What Is a Proper Diet for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

People who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, try to alleviate the symptoms through different methods. Some turn to special herbs, while others may even try techniques such as hypnosis to find relief. Many people, however, forget the most obvious solution and fail to consider going on a special diet. This may be due to a variety of reasons, one of which is the failure of their doctor in offering a diet plan for their specific condition.
Another dismaying fact is that today, there are a lot of bogus diets. Unfortunately, many con artists are out there waiting for the person looking to find a 'quick fix' solution to IBS. Out of desperation to rid yourself of this illness, you may try various suggested diets. If, of course, the advice proves to be wrong, then you would only end up having worse symptoms. And that's something that you do not want to happen.
One thing that you should know about IBS is the fact that diet has a lot to do with it. Eating the right foods can definitely help ease the various manifestations of this illness in a person's life. Many people say that every person should have his or her own diet for the problem. They insist that personalized diets for IBS sufferers are necessary to achieve freedom from this illness. And so people who want to find a solution pay a lot of money in order to have someone personalize a diet to suit their needs.
In fact, this is not really necessary. You may try to stick to one generic diet and still enjoy its benefits. Finding the proper diet for irritable bowel syndrome only requires understanding these tips:
1. Think in categories, not in specifics - There is no specific food that triggers symptoms of IBS. This does not mean that you don't have the power to control your illness. What you need to understand is that there are certain types of foods that will trigger your illness. You need to avoid these categories of foods:
a) Fatty
b) High in insoluble fiber
c) Coffee (both caffeinated and decaf)
d) Carbonated drinks
e) Alcohol
The proper diet eliminates food that fall under these categories because of the fact that these foods will trigger the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
2. Substitute and diversify - Just because you are on a diet for irritable bowel syndrome does not mean that you should miss out on eating good food. Try to find substitute for the different foods that you need to eliminate. You should also try to vary your meals in order to avoid boredom with what you are eating.
Remember that a diet for irritable bowel syndrome will help you only if you commit yourself to following it.