Low Starch Diet

Can Starch Really Cause More Problems Than Just Weight Gain?

A low starch diet is not just helpful for weight loss. When I was diagnosed with IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, I was told I would have top lower my starches, among other types of food to help lessen my symptoms.

The painful parts of suffering from IBS can make eating less enjoyable or lead you to eating foods that just make you gain weight to avoid the side effects of more filling foods. Starches are the source of much discomfort to many IBS sufferers. I know for me the bloating and pain was unbearable on many occasions.

The idea behind the low starch diet is to find out what foods irritate my IBS and eliminate them. By doing this I will be able to no longer suffer from the sometimes-debilitating symptoms of the disease. I had no idea how many disorders could be caused by the over eating of starchy foods. Then add in the weight issue that can also be caused by this food source and it is no wonder many run to this diet for help.

The idea was to get rid of the insoluble starches from my diet. These are the GI tract stimulants that cause the horrible side effects of IBS. I had to stay with fiber that contained starches that are easily digested. Many of the diets I had found were extremely helpful in showing me which foods were high or low in each type of starch.

Another major thing I learned about the low starch diet was that soluble starches actually help IBS, but are hard to find in the diet. These foods are usually found with insoluble types as well. This can be an issue that is hard to manage. You will have to find what types work best for you and do not cause you the worst side effects.

I found that eating cereals, certain types of pastas, and white rice were the easiest for me to handle. I surrounded the other parts of my diet with these few starches and found that I was doing much better. I also noticed that I lost a bit of weight.

The GI tract does not digest this type of “sugar” and so you do not gain like with other sugars. This was a wonderful bonus side effect that I could totally live with.

Over all, I completely recommend this diet for anyone who is not having much luck with his or her current diet. It could really help you figure what you can eat that will leave you pain free.

There are plenty of resources out there to help you figure out what to try and what to avoid. Some are even free to view and try. I found several online menus that helped me get started. There is no reason to avoid all foods or just live with the discomfort.

Help is out there and this diet is it. I am sure many people will find the low starch diet as easy and beneficial as I did.

Review by Kimberly O’Neil