A Times Health Club member has posted a query regarding irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), asking if certain foods should be avoided, such as fruit, wheat and dairy.

Get a proper diagnosis from your GP

It's vital to rule out that symptoms such as abdominal pain and cramping, changes in your bowel habits, bloating, excessive wind (or even passing mucus) do not have other medical causes such as Crohn's disease. Also, because the exact cause of IBS is usually unclear, successful treatments vary from person to person. Some benefit from drugs such as Loperamide, which slows contractions of the muscles in the intestines, while others do well on herbal interventions such as peppermint oil. Hypnosis and relaxation therapy can also help.

Will a change in diet help?

Rather annoyingly, advice again is different for almost everyone depending on individual symptoms. That said, there are general tips that are worth trying. These include making sure that you have regular meals, taking a probiotic daily and drinking 8-10 glasses or cups of fluids, which can include water and herbal teas (peppermint tea is believed to be especially calming for the intestines). A maximum of three of these drinks should contain caffeine because it stimulates the bowel, the last thing you need if coping with an overly-active colon.

Try to avoid fizzy drinks

For people experiencing wind, bloating and/or diarrhoea with their IBS, it is worth trying to avoid fizzy drinks and sugar-free sweets containing sorbitol, mannitol and lactitol (which can produce wind and speed up intestinal movements). Also, limit fatty foods and those rich in “insoluble” fibre such as wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals like bran flakes. On the other hand, if constipated, such foods can be helpful.

Experiment with your fruit and veg

It is often a case of finding through trial and error what you can tolerate. For example, pears and apricots may be quite well tolerated, especially minus the skin and when canned, whereas very fibrous lightly-steamed cabbage could trigger problems.

What if I go gluten and dairy-free?

Seek advice from a registered dietitian who can help you to keep and analyse a food diary, and remove and reintroduce such foods in a controlled way to discover whether such drastic (and often expensive) steps are necessary. If you want to know more about diet and IBS, a book called Irritable Bowel Solutions (Vermilion, £9.99), by Professor John Hunter, a renowned IBS expert from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, is well worth a read.

Amanda Ursell is the Times nutritionist

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