Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Questions about the diet.....

1. The diet is excellent and generally speakings it is consistent with the research findings about the role of diet in IBS.
2. A small amount of nutrients mostly vitamins are lost when vegetables are cooked. The nutrient value of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in veggies are not harmed by cooking. Some vitamin A, C, E, K and B are lost merely by cutting vegetables. Sometimes cooking can increase the amount of some nutrients in veggies. For example, the amount of antioxidants in carrots and lycopene in tomatoes increases when cooked. Cooking breaks plant cells open to increase the absorption of these antioxidants and other beneficial plant chemicals. Use as little water as needed to cook veggies and reserve the water for use in soups or preparing rice, pasta, etc because it contains the vitamins and minerals from the cooked veggies.
2. Up your EFI food intake to meet your caloric needs.
3. The USDA recommends a minimum daily fiber intake of 25-30 grams. Heather recommends a higher intake of fiber particulary SF. The USDA and Heather recommends 20-25% of daily calories should come from fat. The latest research suggests that all IBSers including IBS-C should dramatically reduce the intake of IF from grains and replace it with SF and IF from fruits and veggies. I don't take any SFS - I get all of my fiber from my diet. I limit my consumption of foods to those that have less than 10-15% fat by weight - this is simpler than calculating the daily percentage of calories from fat. I keep my SF consumption as high as possible and my IF consumption as low as possible.
4. Sometimes I feel well - sometimes I just feel better. Diet control is only a management tool not a cure.

Good luck

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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS

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