Has anyone found cutting carbs a benefit for IBS D?

[MinaFox]

I have been reading that too many carbs, especially simple carbs can cause an over growth of gut flora which can cause IBS symptoms to be much worse and the only way to change this is to cut simple carbs such as sugar and grains etc!

I would like to try this but currently when ever I eat meat or veggies at the moment I get a severe stomach upset and it's a one step forward two steps back situation! But part of me wonders whether it's worth the risk to see if it would eventually make me feel better!

I probably should see a doctor/nutritionalist but that's not an option right now!

Does anyone have any positive experiences from cutting carbs/ some carbs?

[Kentaro]

If you have IBS then it's recommended to have a healthy lifestyle. So nobody is going to tell you to eat sugar and grains.

But on the other hand if you have diarrhea your body needs minerals that's why you should consider to eat easily absorbable foods.

That's why I eat lots of carbs. Except grains because of the gluten.

[MinaFox in reply to Kentaro]

That makes sense! I guess my mistake was when I finally got over my last IBS flare up I really didn't eat healthy at all and I need to realise that it will really be a lifestyle change if I want this to happen less! I hope I can get through this flare up so I can stop eating as many plain carbs and make better more diverse diet decisions! Thanks for your thoughts!x

[Linley]

Difficult one to answer as everyone is different.............but I eat plain carbs to try and keep my weight at an even keel as when I have an IBS -D attack I can easily loose a lb or two. Eating plain food(no spices etc) my tum can cope with.

[MinaFox in reply to Linley]

Well that's exactly it! I am losing weight at the moment (but I'm not complaining too much about that on this occasion haha) but the only reason I am eating plain carby foods is because its helping me through this flare up! I was worrying I was some how making my IBS worse by doing it, but I suppose if I was I would not be seeing positive results from eating plainly, I hope my flare up lessens soon so I can actively try and be healthier! Thanks for your response xx

[Hidden]

I have found that digestive enzymes plus probiotics have helped me enormously. I eat fairly plainly and I don’t do dairy except occasionally on pizza. I also treated for Candida and I am so much better. It takes a few months though of consistency. Another thing too for men and women that greatly affects IBS is hormone fluctuations—if your body doesn’t digest properly you cannot excrete them. See estrogen overload articles. Even when in meno you still make hormones that can wreak havoc on your system. Good luck!

[BabsyWabsy]

It would be an idea to look at how much sugar you are actually eating. Sugar is osmotic, meaning that if it reaches the large bowel, it will draw water in from the tissues resulting in intense D and possible dehydration. From personal experience, I am much better if I keep sugar to a minimum, and always have a flare up if I over do the sugar.

My brother has inflammatory bowel disease, and was eating quite a lot of sugar without realising how much he was consuming. It soon adds up, a biscuit here, a soft drink, a yogurt etc. He has significantly improved after reducing sugar to a minimum. As we keep saying on here, everyone is individual, but for my brother and me, cutting out sugar has been an easy win and may well be worth a try.

[Sarge12]

I would cut the vegetables out as soon as I stopped with fruit and vegetables I was fine hardly any stomach problems

[tas69]

Everybody reacts differently to IBS, I was diagnosed about 26/27 years ago way way before I develop ME and Fibromyalgia, but then they put me under a dietician and I had to do a food diary to eliminate the foods that made me poorly.

Turns out fat content in my daily diet was very bad for me anything more than 47g a day and I’m ill, spicy foods give me flareups too, but I’m fine with that as I’m not a big lover of them anyway. Good luck in finding you balance xxx

[Hidden]

White bread especially the big brands has always given me bad guts this includes Pastries & Pies from large multi chain Burger & Bakery stores. I don't know but suspect this may have something to do with the additives included to speed up baking and allow the bread to be frozen on route to stores. I am fine with wholemeal mass produced Bread and with a small amount of White freshly baked bread & bread based products from good Pizza parlours(Not the chain ones). I also suffer no issues from potatoes or carb high veg.

--As a diabetic I found on a forum that some people are cutting out carbs helps fight this. This is not recommended by my Nurse or Health Board.--

When cutting out Carbs my IBS flared up and I controlled and relived this by returning to Wholemeal Bread, Brown Rice and All Bran/Weetabix etc.

I also find going without food for a long period and then eating a large meal can cause IBS for me. An Example is going to the Football for the day eating lightly then getting home and not eating a meal until Sunday Lunch causes me problems in the evening later, I resolve this by eating some wholemeal toast before and after bed.

From experience it is mass produced products Beer, Bread, Pies etc and poorly washed fresh veg especially Lettuce cause me most problems.

These from local small producers that leave out chemicals or additives, produce and allow things to grow at a natural pace dont.

[A_IBS]

I agree with the comment above re vegetables. They are highly fermentable so are a problem if you have SIBO.

[leslyp]

Ever thought of looking into the Fod map diet it is more a way of life and it helped me control my IBS in fact it changed my life around I am no longer scared to eat ,go out or in pain ,I Now understand and know what triggers I must avoid and what I can have in very small amounts without a bad reaction ,look it up on the web - fod map diet - there is loads of info and on their web site they do answer you queries and there are loads of recipes etc as well as health info.

[MinaFox in reply to leslyp]

I have looked at the fodmap diet, but I can't lie when I see it it kind of scares me as there is seem to be a very very longggg list of things you can't eat! So I can imagine it is an absolute life style change!

I am going through a flare up right now so I don't think I can change my very plain diet too much yet but I am going to look in to FODMAPS and see how I can adjust the things I eat in future and see what effect it has! Is going out to eat still easy?

I'm glad you found something that made you better!