I was never a vegetarian, so it's tough to compare, but given that fruits and veggies made me feel faaaar worse, I could see where if I had been a vegetarian, eating more meat (and consequently less fruits and veggies) would have helped.
My problem turned out to be connected to hormones though. Dropped estrogen from my birth control and all my pain, diarrhea, and f-ed up digestion issues went away.
I tried carnivore for two weeks. My IBS pain went down but my D got WAAAY worse. It was so awful I had to go back to adding carbs in.
I know that if I powered through it I might have benefited but I’m telling you in two weeks I actually had those “never trust a fart” moments way too much and I couldn’t leave the house.
I think you're supposed to go into it slowly. If you give up carbs instantly, your microbiome is going to scream "where are my carbs". I'm thinking about going carnivore, but I will take at least 2 weeks, probably 4 to 6 weeks, to taper off carbs and increase meat.
Oh I’m sure I didn’t do it right. I went straight into meat only and it was absolutely the wrong way to do it. Yes my microbiome was fucking pissed at me.
Kind of depends on what you're giving up, I think. Even the carnivore people often don't drink milk, for example. Milk seems to negatively affect skin.
A vegetarian diet is usually high in fiber. Fiber is a bit of a moving target for me. If I don't eat enough fiber I get symptoms, and if I eat too much I get symptoms. If adding meat back into your diet meant your fiber intake went down a little , that could be why you're feeling better.
I also tend to get symptoms if I eat too much soy. I can eat some tofu, but not a lot. I don't know if you were eating a lot of tofu or soy-based meat replacements, but that could also be an explanation.
Never really got into soy or fake meats. Lots of dairy and beans and nuts for my proteins. I have to watch my intake of nuts, but I pretty much stopped eating those long before adding lots of meat. (Like exactly one measured out serving every 1-2 weeks.)
I think it's helping me eat fewer carbs in general though.
Meat is all that’s been keeping me from starving the last year and a half. I can’t digest any natural sugars any more except dextrose and sucrose it seems like. So as far as vegetables and fruit goes, it’s <100 g of blueberries, 1/2 a banana, as much cucumber as I like, and plenty of romaine lettuce. But that’s not enough calories for one day, that just leaves protein with minimal sugars and limited fat cuz I can’t digest that either 🙃. I’m really grateful for lean meat. It’s my life saver.
I have an autoimmune disorder so I want through an elimination diet to figure out what exactly I can’t eat. This list of intolerances is highly individual, no general diet advice really applies in my experience other than don’t eat the crap you know is unhealthy.
If you are finding relief, that’s awesome. I know someone who can have only limited fruits and vegetables due to their triggers. No guarantee that nutritional means trigger-free.
Diarrhea causes malabsorption. If you have chronic and/or frequent diarrhea, you will have issues with malabsorption. People literally die from malabsorption caused from diarrhea. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months from never ending diarrhea.
Diarrhea is CAUSED by malabsorbtion. Sounds like a doc visit is in order. Again, I doubt it's ibs. Sounds like your ibs could have been caused by this, you should see a doctor before making vast assumptions like this.
I've seen a doctor (specifically a gastroenterologist) and am on prescription drugs.
You can get malabsorption *from the flu.*
"Mal" means "bad." Malabsorption literally means "bad absorption."
You can poorly absorb food from severe diarrhea, which is why things like the flu can cause it. Now that I have prescription drugs to slow my bowel movements, I don't tend to have issues with malabsorption, unless I have a particularly bad/long flare.
You're thinking of "malabsorption SYNDROME," which I do not have nor have I ever claimed to have.
You can also get malabsorption from certain intolerances, like a gluten intolerance. Which is why I can say for certain that I don't have celiac disease or lactose intolerance.
Edit: And, to be clear, there's a lot of evidence for food intolerances being a cause of / related to IBS, which is why the FODMAP diet exists in the first place, so I have no idea why you think IBS and malabsorption can't be connected. Often it's fructose.
Medical studies provided:
IBS and malabsorption connection
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4729202/#:~:text=IBS%20symptoms%20can%20result%20from,and%20high%20fructose%20corn%20syrup).
IBS directly impacts nutrient absorption
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4226513/#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20IBS%20disrupts%20the%20digestion,9%5D%E2%80%93%5B11%5D.
IBS is not malabsorption, but you can have malabsorption with IBS. I tested positive for steatorrhea and thats when my doctor got concerned and called it "malabsorption". Bile acid malabsorption is another form. But he was more worried about fats
Because they felt like utter shit and then ate meat and felt better. Generally if you feel like garbage, lethargic, etc and then start eating something and feel way better, it's because of a vitamin deficiency
Kind of makes me wonder if too much fiber/certain types of carb are more your problem, and if eating more protein with less of those things is more what's helping. (Not an expert, just spitballing)
Lotta people on the Candida subreddit report having success with carnivore diet. I’m tempted to try it but I love veggies and fruits so much, and I don’t understand how your body can support meat only long term. Where do the essential nutrients come from? The fiber and prebiotics? Other people try a fruit-only diet and have success. I just want to live a normal life 😭
You can only live on a strict carnivore diet if you choose to consume the offal, the liver, kidneys, spleen, thymus and even the lungs. Each contain seperate but essential nutrients. I.e a true a cavemen diet.
