Calm, evidence-based reads on IBS and low-FODMAP eating.
Less medical jargon, less pressure. Just plain-English answers from a team that's been there.
- Real life
Surviving college with IBS: dorm life, dining hall, and classroom strategy
Dining hall mystery food, shared bathrooms, all-nighters, party culture, stress — college breaks IBS for many students. The practical survival guide.
- Real life
Workout meals with IBS: what to eat before and after training
Pre-workout fuel that won't trigger urgency; post-workout recovery that won't bloat. The complete guide for IBS patients who train.
- Real life
IBS in children and teens: a parents' guide
How to recognize IBS in kids, what to rule out first, how the diet adapts for growing children, and when school accommodations help.
- Real life
IBS after 50: managing it well, and what to never dismiss
IBS that's been stable for decades, or new symptoms after 50. What changes with age, what's a red flag, and how to manage IBS alongside other conditions.
- Real life
Pregnancy and IBS: managing both at once without losing your mind
Pregnancy changes everything about gut function — hormones, mechanics, mood. How to keep IBS manageable across all three trimesters, and what's safe.
- Food guides
Tea, coffee, energy drinks: caffeine's effect on IBS
Caffeine accelerates gut motility — but the type of drink matters too. Why black coffee, milky lattes, green tea, and energy drinks each hit IBS differently.
- Food guides
Nuts and seeds for IBS: which ones, how many, and the activated trap
Not all nuts are low FODMAP — and serving size is everything. The complete guide to which nuts and seeds are safe, in what amounts, and which to avoid.
- Food guides
Sweeteners and IBS: a green-amber-red list of every common option
Honey vs maple syrup vs agave vs stevia vs sugar alcohols — which sweeteners are safe for IBS, which wreck you. Complete guide to every common option.
- Food guides
Apples, pears, and stone fruits: the excess fructose family
Why apples, pears, peaches, cherries, mangoes trigger IBS — they have more fructose than glucose. The complete excess-fructose fruit guide.
- Food guides
Garlic on a low-FODMAP diet: alternatives that actually taste like something
Garlic is the #1 hidden FODMAP. Garlic-infused oil, chives, asafoetida, and 5 more swaps that give you garlic flavor without the bloat.
- Food guides
Onion substitutes for IBS: the complete swap guide
Onion is the #2 FODMAP trap after garlic. IBS-safe substitutes that give you onion flavor — scallion greens, chives, leek tops, infused oil, and more.
- Practical guides
Chronic bloating: 8 causes beyond 'it's just FODMAPs'
Bloating isn't just gas, and it isn't just FODMAPs. Aerophagia, posture, abdominal wall reflex, gut-microbiome, hormones — what most articles miss.
- Practical guides
Urgency: when your gut gives you 30 seconds notice
The sudden 'I need a bathroom NOW' is the most disabling IBS symptom. Why it happens, how to reduce it, and how to navigate public life when it doesn't resolve.
- Practical guides
Mucus in stool, incomplete evacuation, night symptoms: small IBS clues that matter
Three lesser-discussed IBS symptoms — mucus in stool, the 'didn't fully empty' feeling, and night-time pain. What each one tells you and which need a doctor.
- Practical guides
Morning diarrhea: why your gut goes off the moment you wake up
Coffee, the gastrocolic reflex, cortisol — three things hit your morning gut. Why diarrhea is worst before noon and what stops the pattern.
- Practical guides
Pain after eating: what your gut is actually telling you
Pain 10 minutes after eating, 2 hours after, the next morning — each timing points to a different cause. How to decode it and which fixes match each pattern.
- Practical guides
Loud stomach noises (borborygmi): what they mean and when to worry
Stomach growling has a medical name — borborygmi. Most of the time it's normal. Sometimes an IBS signal. Rarely something more. How to tell which is which.
- Practical guides
Colonoscopy prep when you have IBS: the 3-day diet plan that actually works
3-day food guide for colonoscopy prep with IBS — what to eat, what to avoid, how to handle the bowel-cleansing solution, and how to recover after.
- Evidence review
IBS medications: a complete guide to what works for which subtype
IBS medications by subtype: loperamide, linaclotide, rifaximin, antispasmodics, low-dose TCAs. What works, for whom, and what the evidence says.
- Practical guides
The Bristol Stool Chart: what your poop is telling you in 30 seconds a day
All 7 Bristol Stool Chart types explained, what color and shape mean, and the red flags that need a doctor. 30 seconds a day, more useful than most lab tests.
- Evidence review
Gut-directed hypnotherapy and CBT for IBS: the evidence-backed treatments nobody talks about
Two of the highest-effect IBS treatments are psychological: gut-directed hypnotherapy and IBS-CBT. RCT-backed, 60-75% response, durable. How to access them.
