IBS--Free at Last!

My Guest Post on Kitchen Therapy

My friend, Linda, invited me to write an article for her KitchenTherapy blog, and it was published today! The article is entitled "Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free, FODMAPS-Free" and explores the FODMAPS concept from the point of view of those who have a gluten-free lifestyle. Kitchen Therapy is one of my favorite blogs, with inspiring posts about gluten-free cooking, recipes, gardening, and more. Pop on over there, visit, and be sure to comment on my article for a chance to win one of my books, IBS--Free at Last!

CDA, Thanks for Your Interest!

It was a pleasure speaking to you today, Connecticut Dietetic Association. You were a great audience, and I enjoyed meeting many of you before and after my talk. Although I sold out of books (IBS--Free at Last!) and reproducible patient handouts, you can email me at patsycatsos@gmail.com to arrange an order. Books are $14.95 each; set of book plus set of reproducible handouts (4) is $24.95; bulk book orders are available. I would be happy to send them to you with no charge for shipping if I receive your order by December 31, 2009.

I hope you will keep in touch regarding your successes and challenges using the FODMAPS elimination diet with your clients!

R.Ds, please reply to this post if you are looking for referrals. I often get emails from readers asking me to recommend a FODMAPS-knowledgeable dietitian in his/her area.

If you'd like to recieve FODMAPS-friendly tips on a regular basis via Twitter, sign up to follow me.

Welcome New and Old FNCE Friends

It was wonderful to meet so many of you--my dietitian colleagues and friends--at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Denver this past week!  I hope you will keep in touch regarding your successes and challenges using the FODMAPS elimination diet with your clients.

Please reply to this post if you are looking for referrals. I often get emails from readers asking me to recommend a FODMAPS-knowledgeable dietitian in his/her area.

If you'd like to receive FODMAPS-friendly tips on a regular basis via Twitter, sign up to follow me.

Welcome to IBSFree.net

Ibsfree.net is your resource for low-FODMAPS living. Product reviews, recipes and your questions answered, by Patsy Catsos, a registered, licensed dietitian.  Your comments and questions are most welcome! Please use the comment links at the end of each post for your questions, so that everyone in our community can be part of the conversation.   Patsy's book, IBS--Free at Last!, is available on Amazon.com. In it, you'll find a step-by-step elimination diet, menus, shopping list, and label reading tips to help you learn to manage your irritable bowel syndrome. You could be feeling much better within just a week or two!

Comparing the FODMAPS Elimination Diet With the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a very popular diet developed many years ago by Elaine Gottschall to help people suffering from a variety of GI complaints manage their illnesses by controlling the types of carbohydrates in their diet. Sound familiar?

I will not attempt to explain the SCD; the rest of this post assumes that you are familiar with the basics of the SCD. For more SCD information, click here. I'd like to highlight just a few similarities and differences  between the SCD and the FODMAPS elimination diet.

The main similarity is the underlying principle that malabsorbed carbohydrates are fermented by colonic microbes, and that symptoms result.

The differences, I believe, are due to changes in our understanding of sugar absorption and malabsorption, and to advances in food technology that had not taken place at the time Ms. Gotschall wrote her book.

One significant difference between the two diets regards the now better understood role of fructose intolerance as a cause of GI symptoms. The SCD relies heavily on honey as a sweetener. Honey has a lot of excess fructose, and is not allowed on the FODMAPS elimination diet. Apples, which also contain a lot of fructose, are allowed on the SCD but not on the FODMAPS elimination diet. On the other hand, granulated sugar is allowed on the FODMAPS diet but not on the SCD.

On the SCD, well fermented yogurt and certain cheeses were the only milk products allowed. With the availability of lactose-free milk on the market, the FODMAPS elimination diet does allow consumption of fluid milk, and products made with lactose-free fluid milk.

An important philosophical difference I will point out regards adherence to the diet. Dr. Gottschall was convinced that only absolute adherence to the diet over an extended period of time could restore the individual to health. She did not encourage experimentation or variation from the SCD dietary principles. With the FODMAPS elimination protocol, on the other hand, experimentation and food challenges are encouraged after the initial elimination phase; "problem foods" can be consumed in moderation. The the aim of the FODMAPS elimination diet is limiting IBS symptoms to a tolerable level, selected by the client. Perhaps this is not as ambitious as the cures to which Dr. Gottschall aspired. It seems there is a place for both of these approaches, depending on the needs and medical condition of the individual.

Buy IBS--Free at Last!

IBS--Free at Last! is available at last!

• Do you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?
• Does a healthy diet make you feel worse, instead of better?
  
• Is it difficult to pin down which foods trigger your IBS symptoms?
  

FEEL BETTER FAST WITH THIS SAFE, NATURAL AND NUTRITIOUS DIET.

This book describes an easy, step-by-step way to find out if your symptoms are caused by intolerance to certain carbohydrates (known as FODMAPS) in your diet. It is packed with helpful tools, including: menus and a matching shopping list; label reading tips; lists of allowed foods; tips for including all of your favorite foods in your diet. Based on the latest research emerging from Australia, this diet plan is the first of its kind, written for U.S. consumers with IBS or fructose intolerance. Be one of the first to be free from IBS at last!

For more information, or to purchase the book, visit my Amazon.com page.

©2008 Patsy Catsos, published by Pond Cove Press, Portland, ME, ISBN 0-9820635-0-4. Paperback.

Welcome ADA members and dietitians

I'm attending the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference in Chicago, IL this week.  Yesterday at my booth in the Product Marketplace, I met many dietitians who were interested in learning more about FODMAPS carbohydrates and how they can cause IBS symptoms in some individuals. I'd like to welcome you to my blog if you are visiting for the first time.  Over the coming months, I plan to review many of the food products that I picked up at the Expo with regard to the FODMAPS elimination diet.  I will also be blogging on the many individual types of sugars, carbohydrates and fibers in our diets.  I hope you'll visit often or subscribe to this blog!  Please contact me by email at patsycatsos@gmail.com if you'd like to be notified when IBS--Free at Last! is in print.

Buy IBS--Free at Last!