Hi what can I eat instead of bread & ryvita they are causing me problems thanks

[limetree1]

[Hidden]

Hi limetree1,

The low-FODMAP diet works extremely well for me and I have to miss out all grains. I eat tortillas and crackers made from corn (maize) only instead of products made from wheat, barley, rye or rice.

Pagan

[Siapa in reply to Hidden]

Hi pagan. Where and from who can I get this fobmap diet? We had a list from dietitian at hospital which works a treat and cut out pain and bloating from 24/7 to now perhaps 2/3 times a week. I am keen to clear it out totally if possible.

[Hidden in reply to Siapa]

I'm surprised that you didn't get the FODMAPs info as all NHS dietitians are trained in it now - perhaps you're not in the UK?

Anyway, here's my standard response to anybody who's about to look into the low FODMAP diet, sorry it's a bit lengthy, but there's so much bad and outdated info out there on the web and, if you get it wrong, it won't work, so take a deep breath and read on:

The diet was (and is still being) developed at Monash University in Australia, so its website is the best place to start at monash.edu.au – just put FODMAP into the search box on its homepage and you'll get there. If you have an iPhone there’s an app you can download from there, which will also be available for android in September, and a booklet you can send for.

An American dietitian called Patsy Catsos has written an excellent book about FODMAPs called 'IBS - Free At Last' (available from Amazon) which follows the Australian model very closely and contains all the info you need to get going. She also has advice on which food additives to avoid which is really useful.

I didn't find the NHS guidelines for the diet either as strict or as good as Monash's so stuck with what Monash said along with Patsy's book which became my bible.

When you first read about FODMAPs, you'll wonder what on earth you're actually left with to eat, but you do get used to it. The diet isn't meant to be a life sentence; what it does is to cut out all the food groups which contain the most likely suspects, making it easier to work out what suits you and what doesn't. I found that there were several 'safe' FODMAP foods which weren't safe for me at all, but these were easily identifiable as my menu was so small.

Once you get a real improvement in your symptoms, you then start to reintroduce the different food groups back into your diet one at a time to see which affects you and how.

I was amazed when I got a result from FODMAPs within 4 days although it can take several weeks for other people, so don't give up if you don't have an immediate result.

[Siapa in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the info. Will look into it after the summer holiday with the kids. I am in UK and nobody could point us into the right direction. I had spoken to numerous parents from school and by luck one or two had it and told me we had to change our diet but say everyone is different as different food affect different people. So I requested hospital dietitian and gastroenterologist. Had a ibs sheet for foods to avoid and gastroenterologist advice alternate between Imodium to stop the daily diarhrea which at times got mucus and blood. Alternate with fybogel if constipated. However once diarhrea stop he was ok.

[trishyb59]

hi , have you tried spelt bread i find it better on the stomach , it is dearer than other breads, but you can eat less.. trisha from ireland.

[poing]

I eat gluten free and yeast free. I have replaced bread with rice crackers, oat cakes and tortilla chips, which I think are all okay on a FODMAP diet (but you should check). I tried millet bread once, but wasn't very impressed with it.

On the whole though I try to eat meals that are naturally made without bread... bacon and eggs or yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, hearty soup or leftover stew for lunch, burger without the bun but with lots of chips and salad for tea, that kind of thing.

It takes a while to retrain your brain to think of meals without bread, but it's worth it. I enjoy the food that I eat more now, and I reckon there's a lot more nutrition in it too.

[Siapa]

When my young child had ibs, no professional medical help ie gp or hospital could or did anything that had any actual help until I saw a programme on tv re digestion and gut. Then requested to see dietitian. Ibs sheet with food to avoid was given to us and had cut down constant everyday pain to now twice a week. Also whenever had diarhrea, use Imodium to stop diarhrea or if not eat plain mash potato in very small portion. He could hardly eat anything at that point as every single food from sandwiches to rice and pasta with any meat hurts. Avoid fibre. It causes emergency to toilet in absolute agony whenever had a flare up. Problem is when contracted noro virus which causes diarhrea and vomiting, we were told deal with it! It's just ibs! Non of the medication given had any real help apart from co codomol. So don't take medication that you tried and had no effect. Just hot warm water was the advice given to us. It makes sense. Now we are off all those medication and stop eating anything that gives instant pain.

[Siapa]

What you stop eating now to stop the bloating can be tried again at later stage when your flare up is gone and you feel healthier. Go with how well you feel. Avoid broccoli, bake beans, things that emitted lots of gas in stomach. Chocolate? sweets seem to accumulate over time to create or cause pain. When bloated, try to walk around a lot until you get rid of the wind/gas in stomach through mouth or anus. Unless of course you caught a bug or a very nasty virus that either attack your glands re tonsil, lymph glands in your stomach causing inflammation or near your appendix. In that case, go to your doctor.

[Siapa]

What you stop eating now to stop the bloating can be tried again at later stage when your flare up is gone and you feel healthier. Go with how well you feel. Avoid broccoli, bake beans, things that emitted lots of gas in stomach. Chocolate? sweets seem to accumulate over time to create or cause pain. When bloated, try to walk around a lot until you get rid of the wind/gas in stomach through mouth or anus. Unless of course you caught a bug or a very nasty virus that either attack your glands re tonsil, lymph glands in your stomach causing inflammation or near your appendix. In that case, go to your doctor.