Peasread: The IBS Elimination Diet And Cookbook

I mentioned that I did a round of Whole30 eating last month. I completed it successfully but I still feel bloated at times. When I had the opportunity to review this book I was interested. I don't have IBS  but I wanted to learn more about Low-FODMAP eating because I noticed that there are some foods that seem to cause bloating and distress in my stomach. This book is written by Patsy Catsos, she is a registered nutritionist with two degrees in nutrition with experience as a research dietitian.
I did learn a lot about Irritable Bowel Syndrome in this book There is a section of questions to ask your doctor, how to find a doctor, what lab tests that the doctor might order etc. This book is clear that it is not to be used to diagnose yourself (Page 47). It is mentioned in the book to not use this diet if you do not have IBS unless instructed by a physician to do so. It's pretty clear about that. Since I don't have enough symptoms to warrant a trip to the doctors I am not going to go through the whole diet and elimination process. What I will do is  narrow down which foods make me feel bad. Once I
do that I'll compare my list to the High-FODMAP list in the book to see if there's a correlation.
More about the book, there are four parts to the book. Part one is basics of IBS and FODMAPS. There's a section with detailed questions to ask yourself if you are having symptoms. There is a detailed baseline symptom survey you can take. This is a great idea if you sart this way of eating you can look back and see if you are experiencing positive or negative reactions.Part one also includes making a plan to start and what you need to do to get ready to eat a Low-FODMAP diet. There are grocery tips, a section for vegans, grocery lists, and sample menus.
Part two of the book talks about "the Two-Phase Program, it's an eight step program where you eliminate the FODMAP foods, then you gradually reintroduce them to see how your body tolerates them.  There are menus, lists of foods you can have, and more shopping lists in this section.
Part three is recipes, recipes, recipes. Most of the book is black and white except this section has about 7 pages front and back of color photos of foods. Many of the recipes look appealing. The Hummingbird Muffins are on my list of things to try.
Part four of the book is where you can read about the science of this way of eating and more about IBS. The author makes it clear that the elimination part of this diet is temporary, the end goal is to add as many foods back to a persons diet as possible, only leaving out what negatively effects the body.


IBS Elimination Diet and Cookbook
Patsy Catsos, MS, RD, LD
Print Length: 304 pages

Would I read it again? I would reference this book, but not read it cover to cover.
Would I recommend it to adults? Yes if the subject matter came up.
3 stars, interesting and informative

1 star – didn’t like it

2 stars – it was OK

3 stars – liked it

 4 stars – really liked it

5 stars – it was amazing

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 I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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