FoodTrigger AI
The Blog
Practical guides for keeping a useful meal-and-symptom history and having clearer healthcare conversations.
How to Find Your Food Triggers Without an Elimination Diet
Elimination diets are brutal — weeks of restriction with no guarantee of answers. There's a smarter way to find your food triggers without giving up everything at once.
IBS vs. Food Intolerance: How to Tell the Difference
Stomach pain after eating could be IBS, a food intolerance, or both — and the treatment is different. Here's how to tell them apart and what to do about it.
The 10 Most Common Trigger Foods for Bloating
Bloating after eating is miserable — and certain foods are notorious culprits. Here are the 10 most common triggers and exactly why they cause problems.
Common IBS Trigger Foods: How to Track Your Personal Patterns
Use common IBS trigger foods as a starting point, then keep a clear meal-and-symptom history to review your own patterns with more context.
Food Sensitivity vs. Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance: What's Actually Happening in Your Body
Food sensitivity, food allergy, food intolerance — they're not the same thing, and the difference determines your solution. Here's what's actually happening in your body.
How to Keep a Food Diary for IBS: A Practical Meal & Symptom Log
A practical guide to recording meals, symptom timing, and context so your food diary is easier to review and discuss with a clinician when useful.
Gluten Sensitivity vs. Celiac Disease: What's the Difference and How to Test Yourself
Celiac and gluten sensitivity look almost identical — but they're very different conditions. Here's how to tell them apart and how to test yourself at home.
Dairy Intolerance Symptoms: How to Know If Lactose Is Your Problem
Bloating, gas, cramps after dairy? You might have lactose intolerance — or something different. Here's how to tell and how to test yourself without a doctor.
Histamine Intolerance Symptoms: Why You React to Wine, Aged Cheese, and Leftovers
Headaches after wine, hives after aged cheese, flushing after leftovers — but allergy tests come back normal. Here's what histamine intolerance is and how to find your triggers.
IBS-D vs. IBS-C: Understanding the Types of IBS and What They Mean for You
IBS isn't one condition — it has four subtypes with different triggers, different dietary approaches, and different treatments. Here's how to tell which type you have.
The Best Food Diary App for IBS: What to Look For (And What Most Apps Get Wrong)
Most food diary apps were built for calorie counting, not IBS. Here's what an IBS food diary app actually needs — and how the best options compare.
SIBO Symptoms: Could Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth Be Causing Your Bloating?
SIBO causes immediate, severe bloating after eating — and it's misdiagnosed as IBS constantly. Here's how to recognize it, how it's diagnosed, and what to eat.
Leaky Gut Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes, and the Food Connection
Bloating, brain fog, skin rashes, joint pain — leaky gut syndrome can cause all of them. Here's what intestinal permeability actually is, which foods damage the gut lining, and how to start healing.
The Elimination Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Food Triggers
The elimination diet is the most reliable way to find food triggers — but most people do it wrong. Here's the complete protocol: what to cut, how long to wait, and how to reintroduce without guessing.
Migraine Food Triggers: The Complete List and How to Find Yours
Aged cheese, red wine, chocolate, processed meats — food triggers cause migraines in millions of people. But the same food triggers one person and not another. Here's how to find which ones are yours.
Best Food Diary Apps for IBS: An Honest Comparison
Frustrated with food diary apps that don't help your IBS? Here's an honest look at what most apps get wrong — and what an IBS tracker actually needs to do.
The Gut-Brain Connection: Why Anxiety Makes Your IBS Worse (and Vice Versa)
Your gut and brain are in constant two-way communication. Here's the science behind why stress triggers IBS — and how to finally separate food triggers from stress triggers.
Wheat Belly vs. Celiac vs. Gluten Sensitivity: What's Actually Making You Bloat?
Bloating from wheat? It might be celiac, wheat allergy, or non-celiac sensitivity — three different conditions with different solutions. Here's how to tell them apart and find your threshold.
