W ri t i n g a F o od D i a ry to
He lp M a na g e I B S
Dr Carolyn Dean is a medical doctor and naturopath. She has authored and co-authored over 35 books
Writing a Food Diary to Help Manage IBS Writing a food diary is recommended by many experts as the first step towards managing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. AÂ food diary helps to identify trigger foods and notice patterns and connections to food and drink that cause a flare-up of symptoms.
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Meals and I ngr ed ients A food diary for IBS should detail everything that is eaten or drunk throughout the course of each day, including ingredients and how the food was prepared. Different ways of cooking, such as frying or baking, can cause different reactions.
Portion s a n d S n ac ks The size of portions eaten can make a difference as to whether the food caus-
Drinks
es an adverse effect in the bowel or not, so portion sizes should be recorded.
Drinks can be just as guilty as food
Any snacks, no matter how small or
when it comes to IBS symptoms, so
seemingly insignificant, should also be
these should be recorded as well. For
detailed. This includes things people
example, alcohol and caffeine are
may not usually think of as food, such
known irritants.
as chewing gum.
‘IBS for Dummies’ has professional advice for people dealing with irritable bowel syndrome.
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Dr Carolyn Dean
You can learn more about this book and about IBS by visiting the blog of Dr. Carolyn Dean.