Food intolerances

edit from 07/05/2013: Instead of doing a series of articles, I have decided to make a big one.

In this article, I intend to describe the most common food intolerances that IBS patients suffer from. Which food to avoid, useful tricks, what to eat instead...

IBS: No out-of-the-box diet will work for you! (but you can tweak them)

I've written quite a lot about diets on this blog, since they are by far the most efficient way to manage IBS symptoms. In old articles, and on other blogs, you can get information about several of them. But the truth is, to get rid of your symptoms, you will probably need to adapt every one of them. Here are some guidelines to help you with this task.

Low carb diet for IBS: One year!

Happy new year, every one! It has now been a year since I started the low carb diet. To start off this year gently, I wanted to make a very small post on the progress I've seen, my joys and disappointments with it.

Healing while eating: foods that can help with IBS

So far on this blog, I've talked about supplements, diet, hypnotherapy... But if any of this seems complicated to you, I still have something up my sleeve: some foods that are very easy to find seem to help IBS symptoms a lot. I can't guarantee that this will cure you, but there's nothing easier. Thanks to Qing who gave me the idea of writing this post!

Starting all over again: The SCD intro diet

It's been a while. In the last months, I grew accustomed to the low-carb diet, and started being negligent: testing more and more trigger foods, not counting carbs... Eventually, I found out that some of my symptoms were back.

IBS diets: the dreaded 3-month flare

I already mentioned in a previous article that, although my low-carb diet works wonders, I had quite a bad time at the beginning of June. Fortunately it only lasted a few days. Unfortunately, I had the most unpleasant surprise to see symptoms come back at the beginning of September. What is happening here? Well, it seems to be a well-known issue with diets that lower carb consumption: Every three-months, the symptoms tend to come back.

Low-carb diet and muscle: what you should know

I have been advocating for the low-carb diet on this blog for quite a while now, and I feel like it's time to play the devil's advocate a bit. I still think that you MUST try this diet if you suffer from IBS, because it IS a life-changer, but I recently found out that too much low-carb can become problematic. Here is what you should know, and why you should avoid limiting carb intake too much.

Learning to live again: 6 months into the low-carb diet

It's hard for me to believe that I have been able to maintain such a restrictive diet for quite some time now. I had a lot of ups, and a few downs. But thanks to it, I am now faced with a new challenge: forget in the first place that I had IBS.

Origin of IBS: The bacteria theory

Although there is no general agreement in the scientific community regarding what causes IBS, it is interesting to notice that a theory comes back very often. You can find it in old books, some very recent discoveries support it, but until now there hasn't been any definitive proof of it. Still, to my mind this is the most probable origin of IBS. A review of what we know about bacteria infections possibly causing IBS,  and why a cure already exists if this theory holds.

Low carb diet for IBS: A list of foods

The low-carb diet still works incredibly well for me. I am getting used to living without IBS symptoms. As I stated before, you must try it out!

In order to help you starting out, here are a few lists of foods that are low/high carb.

Am I cured of IBS? 2 months into the low carb diet

It has now been two months since I started the low-carbohydrate diet, after having read about an austrian doctor who cured Crohn's sufferers with it (check his book, it's a great read: life without bread).
I feel it is now time for a first review. I don't want to make you wait, so here goes: it has changed my condition in an incredible way. In fact, I am beginning to think that I can get cured within a few months. If you want detailed results, and advice how YOU can start the diet and get better, this article is for you.

A quick update

Right now I am in the middle of the low-carb diet, and I don't feel ready to write a whole article about it yet. But just to let you know, results are extremely encouraging, you may want to give it a go.

So as I had nothing new to tell, I decided to create a page for newcomers: the idea is to list the most efficient ways I know of to deal with irritable bowel syndrome, without having to read the whole blog.
You can find it in the tab "new here?" above, or you can click here.

One more thing, I'd like to thank everyone who takes the time to write a comment. This is what makes blogs so interesting, the interaction! So don't hesitate to leave a message!

The IBS diets (4): the low carbohydrate diet

edit 15.02.2012: Be sure to read about the results I got with the low carb diet! click here.

I thought I was done with the diet series, but the truth is, I can't spend a single week without stumbling upon a very interesting one. The one I got you today is a pure gem: written by recognized doctors, and not that hard to follow. Something else? Oh yes, they show proof that they can cure Crohn's disease thanks to it.If it works for Crohn's,. I say it's worth a try for IBS.

origin of IBS: Is it all in your head?

Not so long ago, the only answer you got from a doctor about your IBS symptoms would be "It's in your head, it's stress. Try to relax.". Thanks doc, very easy to do. In the last few years, lots of possible origins of IBS have been discovered (see my article on the origins of IBS ). But recently, some studies suggest that irritable bowel syndrome may indeed be triggered by your own brain. A review of these discoveries, and what we can do to get better.

The IBS diets (3): Choosing the diet that suits you, and my results using the Fodmaps diet

Edit: be sure to read the other parts of the series, about the low FODMAPs diet, the specific carbohydrate diet, the low-carb diet, and the results I got with it!
I updated this article and added the low carb diet.

So, we know about the three most famous diets for IBS: the low-fodmap diet, the specific carbohydrate diet and the low-carb diet Now come the big questions: Which one should I choose? Is it feasible to stick to such a diet for a long time? What results can I expect? Are there other alternatives?

Let's delve into each one of them.

The IBS diets (2) The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

Edit: be sure to read the other parts of the series, about the low FODMAPs diet, the low-carb diet, and the results of my low-carb diet!

Every one of us suffering from IBS knows this: We have so called "trigger foods", that makes us run to the bathroom within minutes. And of course, we have all banished these foods from our diet. But there is more to diet than just suppressing a few ingredients. In fact, some diets are known to give a tremendous relief to a lot of IBS sufferers.
On my last post, I presented the Fodmap diet for IBS. Here is the other renowned diet for IBS, the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet).

The IBS diets(1): the low FODMAP diet

Edit: be sure to read the other parts of the series, about the specific carbohydrate diet and my results using the FODMAPs diet!

Every one of us suffering from IBS knows this: We have so called "trigger foods", that makes us run to the bathroom within minutes. And of course, we have all banished these foods from our diet. But there is more to diet than just suppressing a few ingredients. In fact, some diets are known to give a tremendous relief to a lot of IBS sufferers.
In this article, I will present the recent, very popular, low FODMAP diet.

L-Glutamine: The ultimate remedy for IBS-D?

Update 05 sept. 2011: I added some advice on using L-Glutamine at the end of this article.

First of all, my apologies for the lack of updates these last few months. I am still dedicated to finding efficient treatments for IBS, and well, I need to test and approve them before posting anything here.

Now to the good news. Fellow irritable bowel syndrome(diarrhea variant) sufferers, there is one drug you MUST try out. If you check out some websites, lots of users have had tremendous relief thanks to it: L-Glutamine.

The IBS audio program: a review

It's been a while. On my last entry I wrote about my intention to use hypnotherapy against IBS. After a few months trying it out, I can now make a review about what seems to be the best product for us on the market: The IBS audio program.

My next tries to get rid of IBS (1): Hypnotherapy

Update: Be sure to read my IBS audio program 100 review.

I recently heard about other, original ways to help with IBS symptoms. Having discovered the power of hypnotherapy, and having seen that it is often cited as an IBS treatment, I will give it a go in the months to come. But because so many misconceptions exist about it, I decided to devote a whole article on the subject.