IBS Travel Tips: How to Manage Gut Symptoms on the Road
Airports, airplane food, strange restaurants, and broken routines — travel is a perfect storm for IBS. Here's how to manage your gut symptoms and actually enjoy the trip.
Candida Overgrowth and Gut Health: What the Science Actually Says
Candida overgrowth is one of the most discussed — and most misunderstood — gut health topics. Here's what the science actually says, where the overlap with IBS and SIBO is real, and what dietary changes have evidence behind them.
POTS, Dysautonomia, and Food: Why What You Eat Changes Everything
For POTS and dysautonomia patients, meals can trigger heart rate spikes, dizziness, and GI symptoms. Here's the science behind food and dysautonomia — and how tracking helps you find your personal triggers.
Food Sensitivity and Anxiety: Breaking the Gut-Brain Feedback Loop
Feeling anxious after meals for no obvious reason? Food sensitivities can directly trigger anxiety through inflammatory pathways — not just worsen existing IBS. Here's the mechanism, the specific foods linked to mood symptoms, and how to find your pattern.
The Best FODMAP Apps in 2026: An Honest Review
An honest review of Monash, Fig, Cara Care, and more—plus why reference databases alone cannot show the meal-and-symptom patterns in your own history.
IBS and Alcohol: Which Drinks Trigger Symptoms (And Why)
Alcohol is one of the most common IBS triggers — but not all drinks are equal, and reactions vary significantly from person to person. Here's what the science says about alcohol and your gut, and how to find your personal threshold.
Perimenopause and IBS: Why Your Gut Gets Worse in Your 40s
If you're in your 40s and your gut symptoms are suddenly getting worse — more bloating, unpredictable flares, symptoms you've never had before — estrogen may be to blame. Here's the science behind the estrogen-gut connection and how to manage it.
Nightshades and Inflammation: Do Tomatoes and Peppers Cause Gut Problems?
You've probably heard that nightshades cause inflammation and wreak havoc on a sensitive gut. But what does the science actually say — and how do you know if nightshades are a problem for you specifically?
Does Coffee Cause IBS Symptoms? What Caffeine Does to Your Gut
If you have IBS, your morning coffee may be working against you. Here's why caffeine is a common gut trigger — and how to test whether it's yours.
Stress-Induced IBS: When Your Gut Mirrors Your Mind
Stress doesn't just feel bad — it physically triggers IBS symptoms through the gut-brain axis. Here's how to tell when your flare is stress, food, or both.
Salicylate Sensitivity: The Hidden Food Trigger You've Never Heard Of
Reacting to healthy foods like berries, tomatoes, and spices? Salicylate sensitivity could be why — and it's far more common than most people realize.
IBS and Hormones: Why Symptoms Get Worse Around Your Period
If your IBS flares predictably every month, hormones may be the missing piece. Here's how estrogen, progesterone, and prostaglandins hijack your gut — and how to track the pattern.
Food Intolerance Testing: What Actually Works (And What Doesn't)
A $400 IgG blood panel, a skin prick test, or a breath test — how do you know which food intolerance test is worth your time and money? Here's what the evidence actually says.
Eosinophilic Esophagitis: The Food Allergy Nobody Talks About
EoE causes chronic trouble swallowing, chest pain, and food getting stuck — and it's almost always triggered by specific foods. Here's what it is, how it's diagnosed, and why tracking matters.
The Best Foods to Eat When Your Gut Is Flaring
In the middle of an IBS flare, the wrong food can make everything worse. Here are the safest foods to eat, what to avoid, and why logging what you ate right before matters.
Eating Out With IBS: A Practical Guide to Restaurant Meals
Eating at restaurants with IBS doesn't have to mean anxiety and flares. Here's how to order safely, spot hidden triggers, and track what went wrong after.
The IBS-ADHD Connection: Why Neurodivergent People Struggle More With Gut Symptoms
Research shows IBS and ADHD co-occur far more than chance. Here's why the gut-brain connection runs especially deep for ADHD brains — and what actually helps.
