Soluble fiber foods
Most people are aware of the concept of food containing fiber, but what you might not be so clear is the fact that there are different types of food fiber. On the one hand, you have the kind of food fiber with which most people are familiar, the kind of fiber that you introduce to your diet by eating bran, whole grains and raw vegetables.
However, whilst for the majority of people, this is exactly the kind of fiber that they need (as most people eat far too little) it is the last thing that you need. Insoluble fiber or roughage of this type stimulates your digestive system pretty strongly, which is not good if you suffer from IBS.
What you need is soluble fiber as this form of fiber is still remarkably good for you with the ability to provide all of the vitamins and nutrients you need, but at the same time, it does not naturally irritate or stimulate your gastrointestinal tract.
What you are looking at here is a food group that contains foods such as rice, pasta, noodles, barley, soy, cornmeal, potatoes, yams, carrots, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, chestnuts and avocados. You will probably understand that these are all foods that are most commonly considered to be starchy foods, which is exactly what we are talking about when discussing soluble fiber foods.
Make foods of this type the main cornerstone of your irritable bowel syndrome diet and you have already taken a significant step towards reducing the severity of your symptoms and the regularity of attacks.
These foods are soluble because they have the ability to absorb excess liquids whilst passing through your colon, meaning that whilst they prevent diarrhea, they also gently stretch the muscles of your digestive tract as they pass through (gentle because the fluid makes these materials soft).
Consequently, eating foods of this nature promotes normal digestion. Hence, even if the prevalent symptom of your IBS is constipation, the fact that the fecal matter passing through your gastrointestinal tract is a soft and malleable ‘gel’ (rather than the normal ‘bullets’ or ‘bricks’) means that a diet rich in soluble fiber foods should reduce your problems as well.
The other major plus point of soluble fiber foods is the fact that eating foods of this nature brings regularity to your system, so you do not suffer the stomach cramps and pains that you might otherwise suffer. A diet that is rich in soluble fiber ensures that the consistency of the matter passing through your system always remains reasonably stable. Consequently, the pain that you might previously have become so used to should become a thing of the past relatively quickly.
As a general rule, you should always eat your soluble fiber first at any meal and if you need to snack between meals, try to snack on soluble fiber foods as well.
Insoluble fiber foods are necessary too, but…
In addition to soluble fiber foods, you do of course need to take on board some foods that contain insoluble fiber as well. After all, it would not be a very healthy diet that cut out fruit and vegetables entirely nor would it be a very interesting way of living your life either.
However, the keynote here is moderation. Whenever you are eating foods that are high in insoluble fiber (which are any foodstuffs that are stated to be high or even moderately high in fiber, because that almost always means roughage), you should do so in small portions and take your time when you’re eating.
By eating small and slowly, you do not overload your system with too much of any one particular high-fiber foodstuff or a combination of them that might come back to bite you an hour or two later!
As an example, most vegetables (greens, peas, beans, corn, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower etc) are insoluble fiber rich and you should therefore only eat a small portion of vegetables with a large portion of soluble fiber foodstuffs, rather than the other way round. The same rule applies to fresh fruit such as oranges, grapefruit, cherries, melons and pineapples. Once again, all of these fruits are rich in insoluble fiber, so take it easy.
Incidentally, if you do want to eat fruit, apples, peaches, apricots and pears are all far safer if you eat them after removing the skin, because with these fruits, most of the fiber is in the peel.
The ‘go there at your peril’ or triggers list…
The third list of foods are those that you really should avoid because these are all trigger foods that cause most people who suffer IBS problems to a greater or lesser extent.
In this category, you would include red meat, dairy products (even low-fat yoghurt is likely to irritate your stomach), egg yolks, French fries, onion rings, croissants, pastries, biscuits and so on. In effect, anything that is high in unsaturated fats should be a no-no or at least make sure that you eat high-fat foodstuffs only very, very occasionally and that if you do so, you are prepared for some kind of adverse reaction.
Avoid coffee (caffeine causes your stomach to contract, but even decaffeinated coffee should be avoided), alcohol, carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners as well.
All of these contain chemicals or enzymes that are well-known stomach irritants, the kind of substances that are likely to cause anyone who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome a very unpleasant reaction.
Monosodium glutamate is also likely to cause irritation or stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract for almost any IBS sufferer, so be wary of eating fast food or processed foods that might contain MSG.
Final dietary thoughts…
It’s a fact that no one wants to spend the rest of their life eating nothing but rice and pasta. It is also true that you have to include other foods in your diet in order to ensure that you take on board the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients that you need to maintain general good health and to have enough energy to enjoy your life.
Nevertheless, beyond soluble fiber foods, you have to learn to eat in moderation. You should also keep an eye on what you are eating on a daily basis (perhaps keeping a food diary might help) so that you can keep a record of any foodstuffs which have caused an adverse reaction.
In this way, you can reduce the amount of that particular food that you eat next time (you may simply have overindulged) or remove it from your future eating plans entirely.
One final tip is to start reading the labels of every food that you buy at your local supermarket or store because many of these foods will contain additives and preservatives, whilst some might contain vegetable or meat matter that the manufacture conveniently forgot to mention on the front of the can!
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