DoodyHow to find food triggers for gut issues
You find food triggers by tagging suspect foods when you log bowel movements, then looking for the same tag appearing before the same stool change several times. One bloated evening after pizza is a story. Four soft stools after dairy tags is a pattern worth testing properly.
Tag lightly, review honestly
Pick a short list: dairy, wheat/gluten, coffee, alcohol, spicy food, raw salad. Tag only those while you learn the habit. Too many custom tags create noise you will never analyse.
Doody’s entry screen already offers common tags such as Dairy, Cheese, Yogurt, Gluten/Wheat and Bread, plus symptom tags like Bloating and Cramping.
What a pattern card is telling you
In Stats, a card such as “Salad/Raw Veg → normal · 2 of 3 logs” means that among recent logs tagged that way, most landed in the normal bucket. That is correlation in your sample, not proof that salad heals anyone.
Use cards to choose the next deliberate trial: remove or reintroduce one thing for several days while stool logging continues.
Log the next bowel movement in Doody
Free Bristol logging on iPhone. Upgrade later if you want Doody’s Read, full history, and CSV export.
Download on the App StoreWhen to involve a dietitian
Elimination diets, especially low FODMAP protocols, are easy to over-restrict. If triggers seem numerous or nutrition is slipping, ask for a dietitian who works with IBS. Bring your tagged fortnight so the first session is not a blank page.
Doody’s Read can mention foods that preceded pain or liquid stools in the period. Treat that prose as a discussion list.
FAQ
How many times must a food appear before I call it a trigger?
There is no magic number, but look for repeated timing across separate days. Two weeks of logging with several tagged exposures is more trustworthy than a single bad night.
Can stress look like a food trigger?
Yes. Note stressful days in the log. If soft stools cluster on deadline weeks with or without the suspect food, you may be chasing the wrong lever.