- Food guides
10 low-FODMAP breakfast combos for busy mornings (5-minute or less)
Breakfast is the IBS minefield — cereal, smoothies, granola, milky coffee are FODMAP-loaded. 10 specific combos that fit in 5 minutes.
- Food guides
Soluble vs insoluble fiber for IBS: the most-confused topic in gut health
For IBS, fiber type matters more than amount — soluble helps, insoluble can trigger. The breakdown most articles get wrong, plus a 1-week starter plan.
- Practical guides
Why spicy food wrecks IBS even though capsaicin isn't a FODMAP
Chili crisp, hot sauce, spicy noodles aren't FODMAPs but reliably trigger IBS. The actual mechanism, who's most vulnerable, and how to keep some heat.
- Eating out
Alcohol and IBS: a FODMAP and tolerance guide to every drink at the bar
Beer, wine, spirits, cocktails — each hits IBS differently. The practical guide to what's safe, what wrecks you, and how to survive a social night with IBS.
- Real life
Exercise and IBS: which workouts calm your gut, which ones light it up
Runner's diarrhea is real; moderate exercise also improves IBS better than most meds. Which workouts help, which trigger, and how to time them around your gut.
- Mind & gut
Period and IBS: why the few days before your cycle feel like a relapse
About 2 in 3 women with IBS have worse symptoms before and during their period. The mechanism is hormonal — here's the 4-week strategy that helps.
- Mind & gut
Sleep and IBS: the worst-kept secret in gut health
One bad night and tomorrow's IBS day is worse — guaranteed. The brain-gut axis runs hard while you sleep. Fix sleep and a third of gut problems resolve.
- Diagnosis
Food intolerance vs food allergy vs IBS: the three-way Venn diagram
Food intolerance, allergy, and IBS look alike but have completely different mechanisms, tests, and treatments. How to tell which (or combination) you have.
- Diagnosis
Lactose intolerance vs milk allergy vs IBS: three things people keep mixing up
Three reasons milk makes you sick — different mechanism, different 'safe' foods, different tests. Quick guide to which one (or combination) you have.
- Mind & gut
The brain-gut connection: why stress wrecks your stomach (and what helps)
Your gut has 500M neurons of its own. When your brain panics, the gut hears about it in minutes. Why stress flares IBS — and what actually works.
- Practical guides
7 hidden FODMAP traps in your morning coffee
Black coffee is low FODMAP — but almost nobody drinks it black. Lattes, oat milk, syrups, pastries — your morning order is the biggest FODMAP hit of the day.
- Eating out
Eating at Asian restaurants when you have IBS: a low-FODMAP guide
Hot pot, dim sum, ramen, pho, Korean BBQ — what to order, what to send back, and how to navigate menus that don't list ingredients.
- Phase 2
FODMAP reintroduction: how to test foods without losing your mind
The phase most people skip — and the one that gives you your life back. A 6-week protocol for finding your real triggers, food by food, FODMAP family by family.
- Getting Started
Your first week on FODMAP elimination: a daily plan that actually works
Most week-1 plans hand you a 50-food list and say 'good luck.' A day-by-day plan that anticipates when you'll want to give up — and what to do.
- Diagnosis
Gluten-free vs low-FODMAP: not the same thing (and why it matters)
Most people who feel better gluten-free are actually reacting to fructans — a low-FODMAP diet handles them much better. How to test which one is actually you.
- Diagnosis
IBS-D, IBS-C, IBS-M: which subtype are you, and why it changes everything
IBS isn't one disease — diarrhea-dominant, constipation-dominant, mixed each need different food rules, supplements, and meds. 5-min subtype guide.
- Diagnosis
IBS vs IBD vs SIBO: what's actually wrong with you?
Three conditions that look similar but are treated completely differently. The field guide to telling them apart — and what to ask your doctor next.
- Start here
The complete low-FODMAP diet, in plain English
What FODMAPs are, why they wreck a third of our stomachs, and how to actually do the elimination diet without losing your mind. No jargon, no fear.
- Practical guides
Reading nutrition labels for FODMAPs: a 5-minute guide
Most low-FODMAP failures come from hidden ingredients: inulin, chicory root, agave, sorbitol. How to read labels in 30 seconds and catch them.
- Evidence review
Probiotics for IBS: what the evidence actually says
Most probiotic claims are marketing. A few specific strains have RCT evidence for IBS. What works, what doesn't, and how to test if yours is helping.
- Food guides
12 surprising foods that aren't actually low FODMAP
Cauliflower, mushrooms, watermelon, cashews. The 'healthy' foods most likely to wreck your IBS — and what to swap them for.
- Real life
Travel with IBS: a practical playbook for not ruining your trip
Plane food, time zones, foreign water, restaurant uncertainty, no familiar bathroom. A 12-step protocol for traveling with IBS without falling apart on day 2.