IBS Free At Last! by Patsy Catsos
Oct. 30th, 2014 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
IBS should not make you skip a beat – get your groove back!
Tired of missing the fun because of your irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Confused about what to eat? Think you’re the only one who feels miserable while eating healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and yoghurt? You are not alone. IBS affects up to 15% of teens and adults.
If you could get your groove back in just a few weeks by trying a new kind of diet, would you do it?
High-fiber diets for IBS are old school. It’s time you learned about FODMAPs!
IBS - Free At Last! has the latest on how foods you eat can cause your IBS symptoms. Registered dietitian Patsy Catsos spells out a diet program to help you find your FODMAP food triggers. Thousands of readers of the first edition of IBS - Free At Last! were the first to benefit.
Now it’s your turn.
Patsy Catsos is a registered dietician. This book sets out the FODMAP diet, which is an elimination diet that sufferers of IBS can use to identify specific food groups that aggravate irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and thus eliminate them to improve their condition. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-Di and Mono-saccharides And Polyols, essentially foods that are high in lactose, fructose and gluten. Catsos explains that these types of food can be poorly absorbed in the intestine, create a lot of gas and hold excess fluid in the gut, all of which can aggravate IBS. The diet itself is simple – you go 2 weeks without eating any FODMAP products and then reintroduce each of lactose, fructose, fructans, polyols, and galactans for one week each, noting down reactions to work out the effects.
The book sets out suggested menus together with shopping lists, label reading tips and lists of foods that are high in FODMAP ingredients. Unfortunately this is a US-focused book so some products and food types aren’t widely available in the UK (although it’s not impossible if you go to a big supermarket) and British food labelling is different to that in the US, which can make it difficult to comply with the diet (although not impossible). There’s also a very good reader question section, which helps to bring out some of the nuances of the diet and addresses some things that look like inconsistencies (e.g. why spelt isn’t permitted during the elimination phase of the diet but is permitted in a low FODMAP diet). However there is no explanation for other inconsistencies, e.g. why soy sauce is allowed but soy milk and soy beans are not.
I found it very difficult to keep to the elimination phase of the diet, not least because eliminating all of those foods aggravated my symptoms to an unbearable level. It wasn’t a complete bust as I did find some foods that aggravated my condition but I can’t say that the book itself changed my life, as the title promises. There’s a lot of evidence that food impacts on IBS but my personal feeling is that if you want to go down this route then while the book is a good starting point, you should also consult with a nutritionist to make sure you have something tailored to the UK food market and thereby make it easier to comply with.
The Verdict:
If you suffer from IBS then you already know that certain foods can aggravate your condition, so this book can help you to bottom out which foods work as triggers. However, it is a US focused book and US food labelling is different to that in the UK, which made it difficult to stick with it and there are a number of inconsistencies within the diet that aren’t explained. I’d recommend giving it a go because there’s nothing to lose but I think to really get the best out of the diet you need to sit down with a UK nutritionist and adapt this to the UK food market.
IBS should not make you skip a beat – get your groove back!
Tired of missing the fun because of your irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Confused about what to eat? Think you’re the only one who feels miserable while eating healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and yoghurt? You are not alone. IBS affects up to 15% of teens and adults.
If you could get your groove back in just a few weeks by trying a new kind of diet, would you do it?
High-fiber diets for IBS are old school. It’s time you learned about FODMAPs!
IBS - Free At Last! has the latest on how foods you eat can cause your IBS symptoms. Registered dietitian Patsy Catsos spells out a diet program to help you find your FODMAP food triggers. Thousands of readers of the first edition of IBS - Free At Last! were the first to benefit.
Now it’s your turn.
Patsy Catsos is a registered dietician. This book sets out the FODMAP diet, which is an elimination diet that sufferers of IBS can use to identify specific food groups that aggravate irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and thus eliminate them to improve their condition. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-Di and Mono-saccharides And Polyols, essentially foods that are high in lactose, fructose and gluten. Catsos explains that these types of food can be poorly absorbed in the intestine, create a lot of gas and hold excess fluid in the gut, all of which can aggravate IBS. The diet itself is simple – you go 2 weeks without eating any FODMAP products and then reintroduce each of lactose, fructose, fructans, polyols, and galactans for one week each, noting down reactions to work out the effects.
The book sets out suggested menus together with shopping lists, label reading tips and lists of foods that are high in FODMAP ingredients. Unfortunately this is a US-focused book so some products and food types aren’t widely available in the UK (although it’s not impossible if you go to a big supermarket) and British food labelling is different to that in the US, which can make it difficult to comply with the diet (although not impossible). There’s also a very good reader question section, which helps to bring out some of the nuances of the diet and addresses some things that look like inconsistencies (e.g. why spelt isn’t permitted during the elimination phase of the diet but is permitted in a low FODMAP diet). However there is no explanation for other inconsistencies, e.g. why soy sauce is allowed but soy milk and soy beans are not.
I found it very difficult to keep to the elimination phase of the diet, not least because eliminating all of those foods aggravated my symptoms to an unbearable level. It wasn’t a complete bust as I did find some foods that aggravated my condition but I can’t say that the book itself changed my life, as the title promises. There’s a lot of evidence that food impacts on IBS but my personal feeling is that if you want to go down this route then while the book is a good starting point, you should also consult with a nutritionist to make sure you have something tailored to the UK food market and thereby make it easier to comply with.
The Verdict:
If you suffer from IBS then you already know that certain foods can aggravate your condition, so this book can help you to bottom out which foods work as triggers. However, it is a US focused book and US food labelling is different to that in the UK, which made it difficult to stick with it and there are a number of inconsistencies within the diet that aren’t explained. I’d recommend giving it a go because there’s nothing to lose but I think to really get the best out of the diet you need to sit down with a UK nutritionist and adapt this to the UK food market.