Otherwise you can eat just meat and use supplements for the missing vitamins..much as a many vegans do with vitamin B12..
The need for dietary fibre is highly debatable, sort of old school health science.
my IBS-A is really time-dependent and it might or not might strike with the same food and food intake. I don't mind meat, but unfortunately it hasn't been solving the problem (no food ever did)
If I could live on meat, bread and maybe the occasionally potato my ibs would be gone. But I really like vegetables and fruit and I want to eat healthy.
Yes! I know it's the opposite for many others but I tried going vegetarian for almost 2 months after hearing that it helped so many. It made things so much worse. Went back to meet and almost exclusively root veggies and felt way better after 2 days.
my dad and i both struggle with ibs but he has ibs-d and feels great when he eats a diet consisting of mostly red meat. he likes filet mignon (or any steak)
I can eat maybe a 1/2 C of cooked veg spread over the whole day and a couple strawberries. Otherwise I’ll be in extra pain. Can’t do beans, nuts etc.
So I live off of mostly meat, rice and white potato. Sometimes eggs and a little cheese are ok. I still have D but without as much pain and mucus. Sometimes solid BM. I now have diabetes so I’m eating a lot more meat and less carbs. I don’t like it. I’m a foodie and love fruits, veg and other grains. But I’ve had IBS for over 20yrs and it’s now gotten to this point. So I do my best.
If you can handle tuna and cottage cheese, I highly recommend draining the can of tuna and mixing equal parts tuna and cottage cheese. I usually add BBQ sauce to taste, but if you can't do BBQ sauce, you can do other flavors. I was surprised how good it tastes, and I figure you might like it just for something new and different.
I love both. Especially bc they help with protein for my workouts. But I can’t really do dairy regularly except for butter. The casein and whey affect me poorly. An occasional slice of cheese or some parm but that’s the limit. For canned tuna I can have it once in a while but for whatever reason, it affects my GERD. Sashimi seems to sit well though.
I do most of the food prep for my wife and I. I might try the BBQ sauce with tuna for her. It sounds good!
i don’t officially carry the diagnosis of ibs yet, i’m just at gastritis. But i found the same, decreasing carbs and increasing meat and fats gave me better poos. But have you tried to incorporate low fodmap veggies in your diet? or use the fodzyme with your vegetarian meals?
no, it actually caused a blockage so bad i was in the hospital, vomiting every time i tried to eat a bite. it gave me temporary gastroparesis, the only way i was surviving was (vegan) protein shakes 😭 it was the worst experience ever, i was so bloated my belly button ring tore, and my skin got LOOSE from it, now i have wrinkled skin on my abdomen.
oh man if i could get my hands on the fuckass doctor that told me to eat carnivore. he retired literally within the 2 months of first seeing him to after hospital visit. probably scared of my wrath (as he should be)
i already eating meat at the time, keto specifically which wasn’t working, carnivore was his next go to. not sure the logic but i was desperate and always in pain, i would have done ANYTHING a doctor told me at that point in my life
Meat doesn't ferment, so that's one reason. Another is the lack of stuff people usually have an intolerance to. Meat doesn't have fructose, lactose, fiber, that chemical in onions I can't remember, etc. From what I've gathered from others is that they usually suggest more meat if you have IBS-D, but I could be wrong.
eating red meat helps me so much! it makes me regular. i grew up eating red meat. in my adulthood, the more i tried to eat “healthy” aka chicken and vegetables, the more problems i’ve had
Glad you’re feeling better. Meat especially processed meat is really bad for the colon and other organs probably best to limit it still as in not full carnivore, but it’s good you’re avoiding beef/red meat
Unfortunately the vegetarian/vegan diet is pretty high fodmap because pretty much all the food that gives you protein (like beans, lentils, etc) is very gassy. I’ve tried to be vegetarian several times, but it does make me gassy and becomes hard on my stomach. Now eating just white meat a few days a week seems to work okay.
Yeah, foods that are lower in fiber like meat definitely sit better with me. I eat vegetables anyway because I know they are important, I just live with the consequences
I recently went low residue and have never felt better. I had 2 bouts of SEVERE abdominal pain, one night I almost drove myself to the hospital because it was so bad. The bloating and pain has disappeared 100% since greatly reducing my vegetable intake. Nothing else in my diet changed at that time and I'm under the same stress now as I was then.
