5 Things You Haven't Tried for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) That Your Doctor May Never Have Mentioned

irritable bowel syndrome
Written By Danielle Kepics

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) impacts an estimated 10–15% of adults worldwide, making it one of the most common gastrointestinal diagnoses. Yet despite how common IBS is, many people spend years cycling through elimination diets, medications, probiotics, and specialist appointments without ever getting a real explanation for why they're having symptoms.

If you've been diagnosed with IBS, you've probably heard some version of these:

  • "Your colonoscopy was normal."

  • "It's just IBS."

  • "It's probably stress."

  • "Just eat more fiber."

  • "There's nothing else we can do."

The reality? You probably left your doctor's appointment with ZERO actionable steps, feeling hopeless, gaslit, and wondering, WTAF do I do now?!

Here are five things you can start doing today that your doctor probably hasn't talked to you about, and that I've seen make a huge difference for many of my patients with IBS, bloating, and other digestive symptoms.

  1. CHEW YOUR FOOD.
    Digestion starts in the mouth, and so many of us are running around like crazy, basically swallowing our food whole.

    Girl, I'm here to tell you that this is 1000% contributing to your digestive drama.

    Try chewing each bite 20–30 times and see what happens. It sounds ridiculously simple, but don't underestimate how much this can improve bloating and digestion.

  2. CHECK YOUR FIBER INTAKE.
    Fiber is like Goldilocks—not too much and not too little.

    You need just the right amount, and that amount varies from person to person. More fiber is not always better, especially if you're dealing with IBS, constipation, bloating, or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).

    I typically find that MOST individuals do best between 30-40 grams of fiber daily

  3. AVOID DRINKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF FLUIDS WITH MEALS.
    Too much fluid with meals can be a major trigger for digestive discomfort.

    It's completely fine to sip water while you eat, but try to avoid drinking large amounts immediately before, during, or right after meals. Sometimes this one small change alone can noticeably improve digestion.

  4. TAKE DEEP BREATHS BEFORE EATING.
    It’s called “rest + digest” for a reason. I. like to say “If you ain’t restin’, you ain’t digestin’” :) I’ll never forget I had one patient who signed on for a full six months to work with me and We changed this and it quite literally got rid of her bloating.

  5. DITCH THE LOW CALORIE + SUGAR FREE FOODS.
    This one is wildly under-discussed.

    I can't tell you how many patients dramatically improve their bloating and digestive distress simply by removing low-calorie and sugar-free products from their diet.

    Some common examples include Quest Bars, ONE Bars, Halo Top, Bolthouse Farms products, and Maple Grove sugar-free syrups.

    Pay attention to ingredients like:

    • Sorbitol

    • Mannitol

    • Xylitol

    • Erythritol

    • Maltitol

    • Isomalt

    • Lactitol

    These sugar alcohols can wreak havoc on digestion for many people with IBS.

    This one is sneaky—but I've seen it make some big moves.

Notice that NONE of these action steps involved what I like to call a “pill, potion or procedure”. At empowered medicine we aren’t anti-pharmaceuticals. What we are anit is throwing said pills, potions and procedures at a problem that lifestyle or other interventions can solve for patients.

If you’re looking for a real whole human approach to your digestive drama + root cause solutions book a discovery call+ lets talk about what your healing journey could look like!

This article is Part 1 of my four-part IBS series designed to help you stop guessing + start understanding what's actually driving your digestive symptoms.

Be sure to look out for the rest of the upcoming series:

  • Part 2: 5 Tests That Can Reveal the Underlying Cause of Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome

    Part 3: The IBS Treatments That Actually Work (And the Ones That Usually Don't)

    Part 4:How to Finally Heal Your IBS: Putting All the Pieces Together

Danielle Kepics