of your IBS (ie do you suffer more with cramping and the runs, or bloating and constipation?)

For the cramping and the runs, I use Mebeverine Hydrochloride tablets. These are available on prescription from your doctor. Take them about 20 mins before eating and they should ease a lot of the symptoms. Be aware that these can result in constipation, so you may need to adjust frequency of doses, etc.

For constipation, I really recommend Fibogel fibre supplements! Start off with maybe one sachet a day, and gradually increase the dose (up to 3 or so a day) until you become more regular. They take a bit of getting used to, as it is like drinking part-set jelly, but they are really good. Make sure you drink LOTS of water!

In terms of diet, I also find that onions do truly terrible things to my stomach if I eat too many, as does any food that is high in fat.
A lot of people tell you to eat high amounts of fibre, but you need to be very careful of the type of fibre you take in. Souble fibre (ie soft, bulk forming foods) are great, but insoluble fibre should be minimized. My advice here is to avoid eating raw veg (with skins) as much as possible, so either peel everything, or cook for long enough to soften up the skins.

I tend to have things like porridge for breakfast, soups or baked potatoes for lunch and good quality, lean meat or fish with veg for dinner. I also avoid coffee as much as possible as it irritates the gut, and drink lots of peppermint tea and water. My mum takes pro-biotics and finds that they help too.

I recommend keeping a food diary, as everybody's IBS can be set off by different things (my mother's is set off by a baffling array of foods!), and this will be the best way to pinpoint what foods should be avoided.

Another key factor is stress! It is a guarantee that come exam time (I am at uni) my IBS will flare up in a big way, so take time to relax as much as possible. Exercise is also a good idea, and I have read a lot of claims that yoga helps IBS a lot as many of the positions massage the internal organs (not to mention the relaxing properties).

Finally, you might want to consider seeing an acupuncturist. I saw one for a while and found a big improvement in my symptoms.

Sorry for the huge amount of text here, but I know how frustrating IBS can be so I thought that I would pass on all that I know! If you have any questions then feel free to message me and ill do my best to help

Danielle - there's a whole topic devoted to porridge somewhere - would love to hear how you make porridge and what you put in/on it! I'll try and find it and bring it to the top of the list.

thankyou for all your help, ive just bought some peppermint tablets, which i take twice a day after a main meal, but have found they make no difference to stomach aches, bloating etc, i seem to have developed an intollerance to high fibre foods which is contrast to years of a vegan diet of beans,pulses etc . does anyone find that confections set of the em, "runs" for me that seems to be the case and suprisingly fruit does the same, however after recently discovering an array of low fibre pot snacks such as mash potato and soups, things seem to have calmed down on that front, however i feel despite oping for conveince foods it is important to have preference for the more healthy options and to add tolerable vegetables to the meal. cornflakes with yoghurt seem to be my only breakfast option at the moment, as much as i loved porrige, it seems foods that "keep you fuller for longer" are terrible ! baked potatoes are a godsend though, and to fiona c, when i can eat it, i have porrige made with water topped with salt...well i am a scot

I should have known it with a name like that!

yep, scotland in miniature so they say

As mentioned by a previous posted, a lot depends on the nature of your IBS. For example I have horrendous cramping and a very explosive gut if I eat / drink the following: caffiene, fizzy drinks, full fat milk (though skimmed is ok), garlic, alcohol (particularly white wine), excessive amounts of sugar. I use anti-spasmodic tablets when things get particularly bad, but I've also noticed a correlation with stress and the severity of my symptons. The more stressed, the more I go...! This can cause horrendous problems on public transport, and before I travel to work (just after 7am) I can't eat anything because it triggers my gut. So I have to have breakfast on arrival at work, which goes against any nutritional advice about healthy eating you ever see!

Apples are particularly good at calming my stomach for some reason (peppermint just aggravates it), and I've also noticed that home made fruit smoothies with pro biotic, fat free yoghurt helps and is relatively healthy, though you may want to watch the citrus fruits and stick to berries. I tend to eat a lot of fish plainly cooked (e.g. salmon baked in lemon and black pepper) with potatoes and veg.

Good luck with controlling your symptons.

IBS sufferers, Times nutrition expert Amanda Ursell is on hand to help: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/he alth/article5251610.ece

It is also in the Library.

My IBS symptoms are 50% better since giving up the following:

Dairy products
Eggs
Wheat
Spicy food
Caffeine
Lager/white wine
High fat food

I have cut down on sugar, yeast and red meat and know I would feel better if I could give these up completely.

Have tried Lactase ensymes (when eating dairy) and Culpermin (peppermint oil tablets) but to be honest think that changing your diet is more effective than any medication but each to their own

Good luck Arran

Don't forget to ask your GP to run the blood tests that check for Coeliac disease - there are many undiagnosed coeliacs 'out there' in the world marked down as IBS sufferers. Lots of diagnosed coeliacs report that they suffered for many years before the problem was identified for them. If you think you may have coeliac disease it is ESSENTIAL not to make dietary changes before receiving your final and full diagnosis from a hospital, or you may mask the very things the hospital are testing for.