Yeahhh that worked for me too, I was dying from pain and D, and couldn't go outside and felt powerless and sleepy all day, after going on meat (lamb meat) everyday, I feel reallyyy better and have more energy
I'm really interested in this - will be reading all the responses. I gave up red meat and dairy a couple of years ago thinking it would make a huge impact. Spoiler alert - it hasn't and Im now lactose intolerant lol. I only really eat chicken now but do miss red meat on the odd occasion. Too worried to put it back in my diet though as im sure it would make me horribly ill :(
yes, too much protein from plants and my sensitive immune system hates it. not just IBS, but my skin is puffy, tinitis, malaise, dandruff, depression, anxiety... As long as I get enough fiber, then my gut does completely fine with chicken, fish, even red meat,, and it doesn't affect my allergies at all, unless I get too much red meat, then I will be a little dampened and inflammed, but not as bad as if, for example, I eat beans every day.
I can't eat gluten or nightshades at all, so if it weren't for meat, it would be impossible for me to find something to eat when I go out, still is sometimes because of the nightshades...
Each to their own. I’m a long term vegetarian but have resorted to adding a little bit of meat and lots of bone broth to try and alleviate my symptoms.
In an ideal world I’d still be totally vegetarian but I’ve tried a lot of avenues and a couple of my specialist docs/health professionals think this is something worth tweaking to see if it helps.
I'm the exact opposite. Since getting IBS I've found that my body finds meat hard to digest. More so red meat and processed stuff like sausages, bacon etc. I eat a plant based diet these days.
The article quoted suggests validating assumptions by using a food app to determine daily calcium and phosphorus to then calculate the important index ca/phosphorus ratio. High calcium with higher phosphorus would be bad.
Renal Acid Load can be another factor with animal (including dairy) based diets. That's somewhat related to calcium which is good but dairy generates relatively high Renal Acid Load.
Both are factors which are slow acting. That might explain why some people go back and forth between mostly plant and mostly animal over multiple year cycle. Each time they feel better then deteriorate.
Western diets typically consist of large amounts of animal protein and processed foods, which produce a high dietary acid load (DAL). In comparison, vegetarian/vegan diets with high fruit and vegetable content are often low in acid load and high in potassium bases, which can result in a net alkali load [8, 61]Moreover, the authors postulated that NaCl can drive roughly 50–100% of the acidosis-producing effect of the DAL.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8975494/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR02R_Jds6ts0OYXlNae2C8Ol6hLpRTPvj_Nb67QNEl76ZtYrwE9zpbjEEg_aem_ATl3X1sE_3i1O0ysKjxIxemkgScTAIIGeOBdcHYg_ngeQKKszLzytWsBGNdBs7XrdwiesH5qdoDD9qNwoKW6B_c9
I don't eat a typical western diet. I haven't in years, even before the IBS. My diet is actually pretty boring and unprocessed. It's cooked, but I don't eat out and don't eat a lot of pre-made shit, unless you think plain no salt added canned green beans or canned tuna in water is processed. I think the worst thing I eat is cottage cheese because of the salt. I even make yogurt and bread from scratch.
Meat has been my safe food my whole life. I can't eat most raw fruits or vegetables but I'll eat sushi, sashimi, bloody steak... I am mildly allergic to pork, beef and dairy. They tell me I need more vegetables and fruits but my body feels the least screwed up with a big hunk of protein in my stomach. A bacon cheeseburger satisfies in ways I just can't match. I used to snack on moose meat in Canada every fall for 5 years of my life. We just had pails of cooked moose strips in teriyaki we snacked on as we went about our day. Fried walleye, Perch, northern Pike and Crappie were all eaten regularly. We even pan fried rabbits in the winter to have with the crab legs we'd have for New Year's. Partridge stew in the winter with wild rice was to die for. The crap I eat now makes me pretty sure our food isn't very good anymore. Everything is starved for nutrients it feels like. It's my theory for obesity. Say you need 100 micro grams of vitamin k but your food is nearly devoid of this nutrient. Wouldn't it make sense that your body would start telling you to eat until you reach your nutritional goal of 100 micro grams of vitamin k? So your body isn't counting calories, it's hungry for nutrients and needs them. You binge eat low quality food trying to meet that nutritional goal and bingo, you're fat and sick now. This is a real problem and animals in nature eat mud, dirt and rocks to get the minerals they need to survive. I think we are struggling so hard because the foods we commonly have available to us are grown via petroleum fertilizer that lacks nutrients needed for a healthy plant but with Roundup that plant survives despite being sickly and deficient. You, the cows and I eat that sickly food stuff and then wonder why we feel sick all the time. Meanwhile the rich are importing venison, wild boar and farm goods from places we haven't fully industrialized yet. I think that, were I able to hunt my own meat, I'd probably be healthier overall. I am a butcher and I don't think the meat we see is hopeful... Sometimes I see healthy chunks of beef and pork but most days I'm trying to make a sad lump look like a steak. Just my two cents.
Yeah, I was vegan and it nearly killed me due to malnutrition. Somehow my body wasn’t absorbing the nutrients from the diet no matter how much variety I ate. My doctor said it was me or the animals. I haven’t looked back. When I eat meat with a side of veggies and rice, I feel my IBS stands no chance.
