Not about dieting, although about diet.
About, oh, 17 years ago my IBS reached the point that I was miserable enough that I did a total exclusion and reintroduction diet. At the time there was clear evidence that some food groups triggered some people, other food groups other people. The usual suspects (alcohol, spicy food, fatty food, caffiene) were in there and also onions and the like, wheat, yeast, dairy. I did an 8 week plan that started off with me eating nothing but rice krispies, soya milk, chicken, rice and carrots and then built up from there.
It went really well. I discovered that the really problematic food for me (at the time) was citrus, yeasts and too much sulphates so onion, red wine, etc. Also green peppers and sweetcorn and, for some reason, wholemeal breads. After being fine for a few years it built up again with cream and fatty food and alcohol and everything causing a problem too, eventually it was obvious this was the gallbladder.
I was ok for a while, then everything built up again, this time I blamed the wandering womb. Once out I had 2-3 years of really good intestinal health. Slowly, though, things have been getting bad again. I've been putting it down to stress and overloading the system with too much problem food. The thing is, it can be pretty random, for instance I can eat porridge, say all week and be fine, then the next week have one bowl and be ill. Or I can drink one cup of instant coffee and cramp within a minute, do the same the next day and be fine.
Over the summer I started hearing about FODMAPS (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FODMAP) . FODMAPS (Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols) are like the next generation of IBS research, as far as I can tell. It goes some way to explain why I have the problems that I have. I know, for instance, that if I have a banana mid morning I'm fine but an apple I get a stomach ache. When I start following a diet and start having more curry and couscous the indigestion ramps up. It also explains why the old groupings seemed to have such a random effect and why the exculsion diets sort of work but then didn't really.
For instance, swapping milk for soya milk didn't really make any difference at the time and as such I've never seen milk as being a problem for me. Lactose is a fodmap, however whole soya bean is too, and I probably tolerate small amounts in isolation (a morning cup of tea) but it gets difficult when I have larger amounts (on cereal) or in combination (a custard slice). Bananas are a low fodmap fruit but apples aren't. Neither are plums which explains why the last time I ended up in hospital it was after a breakfast of stewed plums and muesli and lunch including split pea soup (peas are little fodmap grenades).
Last week was pretty miserable. On Wednesday I went out for dinner and despite ordering something I thought pretty sensible (chicken satay, korean fried chicken and salad and rice) I was ill all evening. I suspect the sweet and sticky coating caused it but, again, I had had split pea soup for lunch. Soup I'd made with ham slow-cooked in cider. It was only reading round IBS diets on Friday that I realised that I couldn't have created a more fodmap-laden meal if I'd tried.
So, I'm not on a diet, but I am trying to lower my fodmaps. Of course I'm starting in exactly the way they tell you not to by not doing a total exclusion diet to start with. I'm out for a leaving meal on Thursday and it's just too difficult to go for an italian and have no wheat, no onion, no garlic and no cream*.
Easy wins are getting lactose-reduced milk (not soya, as the beans contain fodmaps!) and having potato and rice as my starches this week. The interesting thing is that you can have some common sugars as we can digest them so I have flapjacks (home-made) as a snack. It's really weird as I had already noticed that nuts are causing a problem apart from peanuts and that ties in with the research. I'm looking at my diet and realising that I do naturally cut down a lot of high fodmap food (although not wheat or milk). So far this morning I've had orange juice, tea, coffee and rice cereal (all with lactose-reduced milk) and a banana and no stomach ache! I believe fodmaps are cumulative and can linger round, however, so I need to record what I eat and when I get pain. I'm hoping I can get myself to a comfortable place again.
*I know I could probably do it and I am going to try but not to the point I create a anxious situation for myself.
