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Should I Follow a Special Diet?

There is no "ideal" diet which will bring relief to all (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) IBS sufferers.  There may be some fairly simple changes you can try, which will help to relieve some  of the symptoms:

Eating Regularly

People with erratic eating patterns may find their  symptoms improve when they start to eat more  regularly.  Try to have regular small meals, avoid  missing meals and avoid over-indulging (ie eating  too much at a particular time of day). Some people  find that rich, fatty or spicy meals make their  symptoms worse. Reducing the fat content of your  meals might help.

Drinking Plenty

Aim to drink at least eight to ten  glasses a day: mineral water,  dilute fruit juice, herb or fruit teas  (try Camomile or Mint), with  smaller quantities of ordinary tea or coffee  (preferably decaffeinated).  Caffeine  can stimulate the bowel, so if you drink a  lot of coffee, tea or cola (more than say five  cups/glasses a day), cut down on these, swap to  decaffeinated types and try to include more water.  Still drinks might be preferable to fizzy drinks.

Focus on your Fibre Intake

Altering the amount or type of fibre you eat may  help, and dietary advice regarding fibre would  depend on the symptoms being experienced.  There are two types of fibre:

Soluble Fibre found in oats,  beans, peas, lentils, fruit &  vegetables. you are not experiencing 'wind' or 'bloating'. Avoid  adding unprocessed bran to your diet as this can  irritate the bowel.

Insoluble Fibre found in  wholemeal/granary  bread, wheat and bran  breakfast cereals,  brown rice and pastas,  whole wheat crackers and crisp breads.

Less Fibre?

For some people, eating too much fibre, especially  the insoluble type, can make symptoms worse, particularly 'wind' or 'bloating'.  If you suffer from diarrhoea, reducing the fibre content  of your diet may also help.  You  could try reducing those foods  high in fibre for a trial two to four  week period (see table one for

examples of high and low fibre  foods). Aim for two servings  each of fruit and vegetables. If  there is no improvement re- introduce your normal level of  fibre.

If symptoms seem to settle on less fibre, you can  then start to very gradually re-introduce some high  fibre foods, noting if any symptoms return.  This will  help you to find your tolerance level, or identify  particular foods which upset you. Everyone's  tolerance for fibre is different, and it might take a bit of trial and error to get the balance right.