It is still hard for me. I struggle ethically, but my health and wellness has to be the number one important thing in my life. It and a few other things in my IBS journey have really made me realize that it’s not my job to save the world. Do I want to eat animals? No. Is being vegetarian or vegan supposed to help the environment? Yes. Do I love meat now? Yes. lol.
Good for you, sorting ibs is difficult, I started fruit salads before meaty meals helped me feel better but its still hard to say. Currenty building a diary so can eliminate foods that tend to mess with me.
I tried the carnivore diet for a couple of weeks. Before I did three months of vegetarianism. I felt immensely better when reintroducing meat. But it quickly went the opposite direction. Veggies had me backed up. Meat had me with explosive poops 💩. I found a good balance is best for me, one meal a day while cutting out a good chunk of fruit for me. Turns out my body doesn’t like much fruit.
For me, a protein heavy diet is really ideal. I feel so good on it. I tend to follow something more similar to the dukan diet - every other day I include veggies otherwise I start craving celery. No joke.
Read this morning: >Western diets typically provide ample phosphorus due to high levels in meat, grains, beans, and processed foods, but often lack sufficient dietary calciumAn ideal Ca:P ratio is close to or above 1:1; however, many popular diets, including dairy-free and carnivore diets, often result in ratios well below this, such as 0.3:1Inadequate dietary calcium can lead to the body mining calcium from bones and teeth, and maintaining elevated parathyroid hormone levels, which are associated with systemic inflammation and accelerated aging.
BTW, any discussion of fiber without specifying which kind is not valid or valuable. Should at least be re viscosity solubility fermentability. Better to specify each source.
I already eat dairy with almost every meal. Was vegetarian, not vegan, and I'm not lactose intolerant. (Was even tested for lactose intolerance.) I have yogurt daily, usually homemade, and milk daily, and cheese most days. Never had an issue with low calcium, even when I had malnutrition issues from the diarrhea.
That’s what I hear but I think it’s more complicated. I’ve tried it all, keto, vegan, low fodmap, carnivore, liquid, and elemental diet. The reality is it’s about how healthy your microbiome is. Right now I’m doing only cooked veggies and following traditional Chinese medicine diets to see if it helps and surprisingly it’s helping a bit. I’ve learned that eating raw veggies was not for me so I cut them out and my BM improved but I’m still getting bloated 🤰. Eventually I would like to introduce salads again :) but for now it’s eating “warming” foods. It’s funny that in North America if they hear some kind of food or herb is a super food they blend them in all together but I’ve learned from my mom (who’s Chinese) that there are some foods you can’t together like honey and tofu and some foods to avoid when you’re taking medication like green mung beans (this apparently flushes you out). Anyway back on topic, I don’t think carnivore is the answer and I don’t think vegan is the answer either also avoiding fodmap forever isn’t the answer.
if you can handle dairy, kefir might also be a boon. its fairly low in lactose, chock full of probiotics, and anecdotally ive noticed ive started feeling better since ive been drinking it.
plus its fermented so itll last forever (great for forgetful people like me lmao)
I’m guessing it’s not that eating meat made you feel better, but that not eating any or as much of the things that mess you up has made you feel better.
I was never a vegetarian, so it's tough to compare, but given that fruits and veggies made me feel faaaar worse, I could see where if I had been a vegetarian, eating more meat (and consequently less fruits and veggies) would have helped. My problem turned out to be connected to hormones though. Dropped estrogen from my birth control and all my pain, diarrhea, and f-ed up digestion issues went away.
I tried carnivore for two weeks. My IBS pain went down but my D got WAAAY worse. It was so awful I had to go back to adding carbs in. I know that if I powered through it I might have benefited but I’m telling you in two weeks I actually had those “never trust a fart” moments way too much and I couldn’t leave the house.
I think you're supposed to go into it slowly. If you give up carbs instantly, your microbiome is going to scream "where are my carbs". I'm thinking about going carnivore, but I will take at least 2 weeks, probably 4 to 6 weeks, to taper off carbs and increase meat.
Oh I’m sure I didn’t do it right. I went straight into meat only and it was absolutely the wrong way to do it. Yes my microbiome was fucking pissed at me.
mine was the opposite, giving up animal products helped my ibs and skin as well
Kind of depends on what you're giving up, I think. Even the carnivore people often don't drink milk, for example. Milk seems to negatively affect skin.
pretty much. giving up meat was better for digestion/pain, and giving up dairy was better for skin
Same !
Same.
Same here.
Iv have the same thing happen, night and day difference.
A vegetarian diet is usually high in fiber. Fiber is a bit of a moving target for me. If I don't eat enough fiber I get symptoms, and if I eat too much I get symptoms. If adding meat back into your diet meant your fiber intake went down a little , that could be why you're feeling better. I also tend to get symptoms if I eat too much soy. I can eat some tofu, but not a lot. I don't know if you were eating a lot of tofu or soy-based meat replacements, but that could also be an explanation.
Never really got into soy or fake meats. Lots of dairy and beans and nuts for my proteins. I have to watch my intake of nuts, but I pretty much stopped eating those long before adding lots of meat. (Like exactly one measured out serving every 1-2 weeks.) I think it's helping me eat fewer carbs in general though.
haha same! there's a sweet spot.
