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What foods most often trigger IBS?

Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS

The usual suspects are fermentable carbs called FODMAPs: onion, garlic, wheat in quantity, beans, certain fruits like apples and mangoes, milk in the lactose-sensitive, and sugar-free sweeteners.

Everyone's list differs, which is why a short structured elimination with reintroduction, ideally guided by a dietitian, beats permanent random restriction. Long strict low-FODMAP eating is not meant to be forever.

Stress and irregular meals trigger flares as surely as any food; the gut and the calendar are connected.

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