Dietary fibre is the part of plant-based food that mostly passes through your digestive system without being digested. Although many foods contain both soluble and insoluble fibre, for the purpose of calming Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms the focus is on soluble fibre.
Soluble fibre soothes and regulates the digestive tract, prevents and relieves both diarrhea and constipation, and partners with bile to help bind toxins and escort them out of the body.
What Foods Are IBS-Friendly?
Soluble fibre is found in foods commonly thought of as starches. As a general rule, grain and cereal foods are IBS-friendly. During a meal it’s helpful to first eat the foods that contain soluble fibre. If the foods in the list below aren’t part of your eating plan recommendations, I can recommend a soluble fibre supplement.
Having a small amount of beans with meals can be helpful (but not if you need to avoid foods high in oxalate and/or nickel). Lima/Butter beans and black-eyed peas are my favourites as they are low oxalate.
The foods in the list below have the highest amounts of soluble fibre.
- Bread (White) refers to fresh French or sourdough, not whole wheat or whole grain.
- Papaya is an effective digestive aid that relieves gas and indigestion.
Applesauce
Banana
Barley
Beans
Beet
Bread (White)
Carrot
Chestnut
Cornmeal
Flour tortilla
Mango
Oatmeal
Papaya
Parsnip
Pasta/Noodles
Potato
Pumpkin
Quinoa
Rice
Rice cereals
Rutabaga
Squash
Sweet potato
Turnips
Yams
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