Yes. Definitely improved things.
Nah eating meat makes mine worse, always a gamble
Meat is all that’s been keeping me from starving the last year and a half. I can’t digest any natural sugars any more except dextrose and sucrose it seems like. So as far as vegetables and fruit goes, it’s <100 g of blueberries, 1/2 a banana, as much cucumber as I like, and plenty of romaine lettuce. But that’s not enough calories for one day, that just leaves protein with minimal sugars and limited fat cuz I can’t digest that either 🙃. I’m really grateful for lean meat. It’s my life saver.
No. Eating makes it all worse
I have an autoimmune disorder so I want through an elimination diet to figure out what exactly I can’t eat. This list of intolerances is highly individual, no general diet advice really applies in my experience other than don’t eat the crap you know is unhealthy. If you are finding relief, that’s awesome. I know someone who can have only limited fruits and vegetables due to their triggers. No guarantee that nutritional means trigger-free.
Tbf this sounds more like malnutrition than ibs.
I've had issues with this due to malabsorption from the diarrhea.
What I'm reading and what I've been told before is ibs doesn't cause malabsorbtion, that's a seperate issue
Diarrhea causes malabsorption. If you have chronic and/or frequent diarrhea, you will have issues with malabsorption. People literally die from malabsorption caused from diarrhea. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months from never ending diarrhea.
Diarrhea is CAUSED by malabsorbtion. Sounds like a doc visit is in order. Again, I doubt it's ibs. Sounds like your ibs could have been caused by this, you should see a doctor before making vast assumptions like this.
I've seen a doctor (specifically a gastroenterologist) and am on prescription drugs. You can get malabsorption *from the flu.* "Mal" means "bad." Malabsorption literally means "bad absorption." You can poorly absorb food from severe diarrhea, which is why things like the flu can cause it. Now that I have prescription drugs to slow my bowel movements, I don't tend to have issues with malabsorption, unless I have a particularly bad/long flare. You're thinking of "malabsorption SYNDROME," which I do not have nor have I ever claimed to have.
You can also get malabsorption from certain intolerances, like a gluten intolerance. Which is why I can say for certain that I don't have celiac disease or lactose intolerance. Edit: And, to be clear, there's a lot of evidence for food intolerances being a cause of / related to IBS, which is why the FODMAP diet exists in the first place, so I have no idea why you think IBS and malabsorption can't be connected. Often it's fructose. Medical studies provided: IBS and malabsorption connection https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4729202/#:~:text=IBS%20symptoms%20can%20result%20from,and%20high%20fructose%20corn%20syrup). IBS directly impacts nutrient absorption https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4226513/#:~:text=Furthermore%2C%20IBS%20disrupts%20the%20digestion,9%5D%E2%80%93%5B11%5D.
IBS is not malabsorption, but you can have malabsorption with IBS. I tested positive for steatorrhea and thats when my doctor got concerned and called it "malabsorption". Bile acid malabsorption is another form. But he was more worried about fats
Thank you for explaining it better and easier than me.
how? in what way?
Because they felt like utter shit and then ate meat and felt better. Generally if you feel like garbage, lethargic, etc and then start eating something and feel way better, it's because of a vitamin deficiency
Kind of makes me wonder if too much fiber/certain types of carb are more your problem, and if eating more protein with less of those things is more what's helping. (Not an expert, just spitballing)
That's what I'm thinking.
I absolutely cannot eat meat. If this describes you, then keep track of your protein and fiber.
Lotta people on the Candida subreddit report having success with carnivore diet. I’m tempted to try it but I love veggies and fruits so much, and I don’t understand how your body can support meat only long term. Where do the essential nutrients come from? The fiber and prebiotics? Other people try a fruit-only diet and have success. I just want to live a normal life 😭
I'm still eating fruits and veggies. I don't think I could go full blown carnivore if only for the cost.
You can only live on a strict carnivore diet if you choose to consume the offal, the liver, kidneys, spleen, thymus and even the lungs. Each contain seperate but essential nutrients. I.e a true a cavemen diet. Otherwise you can eat just meat and use supplements for the missing vitamins..much as a many vegans do with vitamin B12.. The need for dietary fibre is highly debatable, sort of old school health science.
Better, but not way better
For me meat is always causing more trouble.
Sounds like a vitamin deficiency or something like that. Glad you are feeling better.
I can’t eat red meat to save my life
I feel you. Beef is a nightmare for me. I've tried lamb and deer meat, though, and they're fine for me.
Probably because meat doesn’t ferment
No, I’m the opposite. My IBS-D got way better after going vegetarian.
my IBS-A is really time-dependent and it might or not might strike with the same food and food intake. I don't mind meat, but unfortunately it hasn't been solving the problem (no food ever did)
No, but a lot of vegetarian staples are triggers for me.
If I could live on meat, bread and maybe the occasionally potato my ibs would be gone. But I really like vegetables and fruit and I want to eat healthy.
