A flare-up is not the moment to redesign your whole diet. It's the moment to get boring, calm, and kind to your gut — then investigate properly once things settle. Here's the protocol I give clients, in plain language.
During the flare: shrink the ask
Eat smaller portions, more slowly, and lean on foods you already know you tolerate — usually plain proteins, white rice, oats, cooked (not raw) vegetables, ripe bananas. Warm food tends to sit better than cold. Hydrate steadily rather than in big gulps, and skip alcohol, caffeine on an empty stomach, and anything carbonated for a few days.
This is not your forever diet. It's a 3–7 day de-escalation.
Why blanket elimination backfires
Cutting out entire food groups feels productive, but the gut thrives on variety — the microbes that protect you are fed by exactly the fibrous foods people cut first. Long elimination lists also make eating socially miserable and anxiety-inducing, and gut symptoms are exquisitely sensitive to stress. The goal is the shortest possible exclusion, for the shortest possible time, with a structured reintroduction after.
After the flare: investigate, don't guess
Once you're stable, work out the why: a food diary that tracks symptoms and stress alongside meals, a proper look at fibre types, and bloodwork to rule out the impersonators — coeliac disease, low iron, thyroid issues. If trigger foods are suspected, reintroduce one at a time, in known amounts, over days — that's how you get answers instead of a lifelong fear list.
This is the exact structure of my 12-week gut programme; most clients feel a clear shift within 3–4 weeks.
