Irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome or IBS: you can call it whatever you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that this condition is extremely annoying and limiting. So why not take advantage of the aid provided by food?
This syndrome is a disorder of bowel function characterized by abdominal pain in relation to changes in the hive (either in a constipated sense or in a diarrheal sense) and with signs of impaired defecation and meteorism (words from Wikipedia).
It comes when it can’t get worse: close to a university exam, on the eve of an important business meeting or when the nearest bathroom is 16 miles away.
The psychological component is important, as is the food component.
In this post, I want to shed some light on foods that can amplify irritable bowel symptoms.
To better address the condition it is also useful to know what FODMAPs and the microbiota are. Below I link two articles about them:
Enjoy the reading!
Very fatty foods
Within this category are included some foods rich in fat, such as: aged cheeses, sausages, some sauces (mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup), sweets, etc.
Also beware of fried foods for two reasons.
The first concerns the cooking method: by definition, fried foods are cooked in fat.
The other reason has to do with the chemical transformations that the frying oil undergoes after contact with high temperatures. This condition degrades the cooking fat, helping to increase inflammation of the intestinal mucosa.
Advice
Prefer other types of cooking, such as pan, oven or steam cooking and above all more “lean” foods.
Dairy products
Dairy products contain lactose.
Wow… you are a genius Mattia!
Thanks!
The problem is that many of the people with irritable bowel syndrome are also lactose intolerant.
That is the reason why this sugar can further increase the inflammatory load of the intestine, due to the latter’s difficulty in breaking the molecule.
Moreover, this condition can cause the triggering of huge flatulent bombs for the unfortunate who stay next to us.
Advice
Regardless of intolerance, I suggest avoiding foods containing lactose, especially when the syndrome is in its acute phase.
Additionally, you can consume alternative milk, such as soy and rice. Otherwise, if your degree of lactose intolerance is not high, you can eat low-fat yogurt that has low amounts of lactose and low fat.
Some people with IBS tolerate two types of cheeses better: feta and brie. If you don’t want to give up on cheese, try these.
Foods containing caffeine
As we know, caffeine is a glow of light when the morning light still struggles to come out (pure poetry). However, it also has another effect: it stimulates intestinal peristalsis, sometimes too much.
In practice, this is what happens after taking a cup of coffee, when you turn into an Olympic sprinter to reach the bathroom.
Advice
In addition to coffee, there are other foods and drinks that contain caffeine, including tea, some energy drinks and chocolate.
I suggest consuming these foods with attention and moderation, eliminating them if the sensitivity to caffeine is particularly evident.
Foods rich in fiber
Fiber is good for you, however there are conditions in which it is necessary to reduce its intake, irritable bowel syndrome is one of them.
If you have this disorder, reduce the amount of fiber that you should introduce into the body. Know that it is usually advisable to introduce between 25-30gof fiber per day divided between soluble and insoluble.
Do you want to know why you should reduce them?
Because they can alter the hive and inflame the intestine even more if the intestinal microbiota is altered.
And do you want to know how much to reduce them?
Difficult to say, because susceptibility to them is subjective. Some people may not have any problems getting the same amounts of fiber they normally consume, others may experience some problems.
So what are the foods that from this point of view can create more annoyances?
Here you are a list:
- legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, etc.);
- some vegetables of the cruciferous family, in particular cauliflower and broccoli;
- garlic and onion;
- dried fruit;
- whole grains.
Advice
Choose non-whole grains, for example, white rice or pasta.
Do not exclude all types of vegetables, but prefer those outside the list and, if you are in the acute phase, slightly reduce the quantities of vegetables.
Alcohol
I include alcohol on the list, but in reality it is not really a food to be avoided, but to be consumed responsibly.
You should know that moderate alcohol consumption can also improve irritable bowel symptoms, and by moderate I mean about a glass a day for men and a little less for women. Going further can, on the contrary, make the problem worse, because:
- it has a negative effect on liver and digestive functions;
- it dehydrates the body by promoting constipation.
Please note
If you want to know how alcohol unbalances the body towards dehydration, read: How to fight dehydration.
Advice
Limit the amount of alcohol and prefer wine to other alcoholic beverages, especially avoiding cocktails rich in sugars or sweeteners.
Do you want to know why?
Read the next paragraph.
Foods or drinks with sweeteners (sugar-free)
What are these foods?
Candies, chewing gum, some types of carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.
The foods mentioned may contain sweeteners (sorbitol, mannitol and polypoles in general), which in excess draw water in the intestine, promoting diarrhea and altering the intestinal microbiota.
You may have read on the tire label: EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION CAN HAVE LAXATIVE EFFECTS. Now you know why.
Advice
Check the labels trying to avoid foods that contain these chemicals.
And now we have come to the end of the post.
Remember that in addition to nutrition, there are many other behaviors that can help defeat irritable bowel. Keep following me, in the future I could also write about these aspects.
Let me know in the footer comments if you have anything else to add.
And please SHARE this post, these tips will help many other people.
See you soon!
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