What diet changes can help manage my IBS-C symptoms?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 29-year-old man recently diagnosed with IBS-C. After months of bloating, excessive gas, and constipation despite drinking plenty of water. My doctor asked me to change my diet, but did not explain what exactly to eat or avoid, which left me very confused.

Should I be eating more fiber, or is too much fiber making my bloating worse?
I have heard that gluten and dairy trigger IBS in some people. Is that true for everyone?
How do I figure out my trigger foods without accidentally making my symptoms worse in the process?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

Your symptoms are consistent with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation predominance (IBS-C). Diet plays an important role in symptom control, but the effect varies between individuals, which is why general advice can sometimes feel confusing.

Fiber may aid patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome that has a predominance of constipation (IBS-C), although all types of fiber will not work for everyone. For instance, soluble dietary fibers like Psyllium, oats, and chia may have softening effect on stools and help control the bowel movement. On the other hand, insoluble fibers like wheat bran will worsen the symptoms of distension and gas formation in certain people.

As for gluten and dairy products, they are not triggering factors in all cases of IBS. There is lactose intolerance, when dairy products produce gas and bloating symptoms. Gluten sensitivity can also occur in a small number of patients, though true gluten-related disease is less common unless tests suggest it. Rather than eliminating many foods at once, a structured approach works better.

Many individuals with IBS will respond positively to the low-FODMAP diet, which is basically an elimination of certain fermentable carbohydrates for some time. This process takes usually four to six weeks and then involves the introduction of different foods to find possible trigger elements.

The keeping of food and symptom diaries is one of the ways that can be useful in finding associations between different meals and the symptoms. Moreover, eating regular meals, exercise, and stress reduction can improve bowel motility.

Thanks to this approach, most individuals with IBS with predomination of constipation (IBS-C) will be able to determine the triggering foods and control their symptoms without restrictive diets.

I hope you are satisfied with my answer. For further queries, you can consult me at iCliniq.

Thank you.