IBS and travelling. The topic is quite an un-glamorous one, but if you suffer from IBS and are travelling, well it can be one that is important to consider. Bloating, gas, stomach cramps, and the like aren’t the symptoms you want to experience at any time, let alone whilst on holiday. If IBS tends to affect your life at any time then the importance of your diet is not one to take lightly. Here I share with you the top foods that you can integrate into your diet to try and reduce your daily symptoms and in turn, improve your quality of life.
If you are too busy to prepare meals these healthy means will reduce the symptoms, reach out to your local healthy restaurant and request a weekly deliveries service or if, like me, you have a neighbour who has fast food delivery insurance, ask them to collect the healthy meals for you
High Fibre
Fibre is important to IBS sufferers, but it is all about the right type of fibre. As fibre bulks out your stool and goes some way in reducing diarrhoea, you should be aiming to consume around 30 grams of fibre per day. However, if you tend to experience bloating after consuming fibre you should be looking to only consume soluble fibre, that can be found in root vegetables and fruits, rather than grains.
Sometimes the introduction of fibre into your diet can make your symptoms get a little worse, before they get better, so be a little patient when changing your diet. Try ibsrelief.com for instant relief from IBS and carry a pack around with you at all times in case you are ever in a situation where food choices are limited and you have to eat anything that you know could bring on a bout of IBS.
Low Fibre
Confusingly a low fibre diet may also be the way forward for some IBS sufferers. As IBS triggers and symptoms differ from person to person, combating the symptoms differs from one person to the next. So whereas one person may benefit from increasing their intake of soluble fibre, another may benefit from reducing the amount of fibre in their diet, particularly those that suffer from chronic diarrhoea, or excessive gas, as two of their main IBS symptoms.
No one should be completely eliminating fibre from their diet, but those suffering from the above symptoms may definitely benefiting from lowering the amount of fibre and only focusing on a small amount of soluble fibre, that can be found in berries, apples, carrots and oatmeal. As the summer months are upon us it is a great time to be buying spring berries, so why not whip yourself up an apple, carrot and berry smoothie for breakfast to ensure you have got your daily intake of soluble fibre.
Gluten Free Foods
We all know that gluten is an IBS sufferers worst enemy and we are all becoming savvier about the amount of gluten we are digesting. We should all be working towards a gluten-free diet, as much as possible, but that can sometimes be easier said than done. There are so many situations where avoiding gluten, can be next to impossible and it is in these moments where we can end up undoing days and even weeks of good work.
There are however now an enormous range of gluten-free foods, such as bread, pasta, pies and even gluten-free pizzas. Whilst we don’t recommend eating gluten-free alternatives on a daily basis (they can be very high in sugar), we do recommend them for those moments when only a sandwich or bowl of pasta will do.
So, IBS and travelling – what are your tips to keep your tummy in line?
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