PouchWise

PouchWise / Who it's for

Who PouchWise is for

If your gut is sensitive, surgically altered, or just unpredictable, PouchWise gives you a consistent way to compare foods. The goal is the same for everyone — fewer surprises — but different situations lean on different parts of the score.

None of the following is medical advice. Conditions like Crohn's, colitis and pouchitis are driven by inflammation, and a stoma blockage or dehydration is a medical problem — a food score helps with day-to-day comfort, it doesn't treat any of that. Work with your own clinical team.

J-pouch (ileo-anal pouch / IPAA)

Built for this first. After the colon is removed and a pouch is formed, output is naturally more frequent and looser, and tolerance keeps shifting for the first 6–18 months as the pouch adapts.

Axes that matter most: Stool-loosening (S), Gas (G) and Binding (B) usually matter most; Particle load (P) early on.

  • •Early after takedown, lean low-residue and low-FODMAP to settle frequency, urgency, night-time output and gas.
  • •Use binding foods (rice, potato, banana, smooth oats) deliberately to thicken output.
  • •As the pouch matures, widen the diet rather than staying restricted forever.
How to tailor it: Use Adaptation mode in the early months, then switch toward Long-Term Health mode as you settle. Set fat, FODMAPs and any trigger spices in your profile. Pouchitis, blockage and dehydration are medical issues — score food for comfort, but get those checked.

Ileostomy / stoma (and high-output stoma)

Very similar goals to a pouch — slowing and thickening output, staying hydrated, and managing gas. A stoma also adds a specific concern a pouch doesn't: the outlet is narrow, so coarse, fibrous, stringy foods can risk a blockage.

Axes that matter most: Particle load (P) for blockage risk, Stool-loosening (S) and Binding (B) for output control.

  • •Watch the Particle load axis closely — raw skins, stringy veg, sweetcorn, nuts and mushrooms are classic blockage culprits; chew well and favour soft-cooked, peeled forms.
  • •Use binding foods and reduce loosening foods to manage a high-output stoma.
  • •Hydration and salt matter more than the score can show — a watery output is a fluids problem, not just a food one.
How to tailor it: Treat the P (Particle load) column as your blockage radar and the S and Baxes as your output-thickness dial. Adaptation mode suits a new or high-output stoma. If you ever have stoma pain with no output, that's a medical emergency — not something to manage with a food score.

Crohn's disease

PouchWise helps with day-to-day symptoms, not the underlying inflammation. It's most useful during flares and for anyone with a narrowed segment (a stricture), where coarse, high-residue food can be genuinely risky.

Axes that matter most: Particle load (P) with strictures; Gas (G), Agitation (A) and Stool-loosening (S) in a flare.

  • •With a known stricture, keep Particle load low — soft, peeled, well-cooked, low-fibre — and follow your team's guidance on residue.
  • •In a flare, gentler-scoring foods can ease symptom load while your treatment does the real work.
  • •In remission, broaden the diet; restriction is a tool, not a destination.
How to tailor it: Use Adaptation mode during flares or with a stricture for the lowest-residue picks, and set fat and FODMAPs to taste. Crucially: PouchWisedoes nothing for inflammation — it won't replace your medication, and worsening symptoms need clinical review.

Ulcerative colitis

Diet doesn't cause or cure UC, but during a flare, lower-residue and lower-FODMAP eating can reduce urgency, frequency and cramping while treatment takes effect.

Axes that matter most: Stool-loosening (S) and Agitation (A) in a flare; Gas (G) for bloating.

  • •In a flare, favour gentle, binding, lower-residue foods to ease frequency and urgency.
  • •Between flares, eat as varied a diet as you comfortably tolerate.
  • •Many people with UC also have IBS-type symptoms — the FODMAP and trigger tools help there.
How to tailor it: Lean on Adaptation mode and the loosening/agitation axes in a flare. As with all IBD, treat the score as comfort guidance layered on top of your medical care, not instead of it.

IBS & low-FODMAP eaters

This is where the FODMAP evidence is strongest. If diarrhoea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) or fermentation is your main problem, the Gas, Stool-loosening and Agitation axes map closely onto what you already track.

Axes that matter most: Gas (G) and Stool-loosening (S) for IBS-D; Agitation (A) for trigger foods.

  • •Use the Gas axis as a quick proxy for FODMAP load when comparing foods.
  • •Set lactose, polyols, caffeine and overall FODMAP sensitivity in your profile to personalise.
  • •If your IBS is constipation-predominant (IBS-C), note that PouchWise is tuned toward calming loose, urgent output — some 'gentle' low-residue picks may not suit you, so weight the binding axis less.
How to tailor it: Set your FODMAP and intolerance filters in the profile and use the Gas column as a fermentability shortcut. A structured low-FODMAP elimination-and-reintroduction is best done with a dietitian — PouchWise is a comparison aid, not the protocol.

Don't see a way to tailor it for you?

We're actively expanding how the tool adapts — for example, weighting the Particle-load axis more heavily for stoma blockage risk, or easing the binding emphasis for constipation-predominant IBS. If your situation needs a knob we don't have yet, that's useful feedback.

How the scores are built →FAQ →Set up your profile →