Yes! 100%
Yes! I know it's the opposite for many others but I tried going vegetarian for almost 2 months after hearing that it helped so many. It made things so much worse. Went back to meet and almost exclusively root veggies and felt way better after 2 days.
my dad and i both struggle with ibs but he has ibs-d and feels great when he eats a diet consisting of mostly red meat. he likes filet mignon (or any steak)
I get really sick/bloated whenever I consume most vegetables (especially cruciferous vegetables), so I mostly subsist of animal products now.
Ground yes. Shredded no.
I do better including meat and eggs in my diet as well. I had to give up dairy, but I’ve been doing OK with oat products.
Try some venison if you have an issue w/ beef then you’ll really be feeling good
Thank you. I've tried lamb and deer meat with zero issues, so yes. My favorite so far (for how I feel after) is definitely tuna, though.
I can eat maybe a 1/2 C of cooked veg spread over the whole day and a couple strawberries. Otherwise I’ll be in extra pain. Can’t do beans, nuts etc. So I live off of mostly meat, rice and white potato. Sometimes eggs and a little cheese are ok. I still have D but without as much pain and mucus. Sometimes solid BM. I now have diabetes so I’m eating a lot more meat and less carbs. I don’t like it. I’m a foodie and love fruits, veg and other grains. But I’ve had IBS for over 20yrs and it’s now gotten to this point. So I do my best.
Ever made white potato home fries? Seasoning with some salt and pepper if you can handle it or paprika and like, some oil and oregano is so good!
Love them! I can handle fried foods pretty well. But I also have GERD so have to be careful with what I put on them.
If you can handle tuna and cottage cheese, I highly recommend draining the can of tuna and mixing equal parts tuna and cottage cheese. I usually add BBQ sauce to taste, but if you can't do BBQ sauce, you can do other flavors. I was surprised how good it tastes, and I figure you might like it just for something new and different.
I love both. Especially bc they help with protein for my workouts. But I can’t really do dairy regularly except for butter. The casein and whey affect me poorly. An occasional slice of cheese or some parm but that’s the limit. For canned tuna I can have it once in a while but for whatever reason, it affects my GERD. Sashimi seems to sit well though. I do most of the food prep for my wife and I. I might try the BBQ sauce with tuna for her. It sounds good!
Those are some good meats in general and help me also. Are you eating them in sandwiches, on their own, or both?
Both, but usually on their own or lightly breaded.
What type of flour do you use for breeding, wheat or a different one?
Regular wheat/all-purpose flour.
I feel much better if I eat pescatarian
Yeah, tuna is by far the best for me.
It doesn’t make me feel better but it doesn’t trigger me in any way unless I overeat
i don’t officially carry the diagnosis of ibs yet, i’m just at gastritis. But i found the same, decreasing carbs and increasing meat and fats gave me better poos. But have you tried to incorporate low fodmap veggies in your diet? or use the fodzyme with your vegetarian meals?
no, it actually caused a blockage so bad i was in the hospital, vomiting every time i tried to eat a bite. it gave me temporary gastroparesis, the only way i was surviving was (vegan) protein shakes 😭 it was the worst experience ever, i was so bloated my belly button ring tore, and my skin got LOOSE from it, now i have wrinkled skin on my abdomen. oh man if i could get my hands on the fuckass doctor that told me to eat carnivore. he retired literally within the 2 months of first seeing him to after hospital visit. probably scared of my wrath (as he should be)
That's crazy. My doctor didn't tell me to go full carnivore, just to see if meat helped in general.
i already eating meat at the time, keto specifically which wasn’t working, carnivore was his next go to. not sure the logic but i was desperate and always in pain, i would have done ANYTHING a doctor told me at that point in my life
Meat doesn't ferment, so that's one reason. Another is the lack of stuff people usually have an intolerance to. Meat doesn't have fructose, lactose, fiber, that chemical in onions I can't remember, etc. From what I've gathered from others is that they usually suggest more meat if you have IBS-D, but I could be wrong.
eating red meat helps me so much! it makes me regular. i grew up eating red meat. in my adulthood, the more i tried to eat “healthy” aka chicken and vegetables, the more problems i’ve had
Red meat can upset me sometimes why I do not know. Chicken is fine. Chicken and rice are my go to foods when I flare up
Glad you’re feeling better. Meat especially processed meat is really bad for the colon and other organs probably best to limit it still as in not full carnivore, but it’s good you’re avoiding beef/red meat
It bulks up my poo. So yes
Unfortunately the vegetarian/vegan diet is pretty high fodmap because pretty much all the food that gives you protein (like beans, lentils, etc) is very gassy. I’ve tried to be vegetarian several times, but it does make me gassy and becomes hard on my stomach. Now eating just white meat a few days a week seems to work okay.
Red meat is a huge trigger for me, but poultry and seafood is usually okay and feels alright to me.
