For 75% of IBS sufferers, the benefits of the low FODMAP diet will eventually become clear. Keep in mind, it’s not a lifestyle diet, weight loss strategy, or a quick fix, but rather a research-backed set of dietary restrictions designed specifically to reduce the symptoms of IBS.
There’s a method to the madness when it comes to your journey towards managing IBS. Since simply eliminating high FODMAP foods forever isn’t a sustainable solution, dieticians recommend following the three phases of the low FODMAP diet: elimination, reintroduction, and integration. Within the first 2-6 weeks (what we call the elimination phase), these awesome benefits (listed below) will often start to kick in!
One of the first things you’ll start to notice, is actually something you’ll stop noticing: pain and discomfort. Living with IBS and without a proper diet plan is a little like a game of roulette, you never know where the ball will land. Some days you feel just fine, until something (what was it again- the tacos from lunch? The garlic in yesterday’s tomato sauce?) inevitably comes creeping back. With the low FODMAP diet plan, the first goal is to get pain and discomfort levels as close to zero as possible.
If every meal makes you feel like you’re about to fill up with gas and float away, the low FODMAP diet may be for you. By cutting out the foods that lead to bloat and gas, this diet allows them to pass through your digestive system properly without trapping air along the way. In other words, you’ll feel like someone suddenly burst your bubble… but in the best way.
Depending on the type of IBS you suffer from, your poops will tend towards a certain extreme. In the case of IBS-C and IBS-M, constipation can be a common problem. The low FODMAP diet works towards regulating your system and- in layman’s terms- getting things moving once again. For low FODMAP diet followers, this means less time spent in the bathroom and more time out in the world.
For those with IBS-D or IBS-M, diarrhea can be a major pain in the a**. Again, that same regulation that lessens constipation, can work the other way to lower instances of diarrhea. Eliminating the runs between the buns is one of the major benefits of the low FODMAP diet.
All the technical stuff aside, the biggest benefit of the low FODMAP diet is the confidence boost you’ll likely feel.The feedback we’ve received from our customers and IBS-sufferers in general, has been overwhelming! Many are so happy that they’ve found a diet that gives them back their life, they can’t imagine ever going back. Just the sheer thought of going to a restaurant or making your own meal without getting weighed down by IBS, can be incredibly exciting for those following the low FODMAP diet plan.
If you think the low FODMAP diet may be right for you, learn more about its three phases, and shop the products you need to get started!