Are there really any good IBS diet plans out there?  The simple answer is yes.  The reality is yes . . . but . . . it’s going to take some effort on your part to find the right one.  Do you suffer from the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?  Do those symptoms make it such that you can’t live your everyday life without planning around IBS?  If so, then research shows that good IBS diet plans is the key to returning to a symptom reduced, or even symptom free lifestyle.

IBS Diet Plans: Journaling

If you suffer from IBS symptoms and need relief, it’s time to look into your diet.   Doctors recommend that you keep a journal of at least two weeks of eating before you decide which diet you should go with.  Make note of any foods that cause you persistent:

• Abdominal Pain or Cramping
• Extreme Swings in Bowel Habits (alternating between constipation and diarrhea; labeled IBS-A)
  

  Is this you? You can get relief!
• Persistent Constipation (labeled IBS-C)
• Persistent Diarrhea (labeled IBS-D)
• Unexplained Sudden Weight or Hair Loss
• High Stress (especially at meal and bathroom times)

If you notice a pattern between your eating and IBS symptom flare ups, record that in your daily important notes and discuss it with your doctor or dietician.

Eating patterns that can be addressed with your IBS diet plans.

Time You Eat

• make note of when you eat
• make note if eating at that time effects your bowel movement

How Often You Eat

• Eat meals at your regular time and record how you feel
• Change the times you eat; experiment until you notice an improvement, or there is no appreciable change
• Pay close attention to how many meals you eat, varying the amount from 3-6 times a day

What You Eat

• This is obviously the most important aspect
• Pay careful attention to caffeine intake
• Pay careful attention to carbohydrate and sugar intake
• Record any noticeable changes in bowel habits

If you take good enough notes, and an IBS diet plan can make a difference in your symptoms, helpful pattern changes will emerge.  Through these patterns, and with the help of your physician, you can start to determine the diet that will relieve your IBS symptoms the best.  If you will watch the video below, the girl rambles on at times, but does have an excellent method for food journaling.

IBS Diet Plans: FODMAP

What is the IBS diet plans known as FODMAP?  It stands for:

• Fermentable
• Oligosaccharides
• Disaccharides
• Monosaccharides
• Polyols

These are the scientific names of food substances you need to avoid on your diet.  It is an exhaustive list and to name them all here would take too much time and space.  These are basically certain types, of sugars and carbohydrates.  Many are found in fruits and vegetables.  You will also need to stay away from:

• Dairy (until you find out if you are lactose intolerant)
• Caffeine
• Alcohol

As you watch the video below, remember all these substances are to be avoided or seriously curtailed.   It is important to talk to a physician and/or a registered dietician before starting any IBS diet plans.

IBS Diet Plans: Probiotics

An important aspect of most IBS diet plans will probably need to include a Probiotic Supplement.  Simply put a probiotic is:

• “Good bacteria”
• a dietary supplement containing live bacteria that replace or add to the beneficial bacteria normally present in the gastrointestinal tract
• It coats the lining of your gastrointestinal tract and inhibits the growth of “bad bacteria” that aid in causing your Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms.

The inside of your body is literally covered in bacteria, as a matter of fact, you need it to be covered with bacteria.  There are good and bad germs, and your health depends on having enough of the good kind.

Good IBS diet plans can keep you out of here.

Without it, your body loses it homeostasis (balance), and you feel the effects.  Probiotics are supplements that attempt to tip the balance back in your favor, and can be an important part of your IBS diet plans.  As always consult a physician before taking any medication or supplement.

IBS Diet Plans: It’s An “Individual” Thing

An IBS diet plans can go a long way towards restoring some normalcy to the life of a person suffering the enervating effects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  But to regain control of your life will take some work.  Look at all possible treatments and study your own eating habits.  Find the foods that help relieve your symptoms and then enact your own personal IBS diet plans.

 What are Probiotics?

a. Professional robots
b. Doctors who prescribe dietary relief of IBS
c. Bad bacteria
d. Good bacteria

What is the number one way to relieve IBS symptoms?

a. Alcohol
b. IBS diet plan
c. Talking about it with someone
d. Clicking your shoes together 3 times and saying, “There’s no place like my colon.”

True or False:  The most important thing to do BEFORE you start any new medication, diet, or supplement is consult a physician and registered dietician.

a. True
b. False

Answers at the bottom of the page!

In this excellent recipe book, specifically designed for IBS treatment, Heather Van Vorous has compiled 175 recipes for an IBS diet.  Vorous subscribes to the idea that the days of old are gone for the IBSers.  Gone are the boring, only eat at home, high fiber diets, and here are the exciting alternative recipes that allow for food enjoyment again.

Thoughts

People with IBS suffer enough discomfort already, let alone having to eat food that has no taste or spice.  This recipe book can add some vitality to the dietary life of the person seeking IBS treatment.  With this inventive and original recipe book by Vorous, you can enjoy home cooked meals, deserts, and party foods.  With the author’s help, the IBSer can get back a previously absent part of their life!

TuZen Probiotic- The Natural Solution for IBS

TuZen is a lactobacilli bacterium that lines the walls of the stomach and intestines, and prevents harmful bacteria from irritating the gastrointestinal system.  This greatly reduces the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).  TuZen is an extensively studied probiotic supplement, and has been found beneficial to IBS sufferers.

Thoughts

Sufferers of IBS often experience life altering affects from the illness.  The pain and discomfort are only compounded by the constant stress of this disease.  Not knowing when or where it might strike can be limiting in your lifestyle.  Any product that helps reduce, eliminate, or control the dire symptoms of IBS should be a welcome addition to your arsenal of IBS defenses.

This handy and useful eBook is chalk full of information about Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  It covers a wide range of topics, and provides hints on how to deal with some of the stickier issues relating to IBS.  It covers many of the possible causes and what might be contributing to your symptoms.  It also gives many hints at how to better manage your symptoms.

Thoughts

No one said IBS was going to be an easy fix; it isn’t.  There are however things you can do to help yourself, and what Alison Wyndham has done is collect a multitude of those helpful hints and remedies in one place.  With practical and handy guides on diet, medications, and staying mentally tough, this eBook “hits the spot” when it comes to dealing with IBS.

Answers: 1) d, 2) b, 3) a

In This Series:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment is Possible! Irritable Bowel Syndrome Foods to Avoid with IBS Is There a Good Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diet? What is the Treatment for IBS?