Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional impairment of the digestive system. It is characterized by recurrent crampy abdominal pain and diarrhea. Many foods have been implicated as possible culprits. Chief among them are gluten, soy, eggs, and dairy. A recent study in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" shows that diet can cause or exacerbate irritable bowel syndrome in up to 25 percent of affected persons.
Soy Intolerance
There is a distinction between soy allergies and soy intolerance. Soy allergies affect around .4 percent of the population while soy intolerance may affect many more. Persons with intolerances to soy may develop symptoms associated with irritable bowel disease. The best way to determine whether a food is affecting the digestive tract adversely is to do an allergy elimination diet.
Allergy Elimination
An allergy elimination diet consists of removing the most common food allergens from your diet, and then slowly reintegrating them one at a time and noting any adverse reactions. Typically, you avoid eggs, dairy, soy, and gluten for one month. Foods are then reintroduced slowly, one at a time over the course of many days. Adverse reactions may include belching, burping, abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, constipation and skin rash.
Eliminating Troublesome Foods
Once you've isolated which food which irritates your bowel, you can eliminate it from your diet. Be sure to note all products that contain that food and derivatives of that food that may cause you problems. For example, if you find that soy is contributing to your symptoms of IBS, you should avoid soybeans, tofu, soy sauce, soy protein, miso, and tempeh.
Other Things that Help
In addition to eliminating certain foods from the diet, there are many other things that may help with IBS. There are many peer reviewed scientific studies on the subject. Beneficial supplements may include l-glutamine, probiotics, zinc, slippery elm, chamomile and aloe. Note that these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Note also that you should check with your doctor prior to starting herbal nutritional supplements.
References
- Journal of the American Deitetic Association. The role of diet in symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in adults: a narrative review. Heizer WD, et. al. 2009.
- Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The Natural History of Soy Allergy. Savage JH et. al. 2010.
- Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift. Probiotic Therapy of the Irritable Bowel Syndrom. Enck P et. al. 2011.
- Nutrition in Clinical Practice. Behavioral and complementary approaches for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Wald A. et. al. 2008.
- Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Effects of two natural medicine formulations on irritable bowel syndrome symptoms: a pilot study. Hawrelak JA. et. al. 2010
- International Journal of Clinical Practice. Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of aloe vera for irritable bowel syndrome. Davis K. et. al. 2006.
