As anyone with irritable bowel syndrome knows, life seriously sucks when you're constantly worrying where the nearest bathroom is. "Irritable bowel syndrome is a collection of symptoms that can be related to constipation or diarrhea, or they can alternate between constipation and diarrhea," Nitin Kumar, M.D., a weight-management physician and gastroenterologist, tells SELF. If you have IBS, you might also experience abdominal pain and bloating (especially around your stomach area), he explains. The symptoms of IBS are chronic, but luckily even if you have it, you won't necessarily experience symptoms all the time or every single day.
Although doctors aren't sure what causes IBS, they do know what may help. "The best thing is to manage your diet to prevent symptoms from developing," says Kumar. But IBS is so individual; it's really about experimenting to see what works best for you. "Everyone's digestive tract is different. When it comes to IBS, there are some general guidelines, but everyone has different tolerances for different foods," Lauren Harris-Pincus, M.S., R.D.N., owner of Nutrition Starring You, tells SELF. But, both experts say, people with IBS may find success when following a low-FODMAP diet.
FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. In normal-speak, those are foods that many people's bodies can have a tough time digesting. “We have a wide variety of healthy bacteria that help with digestion, vitamin metabolism, and immune functions, and they get energy from fermenting FODMAPs," FODMAP expert Laura Manning, R.D., clinical nutrition coordinator in the department of gastroenterology at The Mount Sinai Hospital, told SELF in a previous article. That's a good thing, right? Not always. “In some people, the fermentation process can just create a large amount of gas, which stretches the intestines causing bloating and pain; a water shift into the intestines, creating unpleasant diarrhea; and when water and gas both occur, it alters gut motility and you end up with constipation,” said Manning. Since those are some hallmark symptoms of IBS, avoiding the following high-FODMAP foods may help tame your digestive system:
1. Kale and other cruciferous vegetables
These contain an indigestible sugar called raffinose. Your body can't process indigestible sugars, which can lead to discomfort for anyone who eats them, especially raw. But in people with IBS, those symptoms can be exaggerated, causing embarrassing constipation- or diarrhea-based episodes, Kumar explains. And it's exactly those kinds of episodes that can make IBS feel so hard to talk about.
2. Sugar-free sweeteners
If you're living with IBS, know that basically any sweetener ending in -ol is a polyol, meaning it deserves your skepticism. That includes sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, and more. "These are sugar alcohols that can cause IBS symptoms because your body may not digest them well," says Kumar. Check out ingredient lists on the foods you eat so you can better avoid these, or just look out for labels like "sugar-free."
3. Beans and lentils
Although these legumes are delicious, they contain oligosaccharides, which are indigestible sugars that can trigger IBS symptoms. When your body encounters these and tries to break them down, the process can make even people without IBS gassy and bloated, says Harris-Pincus. For those with IBS, they can spark episodes that make you feel like you're handcuffed to a toilet.
4. Dairy
"The lactose in dairy is a disaccharide, which means it can be hard to absorb," says Kumar. Hello, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation, not so nice to see you. But your doctor or registered dietitian can suggest plenty of dairy-free alternatives that can take up some room in your diet. There are also certain types of dairy, like cheddar cheese, that are lower in lactose than other kinds, says Harris-Pincus.
5. Fruits with pits
Unfortunately, treats like apples, mangoes, cherries, plums, and peaches are often high in fructose, which is a monosaccharide, says Harris-Pincus. In addition, you may also want to avoid things like high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and agave, since they also contain fructose and can cause IBS to rear its ugly head.
6. Wheat, rye, onions, asparagus, and garlic
"These can be really big offenders [for people with IBS]," says Harris-Pincus. Even though they don't exactly taste sweet, they contain fructans, which are related to fructose.
Don’t despair! Not everyone with IBS is equally sensitive to all FODMAP foods. And even if you have trouble with all of them there are plenty of irritable bowel-friendly alternatives.
We know that's a seemingly exhaustive list, but you won’t necessarily have to avoid everything on it. When tackling IBS with your doctor or registered dietitian, they'll likely have you go on an elimination diet, then introduce different foods back into your life to see how you handle them. But in general, low-FODMAP foods can be great for people with IBS (although people whose IBS mainly manifests as constipation may actually have success with high-FODMAP foods if they can handle the bloating, says Kumar).
There are lots of helpful resources for figuring out what low-FODMAP foods are, from Monash University, a leading researcher in FODMAPs, to Kumar's own site. Once you poke around, you'll see that people with IBS may be able to chow down on oats, quinoa, gluten-free bread and pasta, bananas, grapes, eggplant, potatoes, bell peppers, cottage cheese, tons of lean meat, nuts like almonds or peanuts, and more. The point is that even if you have IBS, you can still have a varied, nutrient-packed diet that hopefully avoids wreaking havoc on your digestive system.
Also, chat with a trusted medical expert about incorporating probiotic supplements into your diet. Probiotics are "good" bacteria that can boost gut health, says Harris-Pincus. "There are different strains of probiotics and the research is very young, but if you have IBS, you may want to consider them," she explains.
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