Exploring Saponin Sensitivity as a Potential IBS Trigger

Hi! It seems like you inadvertently wandered into a low FODMOP like diet, which is a common things that IBS sufferers use to help curtail the symptoms of their illnesses as you can see here is an example https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/vegetarian-protein-sources-low-fodmap-diet If you like, we also have a recipe section that has some good tasting meals submitted by our community and some follow the low FODMOP plan. https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/recipes Finally, just for general info on what low FODMOP is, you can check it out here: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/ibs-diet Hopefully this helps supplement what you are already doing! Let us know if there's anything we can do to help and remember - you are not alone! Keep on keepin' on, DPM

Thanks for the kind message! I appreciate the resources on low FODMAP, and I do see some overlap with my current diet. However, my main focus has been on identifying and eliminating saponins, as they seem to be a major trigger for my symptoms. Many common IBS-friendly foods, including some low-FODMAP ones, contain saponins, which makes this approach a bit different.

I'm hoping to raise awareness that saponins could be an overlooked issue for some IBS sufferers. Have you come across any discussions on saponins in the IBS community?"

Here are some of the clues:
The low FODMAP diet didn't result in any improvement in my symptoms.
I eat cabbage, onions, apples, cantaloupe, and mangoes without any problems.
My symptoms are all about systemic inflammation (brain fog, bradycardia, long GI transit time, sore muscles, poor sleep, and need to sleep as much as 12 hours per day).
I had a cup of the bean broth from cooking beans while in Honduras and my GI tract was very uncomfortable in the hours afterward.
I discovered that rinsing beans after cooking was critical for being able to eat beans.
I ate some organic string beans and reacted strongly.
My reactions to beans led me to realize that it was something in the skin of the beans that was causing my problems and that led me to investigate saponins. I discovered that I had developed a low saponin diet by trial and error and gradually realized that the remaining foods in my restricted diet that were causing problems all had higher levels of saponins.

I'm still figuring this out. But given the known connection between saponins and leaky gut I've wondered if there might be others in the IBS community who are struggling to find a diet that works and might find that the problem could be saponins.