Triggers and foods
Finding what your gut reacts to, including delayed reactions, stress, sleep and the foods people most often suspect.
Triggers and foodsDo Carbonated Drinks Make IBS Worse? Soda vs Water
Sometimes, but rarely for the reason people think. Bubbles mostly stretch the stomach; the syrup, sweeteners and caffeine dissolved in them reach the bowel.
27 min read
Triggers and foodsFructose Malabsorption vs IBS: What a Test Means
Fructose malabsorption is not a separate disease from IBS. Healthy people malabsorb fructose too, and a positive breath test does not predict who a low fructose diet helps.
29 min read
Triggers and foodsIs Chocolate Bad for IBS? Dark, Milk, Hot Cocoa
Is chocolate bad for IBS? Not always. Fat, lactose, caffeine and sugar-free sweeteners are the usual culprits. How dark, milk, white and hot chocolate compare.
29 min read
Triggers and foodsDoes Fiber Make IBS Worse? Why Some Types Backfire
Fiber can make IBS worse: bran and fast-fermenting fibers like inulin often do, and even psyllium adds colonic volume. Which type, why, and how to test it.
33 min read
Triggers and foodsDoes Spicy Food Make IBS Worse? What Chili Does
Often, yes: in IBS-D, chili caused more gut pain and burning than in healthy people with the same mouth burn. Why it happens, and if tolerance can come back.
33 min read
Triggers and foodsFatty Foods and IBS: Why Greasy Food Triggers It
Fatty foods trigger IBS because fat is a strong gut signal and an IBS gut overreacts to it. Why greasy food causes diarrhea, fat intolerance look-alikes, what helps.
39 min read
Triggers and foodsWorst Foods for IBS: What the Research Ranks
The worst foods for IBS, ranked two ways: how often people blame them in surveys, and how often they cause symptoms under blinding. The lists disagree.
37 min read
Triggers and foodsDoes Alcohol Make IBS Worse? What Studies Show
For many people yes, but the evidence points at how much you drink in one session rather than at alcohol as a fixed trigger. What the research actually shows.
30 min read
Triggers and foodsHow to Find Out What Triggers Your IBS
Find IBS triggers with a structured test, not a hunch: settle a baseline, log a short list, challenge one suspect at a time, and repeat it before you believe it.
25 min read
Triggers and foodsIs Coffee Bad for IBS-D? What Research Says
Coffee is a genuine colonic stimulant, and IBS-D has the least room to absorb the push. What the evidence shows, why decaf still does it, and how to test it.
27 min read
Triggers and foodsSorbitol IBS Trigger: Where It Hides and Why
Sorbitol is a dose-dependent laxative for everyone, not just people with IBS. Where it hides, how much it takes, and why labels often will not tell you.
30 min read
Triggers and foodsWhat to Eat During an IBS Flare Up: Evidence
No trial has tested what to eat during an IBS flare. What the evidence supports is changing how you eat: portion, fat load, fibre type, fermentable load.
32 min read
Triggers and foodsWhy Do Safe Foods Sometimes Trigger My IBS?
A safe food is a safe dose in a safe gut state, not a safe food. What changes between the good day and the bad one, and how to tell which thing moved.
31 min read
Triggers and foodsWhy Does Bread Make My IBS Worse? Not Gluten
Bread usually upsets IBS because of fructans, bran and portion size, not gluten. What blinded trials, fructan measurements and fermentation research show.
30 min read
Triggers and foodsWhy Do Garlic and Onion Affect IBS So Much?
Garlic and onion affect IBS because they are the densest everyday source of fructans, a carbohydrate your small intestine cannot break down at all. Here is the mechanism.
29 min read
Triggers and foodsWhy Does Lactose Free Milk Upset My Stomach?
Lactose-free milk still has milk protein, milk fat and the same volume. Here is what actually causes the reaction, and how to test which part it is.
29 min read
Triggers and foodsWhy Does My IBS Get Worse in the Summer?
Heat, humidity, summer fruit, holidays and gastroenteritis season all land at once. What the evidence says about hot weather and IBS, and what to test first.
30 min read
Triggers and foodsHow Long After Eating Does IBS Flare Up? A Timeline
How long after eating does IBS flare up? Urgency can start within minutes, FODMAP symptoms build over hours, and dinner can drive next-morning symptoms.
28 min read
Triggers and foodsIBS During Your Period: Why It Flares, What Helps
IBS during your period often gets worse: nearly half of women with IBS flare at menstruation. Why hormones do it, what helps, and when to suspect endometriosis.
39 min read