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IBS Low Starch Diet

There is no doubt about it, irritable bowel syndrome is extremely common and the number of people being diagnosed is increasing all the time. It is in fact the most frequent complaint seen by gastroenterologists today.

It isn’t easy to diagnose irritable bowel syndrome as first of all, any other potential causes of the symptoms have to be ruled out. There is no single cure for irritable bowel syndrome either, so treatment very much depends on the individual symptoms, how troublesome they are, and identifying basically a way of dealing with it that works for you.

There has been a lot of talk that a low starch diet can make a significant difference to the symptoms of IBS, particularly since the publication of Carol Sinclair’s book “The IBS Low-Starch Diet”. Carol suffered from IBS for years before she discovered that starch was the main culprit and on giving it up, she obtained immediate relief.

What is starch?

Starch is basically a complex carbohydrate found in many everyday foods, including processed and re-cooked foods. We need a certain amount of starch in the diet as it is converted into sugar which in turn is converted into energy. However, too much starch is not only high in calories; it can result in too much sugar in the diet which is simply not good for our health in general.

Foods containing starch

Wheat
Bread
Potatoes
Pasta
Cakes
Rice
Barley
Oats
Biscuits
Pastries

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should avoid these foods altogether, but by watching what effect each one has on your digestion you can take steps to modify your diet where necessary.

Starch, Fibre and IBS

If your diet contains a lot of starchy foods and not a lot of fibre, then the chances are you could experience stomach cramps and flatulence as well as alternative bouts of constipation and diarrhoea, in other words, symptoms of IBS.

You may find your symptoms of IBS improving if you eat more fruits and vegetables and reduce consumption of high starch foods that are also low in fibre. It is essential that you drink plenty of water if you suffer from IBS but particularly so if you are increasing the amount of fibre in the diet as fibre absorbs water and increasing fibre without increasing the amount of fluids can result in constipation and in severe cases even bowel blockages.

The main problem with IBS is that there isn’t a single cause of it so treatment that may work well for one individual may actually make IBS worse in someone else. The most important thing you can do is educate yourself about how your IBS affects you and take the necessary steps to avoid anything that triggers your symptoms.