Regular bowel movements are crucial for maintaining the digestive health of people and for the excretory system. A common disorder which occurs in people because of this is irritable bowel syndrome. In this disorder a person experiences cramps abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea and some other symptoms that cause discomfort and indigestion. There are certain foods that could trigger irritable bowel syndrome, even being a part of healthy diet. This does not mean you need to remove it from your diet, but it is better to avoid it as much as possible if you are having this syndrome.
How Does Food Trigger Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
We talked to Ms. Shilpa Singh, Clinical Nutritionist from Fatima Hospital, Lucknow to address this issue of food triggers. She told that irritable bowel syndrome is not caused by foods in particular but it can increase the tendency and symptoms of this disorder. Also avoiding foods such as dairy products, gluten, legumes, fried foods; etc can lower down the symptoms and increase recovery process.
If you have too much of these foods, then you can have cramps, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea which is not a good sign. Since it is a chronic condition, it may take longer to recover hence regulating your diet becomes a important factor. This happens because all these foods have the tendency to increase the bowel movements and are not very soluble in digestive system. You must have foods that take time to produce energy and do not accumulate in the large intestine for longer time interval.
Foods To Avoid During Irritable Bowel Syndrome
1. Fried Foods
Fried food products are constantly increasing as a part of our diet, most of the foods that are fried cause certain problems in digestive system. The oil that comes along with it gets stored in the intestines increasing the problems related to irritable bowel syndrome. It can go a long way in triggering your digestive health and bowel movements. They also contain unhealthy fats which you definitely need to avoid at any cost; instead try to have more baked products or healthy home-made food that is based on healthy oils.
2. Drinks containing caffeine
Drinks and beverages that have high amount of caffeine are harmful for your health. This is because caffeine has a stimulating effect on the digestive system of your body and results to inflammation of intestines. Having caffeinated drinks in case of irritable bowel syndrome can worsen your condition cause diarrhoea. Caffeinated drinks including soda beverages, coffee and other drinks can be harmful in IBS, hence they need to be avoided.
3. Legumes, lentils and beans
These foods are considered high in protein and fibre and are great for a healthy person. But if you are suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, then it becomes necessary to avoid it as much as possible. Beans and legumes have high amounts of fibre as mentioned that triggers intestinal enzymes due to which it results to bloating and constipation. IBS is already a uncomfortable condition and having constipation on top of it can be disturbing to your health.
Beans can increase bulk in the stool because of which it can increase the bowel movements and result to decreased health. Even if you want to have beans or lentils, it is better to soak them up in water over night so that it causes less affect on your IBS.
4. Gluten
Gluten consists of various products such as wheat, rye and barley because of which it results in symptoms related to IBS. Gluten rich foods can increase the syndrome and result in celiac disease which can be very problematic. Gluten can trigger diarrhoea and problems pre-dominant to IBS. Intestinal cells which are present in the large intestine get inflamed because and result to autoimmune diseases. Gluten rich foods also cause poor absorption of nutrients due to which it causes sensitivity of celiac disease.
People who are intolerance from gluten can be especially affected by irritable bowel syndrome and thus nutritionist recommends going for a gluten-free diet until proper recovery from IBS.
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5. Dairy products
Certain dairy products can be high in fats that can trigger the condition of irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhoea. Fats present in the dairy products such as milk, curd, cheese and butter need to be particularly avoided as they can trigger symptoms of dairy items. It is better to go for alternative methods such as soya-bean made paneer, or soya rich milk etc that can reduce the effect of IBS.
6. Insoluble Fibre
Dietary fibres that are present in your diet can also trigger irritable bowel syndrome, hence it becomes important to consider it and reduce such products from the diet. Particularly foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables are high in fibre that can cause problems in bowel movements.
It is important to know there are two types of fibres-
- Soluble fibre
- Insoluble fibre
Soluble fibres are fine and can be consumed without any problem to reduce affect on the person suffering from IBS. However it is not the same with insoluble fibre. It posses the risk of increases risk of problems causing IBS. Hence it is always better to avoid it as much as possible during this disorder.
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7. Sugar-free Sweeteners
Sugar additives or sweeteners are not good for the health in general. Apart from that it can result to severe problems related to intestine which can affect irritable bowel syndrome. Sugar-free sweeteners are negative impact on your health condition. Here are some alternative you need to go for instead to these sweeteners.
- Diet candy
- Sugar-free drinks
- Natural sweeteners
- Mouthwash
8. Avoid alcohol strictly
Alcohol can be very harmful when it comes to triggering IBS. Alcohol has the tendency to increase the risk of dehydration because it absorbs all the nutrients, water and minerals from your diet and body which can worsen your situation. Alcohol also contains gluten and affects your digestive health as well as excretory system. It slows down functioning of the body because of which irritable bowel syndrome can become a more problematic condition.
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