Have you swung from diarrhea to constipation on the Low Fodmap Diet?

Even if you have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, once you start on an accurate low Fodmap diet, you may swing over to constipation. If this happens, you will need to re-balance your fibre levels. Watch my video to find out how to do that.

Transcription of the Video

Today I want to talk about something that we’ve touched on before separately: constipation and fiber. More and more I get e-mails from people – and I see it with my clients as well – about their diarrhea turning into constipation once they’re on a low FODMAP diet, which takes away all their bloating, their cramping, and their pain, but leaves them swinging to the other side. Now as I’ve said on that video that you’ve already seen on constipation, you’ve got to keep up your water and your exercise. Various different things like that – you can try magnesium citrate as well but you can have a look at that video.

But the one thing I want to touch on more today is the fiber issue. Fiber is a real problem for us because too much and it causes bloating and pain, too little and we can get constipation. So the best thing to do – because it can be a question also of resistant starches, which I made another video about – is to initially remove the high FODMAPs and the resistant starches, and see how you go. If you do swing across to constipation with no other symptoms, then it’s a little bit like a reintroduction diet – you can start playing with your fiber levels. Most of the resistance starches are those with higher fiber levels and if you’ve taken those out because you could be reacting to them, now is the time to start putting some of them back in.

I would start with chia seeds for breakfast but if you have too many, you’re going to have problems. The first time I had chia seeds it sent me running to the toilet. I had too many. In my clients’ diets, I put one tablespoon of chia seeds which have been soaked overnight for breakfast. Try that. If that alone doesn’t solve the problem of constipation, then I would look at the rice that you’re eating as one of your grains. And the one without the resistant starch is jasmine rice. If that’s what you’ve been eating, switch over to brown rice and try that just in one meal in the day, and see how that helps. Again, we’re trying to find your personal, individual level with fiber. Don’t have any more than one cup, because that’s the permitted amount of rice. See how that goes.

If your constipation is still being stubborn, add some high fiber cereal to your breakfast. Initially, I suggest you don’t do that, because that could muddy the waters with the FODMAP question because fiber is a separate issue to FODMAPs. But the one with the most amount of fiber and that’s the least processed is oats. Have quarter of a cup – that’s the raw measurement – of oats in the morning. Cook them with some lactose-free milk or just water, and have those perhaps with a kiwi fruit. Kiwi fruit is a mild laxative. So have those two together and see if that doesn’t move your bowels. That’s actually what I often have in the morning because I have IBS with constipation, so I’m watching my fiber levels all the time. But, too much and I’m in trouble.

Those are the three steps that I would take. Definitely not all at once because we’re trying to find where to stop. Try chia seeds first, then the brown rice, and then the oats for breakfast. There are a lot of cereals out there that are far too processed, have sugar in them and all sorts of other ingredients that we shouldn’t be touching. So stick to the oats to try to get your fiber up. Try that system for finding your fiber level, and I think you will find that your constipation will be sorted. Good luck and goodbye.