Reactive Hypoglycemia and Gut Symptoms: Are You Confusing Blood Sugar Crashes With Food Sensitivity?
Nausea, fatigue, and cramps after eating could be a food sensitivity — or reactive hypoglycemia. Here's how to tell the difference and what to do about it.
Gastroparesis Symptoms and Diet: When Your Stomach Doesn't Empty Properly
Gastroparesis is chronically misdiagnosed as IBS or anxiety. Learn the symptoms, which foods make it worse, and how tracking can help you manage it before a formal diagnosis.
Oxalate Sensitivity Symptoms: The Hidden Gut Trigger Nobody Talks About
Oxalate sensitivity causes gut pain, joint pain, and more — but it's rarely diagnosed. Here's what oxalates are, which foods are highest, and how tracking reveals the pattern.
Functional Dyspepsia Symptoms: Why Your Stomach Hurts and Tests Come Back Normal
Functional dyspepsia causes chronic upper stomach pain, fullness, and nausea — with no structural cause doctors can find. Here's what it is, how it differs from IBS and GERD, and how food tracking finally gives you answers.
SIBO Diet: What to Eat and Avoid During Treatment
The SIBO diet is critical to treatment success — the right foods starve bacteria while the wrong ones feed them. Here's a practical guide to what to eat and avoid during small intestine bacterial overgrowth treatment.
IBS and Thyroid: The Connection Nobody Talks About
Hypothyroidism causes slow gut motility, bloating, and constipation that mimic IBS almost exactly. Here's why your thyroid may be behind your digestive symptoms — and how food tracking separates the two.
Fructose Malabsorption Symptoms: Why Fruit and 'Healthy' Foods Are Making You Bloated
Fructose malabsorption causes bloating, gas, and diarrhea after eating fruit, honey, and HFCS — and it's far more common than most people realize. Here's what it is, the symptoms to watch for, and how to identify it.
Carb Intolerance Symptoms: Why Bread and Sugar Make You Feel Terrible
Bloating, brain fog, and fatigue after eating carbs? You might have carb intolerance. Learn the symptoms, causes, and how to identify your trigger carbs.
Gut Dysbiosis Symptoms: Signs Your Gut Bacteria Are Out of Balance
Chronic bloating, brain fog, fatigue, and digestive issues can all be signs of gut dysbiosis. Learn what dysbiosis is, what causes it, and how to fix it.
IBS and Fibromyalgia: Why They Often Appear Together
Up to 70% of fibromyalgia patients also have IBS. Learn why these two conditions overlap and how managing food triggers can help both.
Bile Acid Malabsorption: The Overlooked Cause of Chronic Diarrhea
Bile acid malabsorption (BAM) is often misdiagnosed as IBS-D. Learn the symptoms, how it differs from IBS, and what dietary changes help.
Leaky Gut Diet: Best Foods to Eat and Avoid
Intestinal permeability — commonly called leaky gut — may be driving your chronic symptoms. Here's a practical food-first guide to what to eat, what to avoid, and how tracking your meals accelerates healing.
Gut Microbiome Tests Reviewed: Are They Worth It?
Gut microbiome testing has become a multi-hundred-dollar consumer product. Before you order one, here's an honest look at what these tests actually measure, what the science says about their accuracy, and whether the results are actionable.
The IBS and Eczema Connection: What the Gut-Skin Axis Means for You
IBS and eczema frequently co-occur, and the connection is more than coincidental. The gut-skin axis — how gut dysbiosis and intestinal permeability drive skin inflammation — explains why, and why food triggers often affect both conditions simultaneously.
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS): Symptoms, Triggers, and Diet
Mast cell activation syndrome causes a wide range of seemingly unrelated symptoms — flushing, hives, GI distress, brain fog — that vary day to day and food to food. Understanding MCAS and tracking your reactions carefully is key to managing it.