Kerry's casebook: Eating for IBS

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Posted at 12:02PM, 04 January 2013 by Kerry Torrens - Nutritional therapist

Irritable bowel syndrome is a common digestive complaint, however many symptoms can be eased with the right diet. Nutritional therapist Kerry offers up the perfect breakfast for sufferers and explains how a few key ingredients can help...

It is unclear why IBS affects some people and not others. While symptoms vary, they usually include diarrhoea, constipation and bloating. Common triggers include stress or disruption to the good bacteria in your gut.

Some sufferers can manage their symptoms with diet and lifestyle changes, which include eating at regular times and cutting back on coffee, tea and alcohol. It's also a good idea to replace roughage like bran with gentler, soluble forms of fibre found in bananas, apples, pears, oats, rye and barley. This may help to alleviate bloating and regulate bowel movements.

An example of a great breakfast for IBS sufferers is Good Food's Apple & linseed porridge, due to some key ingredients.

As well as oats and apples, this porridge uses linseeds (also known as flaxseeds) - another good source of soluble fibre. It's worth grinding linseeds before using (or buy the ready-ground variety) as this helps your body to absorb all their great properties, including omega-3 fatty acids, which can help to soothe irritation. Linseed also supplies the types of fibre that your good gut bacteria thrive on; other foods with these prebiotic properties include ground almonds and chia seeds.

This porridge is finished with a generous dollop of probiotic yogurt, also useful for keeping our guts healthy. Eating naturally fermented foods like yogurt, which contain 'live' cultures, may help restore healthy levels of gut bacteria.

Remember, you should make dietary changes gradually so you don't aggravate an already sensitive system, and it's important to visit your GP to rule out any other health issues as soon as you experience a change to your bowel habits.

Before you try this recipe...

Our Cookery Team, supported by our Nutritional Therapist, devised this recipe after discussing this issue with a GP. Sadly IBS is a condition where one dietary approach does not suit all sufferers. That's because symptoms vary so much and because there is no definitive cause. Our aim was to devise a single recipe that would meet the most common needs as highlighted by our discussions with the GP. With this in mind some IBS sufferers certainly achieve relief from the inclusion of the gentler soluble fibre like the pectin found in some fruit like apples, the fibre in oats and ground seeds - these sufferers find that including soluble fibre helps regulate their system. Other sufferers are advised to follow a low fibre diet for a period of time because this can calm an overactive digestive system and alleviate some of their symptoms.

The FODMAP approach is an interesting development and appears to be proving successful but it can be confusing and the dietary changes really require personalised professional advice. Many IBS sufferers find that including probiotic or live yogurt can help relieve symptoms potentially by improving the health of the gut environment - more studies are needed to identify the specific species and strains of bacteria which may lead to these benefits. If in doubt, always talk to your GP.

Comments

Recipies etc

4 January, 3:13PM
Recipies etc

This information is out-of-date. The recipe is not safe for IBS sufferers. For starters apple (high in free fructose) is a well known FODMAP and would likely trigger symptons. Linseeds and almonds are high in fibre and many people with IBS benefit from following a low fibre diet. Finally, dairy is a well known trigger, so the yogurt is not a safe choice.

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hannahsnevet

5 January, 12:14PM
hannahsnevet

agree with recipies etc. Also probiotics feed the bacteria that can be causing the problems, particularly if your IBS is helped by the FODMAP diet

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The Good Food team

7 January, 12:21PM
The Good Food team

Many thanks for your comments. In light of the responses we've received above we've added a little more information to the end of the piece, explaining the reasoning behind the information we've provided. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us as goodfoodwebsite@bbc.com. Many thanks, The Good Food team

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katgood

8 January, 11:52AM
katgood

i suffer from ibs and bad acid reflux got weak stomach lining also so have tried gluten free and other alternatives but still no joy i try to get plenty of nutrs but still have upaet tummy and got test to check my shpinter muscle in bowel and that is weak also my partner took a stroke and has difficulty with some foods due to change in his mouth plz help thanks

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JennyLucy

31 January, 11:33PM
JennyLucy

Not sure that diet will ever be a solution to IBS. My daughter had hypnotherapy which really worked and continues to do so. It should be offered more widely on the NHS.

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