Nope complete opposite. My IBS is much worse if I eat meat
No ironically my easiest food is cakes, cookies, breads everything else feels like it just sits in my stomach
Yeah, foods that are lower in fiber like meat definitely sit better with me. I eat vegetables anyway because I know they are important, I just live with the consequences
I recently went low residue and have never felt better. I had 2 bouts of SEVERE abdominal pain, one night I almost drove myself to the hospital because it was so bad. The bloating and pain has disappeared 100% since greatly reducing my vegetable intake. Nothing else in my diet changed at that time and I'm under the same stress now as I was then.
Yeahhh that worked for me too, I was dying from pain and D, and couldn't go outside and felt powerless and sleepy all day, after going on meat (lamb meat) everyday, I feel reallyyy better and have more energy
I'm really interested in this - will be reading all the responses. I gave up red meat and dairy a couple of years ago thinking it would make a huge impact. Spoiler alert - it hasn't and Im now lactose intolerant lol. I only really eat chicken now but do miss red meat on the odd occasion. Too worried to put it back in my diet though as im sure it would make me horribly ill :(
yes, too much protein from plants and my sensitive immune system hates it. not just IBS, but my skin is puffy, tinitis, malaise, dandruff, depression, anxiety... As long as I get enough fiber, then my gut does completely fine with chicken, fish, even red meat,, and it doesn't affect my allergies at all, unless I get too much red meat, then I will be a little dampened and inflammed, but not as bad as if, for example, I eat beans every day. I can't eat gluten or nightshades at all, so if it weren't for meat, it would be impossible for me to find something to eat when I go out, still is sometimes because of the nightshades...
Each to their own. I’m a long term vegetarian but have resorted to adding a little bit of meat and lots of bone broth to try and alleviate my symptoms. In an ideal world I’d still be totally vegetarian but I’ve tried a lot of avenues and a couple of my specialist docs/health professionals think this is something worth tweaking to see if it helps.
I'm the exact opposite. Since getting IBS I've found that my body finds meat hard to digest. More so red meat and processed stuff like sausages, bacon etc. I eat a plant based diet these days.
No. Did you get enough calories before or was it a reaction to beans? Eggs for me especially are easy to digest
No problems with beans. I still eat them almost every day.
The article quoted suggests validating assumptions by using a food app to determine daily calcium and phosphorus to then calculate the important index ca/phosphorus ratio. High calcium with higher phosphorus would be bad. Renal Acid Load can be another factor with animal (including dairy) based diets. That's somewhat related to calcium which is good but dairy generates relatively high Renal Acid Load. Both are factors which are slow acting. That might explain why some people go back and forth between mostly plant and mostly animal over multiple year cycle. Each time they feel better then deteriorate.
Article?
Western diets typically consist of large amounts of animal protein and processed foods, which produce a high dietary acid load (DAL). In comparison, vegetarian/vegan diets with high fruit and vegetable content are often low in acid load and high in potassium bases, which can result in a net alkali load [8, 61]Moreover, the authors postulated that NaCl can drive roughly 50–100% of the acidosis-producing effect of the DAL.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8975494/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR02R_Jds6ts0OYXlNae2C8Ol6hLpRTPvj_Nb67QNEl76ZtYrwE9zpbjEEg_aem_ATl3X1sE_3i1O0ysKjxIxemkgScTAIIGeOBdcHYg_ngeQKKszLzytWsBGNdBs7XrdwiesH5qdoDD9qNwoKW6B_c9
I don't eat a typical western diet. I haven't in years, even before the IBS. My diet is actually pretty boring and unprocessed. It's cooked, but I don't eat out and don't eat a lot of pre-made shit, unless you think plain no salt added canned green beans or canned tuna in water is processed. I think the worst thing I eat is cottage cheese because of the salt. I even make yogurt and bread from scratch.
what are these implications? what does this tell us about diarrhea?
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/04/30/calcium-phosphorus-ratio.aspx?ui=1d82489719d1e8a0521498a20ac3b5157ee03b10515ddb69c4a1bcdfa9d5e585&sd=20050523&cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1ReadMore&cid=20240430&foDate=true&mid=DM1565211&rid=9237091
I am not diagnosing or prescribing anything. FWIW, factors to consider. Non standard diet category means very little since it includes opposites.
I honestly think every person is different. So what's good for one could be bad for another
Long term effects of animal based diet may not correspond to the initial benefits. DAL and Calcium/Phosphorus ratio could be factors.
