[Bunny]

I remember reading a post on the BB ages ago that said that taking a TBSP (or was it a tsp?) of carob powder in applesauce was good for D types, but after I bought some recently a friend of mine said that carob was a LAXATIVE! Anybody out there know? The truth is out there...

 

[Maverick]

Hi bunny - like the title of your post - thought it might be a game!

I don't know about carob personally but found this webite for you.In it it says "The sugars make carob gummy and able to act as a thickener to absorb water and help bind together watery stools". Hope this helps!

Carob

 

[sabriel]

Hi Bunny,Just read your post and thought this might be helpful. I remembered reading about carob only a few days ago and got this information from here: http://www.firstyearibs.com/ It is an excerpt from Heather's book 'Eating for IBS' and it might even be worthwhile for you to visit the site for more information, but this is what Heather had to say about carob in the excerpt: Meat, dairy products, and egg yolks are particularly dangerous for all aspects of IBS. In some people their high fat content causes violent, rapid colon spasms and triggers diarrhoea. Alternately, for others their heavy animal proteins, complete lack of fibre, and very low water content can lead to drastically slowed colon contractions and severe constipation. No matter what IBS symptoms you're prone to, these three categories of foods pose high risks and are really best eliminated from your diet altogether.French friesOnion ringsFried chickenCorn dogsAnything battered and deep-friedAnything skillet-fried in fat of any kind Solid carob (carob powder is fine)Solid chocolate (baking cocoa powder is fine)ShorteningMargarineAll oils, fats, spreads, etc.MayonnaiseSalad dressingsTartar sauceCool WhipCoconut milkShredded coconutOlivesNuts and nut buttersCroissants, pastries, biscuits, scones, and doughnutsPie crustPotato chips (unless they're baked)Corn chips and nachos (unless they're baked)Store-bought dried bananas (they're almost always deep fried)Perhaps when carob is pressed into a solid form, fats etc are added that are bad for IBS. Hope this helps.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Carob for diarrhea see: http://www.lef.org/prod_hp/abstracts/php-a...rob_powder.html (abstract of clinical study) http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Food_Guide/Carob.htm (more general discussion, mentions the clinical study)Carob, like ALL natural products has several componantsThe GUM from Carob is like guar gum which is in benefiber. Fibers like this can ease constipation (But sometimes fiber helps with diarrhea as well as it ABSORBS excess water in the stool) Fiber is not a laxative like Ex-lax is a laxative...it isn't stimulatory, just alters stool consistancy by keeping water in the stool. http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v46aje44.htm K.