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What Food Makes IBS Worse (and What Foods to Eat Instead)

With an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) diagnosis, it can be hard to know what food makes IBS worse. You may know some common foods that trigger your flare-up but knowing all of your IBS trigger foods can be near impossible. In this article, we will be helping you figure out what foods to limit and what foods can actually be helpful in your battle with IBS.

What Food Makes IBS Worse?

Anytime you look up IBS diets you will come across low-FODMAP diets. FODMAPs, or fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, are a group of carbohydrates that cause gas to build up in your abdomen.

These foods will cause bloating, digestive disturbances (constipation, diarrhea, or both), gas, and abdominal cramping. All of these problems within your gut will cause other problems like brain fog, fatigue, and general malaise. So it makes the most sense to start in your gut where the problem originated. 

Preventing these gases from being created is the first step to improving your gut problems. Some of the foods that make it worse include:

1. Dairy Products (Lactose)

When diagnosed with IBS the first thing doctors recommend is limiting milk products in your diet. However, unless there is severe lactose intolerance (not just a milk sensitivity) where you experience malabsorption from all lactose-containing products, you should still try to figure out what dairy products you can consume. 

Your doctor can help you closely monitor which products you should avoid and which you can intake to avoid vitamin D and calcium deficiency. Some foods you may want to avoid when testing this out include:

  • Milk
  • Ice cream
  • Cheese

2. Gluten

Gluten is a very common trigger for people with and without IBS. Gluten is a protein found in wheat products but often causes difficulties for people with IBS. Sometimes it is difficult for physicians to differentiate between an IBS or a non-celiac gluten sensitivity diagnosis because of the similarity in symptoms. (You can learn more about gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease here.)

Gluten can cause systemic inflammation originating in the gut even in those who do not suffer from celiac disease. Foods you’ll want to avoid if you’re testing your gluten tolerability include wheat products like:

  • Bread
  • Pasta
  • Crackers
  • Beer and other wheat-based alcohols

3. Insoluble Fiber

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Each has its benefit in our diet, however, insoluble fiber requires fermentation by gut microbes to be digestible. That is why insoluble fiber is often also called non-digestible fiber. Soluble fiber is much easier for our bodies to digest since they just require our gut enzymes to break them down. 

Insoluble fiber stays in our guts for a longer period of time and often is the source of abdominal pains experienced in IBS. Foods that you should avoid until you can rule them out as a trigger include:

  • Potatoes
  • Cauliflower
  • Wheat bran

4. Caffeine

Caffeine is a staple for many of us in the western world. Unfortunately, though, it can be the cause of your dietary woes if you experience diarrhea or IBS-D. 

Things like coffee, chocolate, and even tea contain caffeine. Limiting your ingestion of these foods might help to improve your IBS symptoms when a flare-up is bad and may even be your trigger food to avoid on a regular basis. 

If you’re experiencing constipation, caffeine may help to promote a bowel movement so adding those foods into your diet can help you find relief.

5. Junk Foods

What Food Makes IBS Worse (and What Foods to Eat Instead)Fried, highly-processed, and sugary or salty foods can cause IBS problems. Foods that contain sugar-free sweeteners can also make your IBS worse. 

Ditch the junk and see if it helps your gut to feel better. 

6. High-FODMAP Fruits and Veggies

High-FODMAP foods are often the thing doctors suggest. Some cases of IBS can be limited by removing the foods above before going through this extreme diet. 

However, in certain cases, the high-FODMAP fruits and vegetables are the problem and need to be eliminated. This should be followed closely by a medical professional to make sure you aren’t becoming malnourished. 

Some of the high-FODMAP trigger foods for IBS include:

  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Broccoli
  • Apples
  • Cherries
  • Fennel
  • Pears
  • Peaches

The Best Foods for IBS

So now that you have a good list of what not to eat with IBS, now we can focus on what you CAN eat with IBS. Since you might be limiting your diet you need to make sure you get the necessary nutrients to maintain your health. 

Fruits You Can Eat with IBS

  • Bananas
  • Blueberries
  • Kiwi
  • Grapes
  • Honeydew
  • Lemons and Limes
  • Passionfruit
  • Oranges
  • Strawberries

Vegetables You Can Eat with IBS

  • Bamboo Shoots
  • Carrots
  • Bok Choy
  • Eggplant
  • Chives
  • Pumpkin 
  • Tomato
  • Spring onion (only the green part)
  • Lettuce

Alternatives for Dairy and Gluten-Free Diets

  • Lactose-Free Milk
  • Hard cheeses 
  • Gelati or Sorbet
  • Foods that say “Gluten-Free” on the packaging

Improving IBS Outside of Dietary Change

Sometimes diet change isn’t enough to improve IBS symptoms. 

Including a new exercise routine can often help the physical and mental symptoms of IBS. Yoga, walking, and other light workouts can help to soothe cramping and promote healthy digestion. 

Sometimes the problem is your gut itself. If the balance is out of whack, your gut won’t be able to improve and neither will your health. SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is often a cause of IBS and they coexist together. When SIBO is at play, just diet and lifestyle change alone won’t be enough to help. 

With SIBO there are bacteria in your small intestines that cause more gas than normal which leads to all of the following problems. Doctors will often prescribe antibiotics for this, but this can disrupt your gut health even more by killing off good bacteria. 

Atrantil is a solution to help improve your IBS symptoms by counteracting and shutting down the bacteria that are producing gas. 

  1. The peppermint leaf allows the inflammation and gut spasms to calm down and allows the other ingredients to do their job.
  2. Quebracho colorado has two main jobs:
    1. Soaking up hydrogen gas produced by the bacteria, so there is less to be made into methane or hydrogen sulfide, which are the gases that cause constipation and diarrhea respectively. 
    2. Compromising the cell wall of the archaebacteria (the methane and hydrogen-sulfide producing bacteria) to allow for the horse chestnut to work.
  3. Horse chestnut actually goes into the archaebacteria, where the cell wall has been compromised and shuts down its fuel source so that it can no longer produce harmful gases.

These three powerhouses attack all of the bad bacteria and get to the real cause of IBS — an overgrowth of gas-producing archaebacteria in the small intestine. Atrantil is the perfect supplement as it’s gentle on your stomach, but is tough on difficult bacteria. 

By pairing Atrantil with some dietary changes you can allow yourself to have a more diverse diet even with IBS. You won’t have to ask as often, “what foods make IBS worse” and can live your life a little more freely. Ask your doctor if Atrantil would be right for you. (Get yours here!)  

What have you found to be your trigger foods? Let us know in the comments, it might help someone who hasn’t quite found theirs yet.