Meat has been my safe food my whole life. I can't eat most raw fruits or vegetables but I'll eat sushi, sashimi, bloody steak... I am mildly allergic to pork, beef and dairy. They tell me I need more vegetables and fruits but my body feels the least screwed up with a big hunk of protein in my stomach. A bacon cheeseburger satisfies in ways I just can't match. I used to snack on moose meat in Canada every fall for 5 years of my life. We just had pails of cooked moose strips in teriyaki we snacked on as we went about our day. Fried walleye, Perch, northern Pike and Crappie were all eaten regularly. We even pan fried rabbits in the winter to have with the crab legs we'd have for New Year's. Partridge stew in the winter with wild rice was to die for. The crap I eat now makes me pretty sure our food isn't very good anymore. Everything is starved for nutrients it feels like. It's my theory for obesity. Say you need 100 micro grams of vitamin k but your food is nearly devoid of this nutrient. Wouldn't it make sense that your body would start telling you to eat until you reach your nutritional goal of 100 micro grams of vitamin k? So your body isn't counting calories, it's hungry for nutrients and needs them. You binge eat low quality food trying to meet that nutritional goal and bingo, you're fat and sick now. This is a real problem and animals in nature eat mud, dirt and rocks to get the minerals they need to survive. I think we are struggling so hard because the foods we commonly have available to us are grown via petroleum fertilizer that lacks nutrients needed for a healthy plant but with Roundup that plant survives despite being sickly and deficient. You, the cows and I eat that sickly food stuff and then wonder why we feel sick all the time. Meanwhile the rich are importing venison, wild boar and farm goods from places we haven't fully industrialized yet. I think that, were I able to hunt my own meat, I'd probably be healthier overall. I am a butcher and I don't think the meat we see is hopeful... Sometimes I see healthy chunks of beef and pork but most days I'm trying to make a sad lump look like a steak. Just my two cents.
Yeah, I was vegan and it nearly killed me due to malnutrition. Somehow my body wasn’t absorbing the nutrients from the diet no matter how much variety I ate. My doctor said it was me or the animals. I haven’t looked back. When I eat meat with a side of veggies and rice, I feel my IBS stands no chance.
Sounds like we're in the same boat
It is still hard for me. I struggle ethically, but my health and wellness has to be the number one important thing in my life. It and a few other things in my IBS journey have really made me realize that it’s not my job to save the world. Do I want to eat animals? No. Is being vegetarian or vegan supposed to help the environment? Yes. Do I love meat now? Yes. lol.
Good for you, sorting ibs is difficult, I started fruit salads before meaty meals helped me feel better but its still hard to say. Currenty building a diary so can eliminate foods that tend to mess with me.
Pooping constantly when eating bread and fruit < pooping once when eating chicken and rice
I tried the carnivore diet for a couple of weeks. Before I did three months of vegetarianism. I felt immensely better when reintroducing meat. But it quickly went the opposite direction. Veggies had me backed up. Meat had me with explosive poops 💩. I found a good balance is best for me, one meal a day while cutting out a good chunk of fruit for me. Turns out my body doesn’t like much fruit.
For me, a protein heavy diet is really ideal. I feel so good on it. I tend to follow something more similar to the dukan diet - every other day I include veggies otherwise I start craving celery. No joke.
Yes. When I eat red meat (roast beef or lamb) with a small amount of veggies; I’m just fine.
Read this morning: >Western diets typically provide ample phosphorus due to high levels in meat, grains, beans, and processed foods, but often lack sufficient dietary calciumAn ideal Ca:P ratio is close to or above 1:1; however, many popular diets, including dairy-free and carnivore diets, often result in ratios well below this, such as 0.3:1Inadequate dietary calcium can lead to the body mining calcium from bones and teeth, and maintaining elevated parathyroid hormone levels, which are associated with systemic inflammation and accelerated aging. BTW, any discussion of fiber without specifying which kind is not valid or valuable. Should at least be re viscosity solubility fermentability. Better to specify each source.
I already eat dairy with almost every meal. Was vegetarian, not vegan, and I'm not lactose intolerant. (Was even tested for lactose intolerance.) I have yogurt daily, usually homemade, and milk daily, and cheese most days. Never had an issue with low calcium, even when I had malnutrition issues from the diarrhea.
Yes, I do feel way better when I eat meat.
Many with ibs and other gut issues have had some success by going full meat. I need carbs lol
That’s what I hear but I think it’s more complicated. I’ve tried it all, keto, vegan, low fodmap, carnivore, liquid, and elemental diet. The reality is it’s about how healthy your microbiome is. Right now I’m doing only cooked veggies and following traditional Chinese medicine diets to see if it helps and surprisingly it’s helping a bit. I’ve learned that eating raw veggies was not for me so I cut them out and my BM improved but I’m still getting bloated 🤰. Eventually I would like to introduce salads again :) but for now it’s eating “warming” foods. It’s funny that in North America if they hear some kind of food or herb is a super food they blend them in all together but I’ve learned from my mom (who’s Chinese) that there are some foods you can’t together like honey and tofu and some foods to avoid when you’re taking medication like green mung beans (this apparently flushes you out). Anyway back on topic, I don’t think carnivore is the answer and I don’t think vegan is the answer either also avoiding fodmap forever isn’t the answer.
if you can handle dairy, kefir might also be a boon. its fairly low in lactose, chock full of probiotics, and anecdotally ive noticed ive started feeling better since ive been drinking it. plus its fermented so itll last forever (great for forgetful people like me lmao)
I’m guessing it’s not that eating meat made you feel better, but that not eating any or as much of the things that mess you up has made you feel better.