Dr. Prabhat AryaMBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) · DMC Reg. No. DMC-83759drprabhatarya.com

Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MD (Internal Medicine) on 29 September 2026

Diet chart for IBS

IBS is a sensitive gut, not a damaged one. Regular meals and knowing your own trigger foods settle most of the gas, pain and loose or hard stools.

½ Well-cooked vegetables ¼ Moong dal, paneer, curd, egg, fish, chicken ¼ Roti, rice, dalia or oats
  1. Eat at fixed times, three meals and one or two small snacks. Do not skip meals or eat one huge meal late at night.
  2. Keep a food diary for 2 to 3 weeks: what you ate and how your stomach felt. Cut down only what truly troubles you.
  3. Eat slowly, chew well, and walk for 20 to 30 minutes every day. Stress and hurry make IBS worse.

Eat more

  • Well-cooked vegetables: lauki, tori, tinda, pumpkin, carrot, palak, beans
  • Rice, roti, dalia, oats, poha, idli
  • Moong and masoor dal, paneer, curd, eggs, fish, chicken
  • Fruits: banana, papaya, orange, guava, kiwi, one at a time
  • Isabgol: one to two teaspoons in a full glass of water daily, started slowly
  • Water, 8 to 10 glasses a day, and chaas if it suits you

Eat less, if it troubles you

  • Onion and garlic, especially raw
  • Rajma, chole, lobia, whole urad and other heavy dals
  • Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, radish
  • Milk: try curd or chaas instead if milk causes gas
  • Apple, pear, mango, watermelon, and dry fruits in large amounts
  • Tea and coffee: two cups a day at most

Avoid

  • Fried and very oily food: samosa, pakora, puri, bhature
  • Very spicy food and heavy masala
  • Cold drinks and soda
  • "Sugar-free" sweets and chewing gum with sorbitol: they cause gas and loose stools
  • Alcohol
  • Wheat bran and extra "roughage" powders: they add gas; isabgol is gentler

A sample day

Vegetarian first; the swap is for those who eat eggs, fish or chicken.

On waking
A glass of water. One teaspoon isabgol in a full glass of water, if advised
Breakfast
Two idlis, vegetable poha, or oats porridge, with a katori of curdSwap: Two-egg omelette with little oil and one roti
Mid-morning
One fruit: banana, papaya or orange
Lunch
A katori of well-cooked sabzi, a katori of moong dal, two rotis or a katori of rice, chaasSwap: Chicken or fish curry in place of dal
Evening
Tea (not strong) with a few roasted peanuts or puffed riceSwap: A boiled egg
Dinner, by 8 pm
Moong dal khichdi with curd, or rotis with sabzi. Lighter than lunchSwap: Stewed fish or chicken with rice
Bedtime
Water. Warm milk only if it suits you

Common myths

IBS will turn into cancer.
It does not. It is uncomfortable but not dangerous.
More roughage cures every stomach problem.
Too much bran makes IBS gas worse. Isabgol is gentler.
Curd and chaas must be stopped.
Most people with IBS digest them well.
A strict diet with dozens of foods cut out is needed.
Cut only your own triggers. A strict low-FODMAP diet is only under a doctor or dietitian.

Dr. Arya’s note for you

See Dr. Arya soon if you have blood in the stool, weight loss without trying, stools waking you at night, fever, or symptoms that started after age 50. These are not IBS until checked.

This is general advice for adults. If you also have diabetes, kidney disease or heart failure, follow that chart for sugar, fruit, salt and water; where they differ, ask Dr. Arya.