As a dietitian, I deal with this almost everyday, but also as someone who suffers with IBS, I know exactly how it feels. Definitely unable to go 'out out' after a healthy serving of cauliflower or cabbage, no raw onions in anything unless I'm prepared to tolerate prolonged stomach distension, cow's milk is totally out of the question unless I want to end up on the toilet for the next couple of hours and beans- well a public situation just couldn't be more embarrassing!
Such a confusing condition. Not life-threatening, but extremely inconvenient and just a pain in the ass, sometimes literally! No idea why you get it, the symptoms differ, there's a whole variety of foods you just totally can't eat and so many outfits you just can't wear after overindulging in certain ingredients, especially cruciferous veggies and puddings (for me anyway), which sucks if you have a sweet tooth like me!
But it's not all doom and gloom. At the very least, as a person with IBS, you gain knowledge and with that knowledge, you can open other doors and advise others since so many individuals are silent sufferers.
As a health professional I advise according to a scientific evidence base and guidelines normally set by regulated bodies, such as the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, which is commonly used in the UK. I have attached a link to the IBS guidelines, but just FYI, guidelines are normally population-specific, so they are not always applicable to everyone.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg61/ifp/chapter/Managing-irritable-bowel-syndrome
Basic advice would be to start by identifying what could be the potential cause of your symptoms. Mine are generally food or stress related- yes stress! There appears to be some sort of link between irritable bowel and stressful situations. So how to manage it?
If your IBS is food-linked, but you are unsure which foods are the cause, you can experiment with trial and error. Common foods include milk, brassica veggies, fried foods, fizzy drinks and alcohol (this last one saddens me the most!). However, not everyone with IBS is adversely affected by all of these foods so how do you find out which one is your demon?
You can start by excluding just one specific food from your diet for 4 weeks and document your symptoms. If they have disappeared, bingo, it's likely you found your culprit. If not, then you can introduce that food back into your diet and now switch to another food to exclude for a further 4 weeks and continue to do so in this way. Just remember not to eliminate too many foods all at once otherwise it will be quite a challenge to find the root cause and you risk lacking a nourishing diet.
If there is still no result, some people branch out, experimenting with things such as probiotic supplements and have reported that their symptoms have improved. Others brave a more restrictive diet (FODMAP diet), but this greatly limits one's ordinary diet and can be rather difficult to sustain.
If the cause is stress, yes it's much easier said than done, but try and reduce unnecessary stressors in your life. Of course this is not always possible, in which case, stress management intervention is needed. For example, if work is what you find most stressful, maybe take a step back and a 5-10 minute timeout during your day and undertake some deep breathing or a brief walk around the block. Take time to enjoy those moments in your life which you ordinarily may consider a non-entity. Unfortunately, this topic is so complex, that to provide generalised advice on stress could be counter-productive so please visit your doctor if you feel stress is getting on top of you.
If you have any questions associated with diet or nutrition-related illness, please don't hesitate to give me a shout and I would be more than happy to help :-)
It would be great to have a discussion platform for all food-relates issues which people experience so hopefully we can make it happen.
Reena Sharma RD, MSc, BSc (Hons), DipCNM