What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a "syndrome", meaning a group of symptoms, not a disease. IBS affects the colon or large bowel, which is the part of the digestive tract that stores stool; altered bowel habits consisting of diarrhea or constipation or both.

Statistics
Statistics show that 1 in 10 Americans display the symptoms of IBS, accounting for more than 2 million prescriptions and 35,000 hospitalizations each year. It is also the second highest cause of work absenteeism after the common cold.

Common signs and symptoms:

Abdominal discomfort
Alternating constipation and diarrhea
Anxiety
Bloating
Constipation
Depression
Diarrhea
Gas
Headaches
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Pain with bowel movements
Painless diarrhea
Passage of mucus with the stool
Poor nutrient absorption
Relief of pain after bowel movement
Spastic colon (spastic contractions of the colon)
Vomiting

What Causes IBS?
Here are some of the major triggers, but there are many other disease processes that can lead to IBS-like symptoms, and we have to be mindful about checking that nothing more serious is at the core of an irritated bowel. Please contact your health practitioner and get tested and evaluated.

Imbalanced gut flora
The flora that populates our gut are so important to every aspect of our health. Many of us don't realize that taking an antibiotic, especially repeatedly, can wipe out the bacteria in our gut - both good and bad. Once the friendly bacteria that help digest your food and protect the gut lining become imbalanced, digestive and immune capabilities are compromised, potentially leading to IBS. Even certain steroid medications can also disturb flora balance in the gut, as does an overgrowth of yeast such as in the intestines. Both can lead to or worsen IBS.

GI infection
Your digestive tract should naturally be full of an incredibly diverse population of gut flora composed mostly of bacteria and fungi. When you consume food and water, unless it has been sterilized or chlorinated, you are naturally exposed to these various organisms and you establish a balance of both beneficial and pathogenic flora. Like an ecosystem, the more diverse, the more difficult it is to cause disruptions or allow invasion of non-native species. When antibiotics or chlorinated water are introduced, the balance of the digestive flora is significantly disrupted and the diversity plummets.

Food sensitivities/intolerances
Testing for food sensitivities can be helpful for any individual that suspects IBS. Some of the most common food triggers are wheat, gluten, dairy, corn, peanuts, sugar, chocolate, coffee, tea and citrus fruits. Once the problematic foods are discovered and eliminated from the diet, the gut will quiet down and the symptoms of IBS often disappear. By unknowingly eating the wrong foods for your body, your immune program is chronically activated. This means it's ramped up and ready for a fight. Foods that you crave are a fantastic indication that this food is an offending substance for you. By simply eliminating any food that you might have a sensitivity to might not be the total answer.

A simple way that I "test" my clients is to follow an "Elimination Diet" for a few weeks. This "diet" consists of ONLY lean meats and vegetables. If that seems to help…you gradually add back suspected food items one at a time each week and record the results.

You can also pay for a variety of blood and stool tests. Testing for food sensitivities measures personalized nutrition at the cellular level. Some types of testing for food sensitivities are really high-priced so shop around. I have personally used EnteroLab and have had great results. At the scientific level the key to delayed or latent or pre-clinical testing for food sensitivities in folks will be the identification of the offending IgG or IgA antibodies and immune complexes in serum or feces, as well as the offending IgA or IgM antibodies in saliva.

Hormonal imbalance
Our hormones are secreted into our intestinal system from our endocrine system. When our gut is lacking the correct nutrients includeing: probiotics for our bacteria to thrive on, and insufficient fat to facilitate our hormone production, thus results challenges like IBS. Lots of women notice that their IBS symptoms worsen just before their periods - which may have to do with the pattern of hormonal fluctuation in the second half of the cycle: estrogen is lower for several days, whereas progesterone is relatively high at the end of the cycle, then drops off suddenly just before menses.

Progesterone in general slows gut motility, and lower-than-normal estrogen levels have been identified in women with IBS. It’s possible that when the ratio between these two sex hormones is off, sluggish bowels could in turn worsen pelvic congestion, cramping, and abdominal distention.

Stress and anxiety
Stress can alter the natural balance of bacteria in the intestines, leading to a decrease in immune system function. When the number of bacteria is reduced in the intestines using antibiotics, some of the effects of stress on the immune system are prevented. Stress not only changes the bacteria levels in the gut but also this decreases in (good) bacteria levels and can increase in more harmful bacteria caused by stress can have a detrimental effect on the immune system. Clients with IBS have a stressful day - which signals the brain sending a message to decrease digestion and increase motility of the colon, resulting in the rapid passage of incompletely digested stool.

The "Brain-Gut" Connection
Quoted over 200 years ago...."The primary seat of insanity generally is in the region
of the stomach and intestines." - - Philippe Pinel, Father of Modern Psychiatry, 1745-1826

When you consider the fact that the gut-brain connection is recognized as a basic tenet of physiology and medicine, and that there's no shortage of evidence of gastrointestinal involvement in a variety of neurological diseases, it's easy to see how the balance of gut bacteria can play a significant role in your psychology and behavior as well.

With this in mind, it should also be crystal clear that nourishing your gut flora is extremely important, because you actually have (2) brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut, and each needs its own vital nourishment. Your gut and brain work in tandem, each influencing the other. This is why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa.

See the book written on this subject in great detail: The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine. It is interesting how these two organs are actually created out of the same type of tissue. During fetal development, one part creates your central nervous system while the other develops into your enteric nervous system. These two systems are connected via the vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve that runs from your brain stem down to your abdomen. This is what connects your two brains together, and explains such phenomena as getting butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, for example. (For an interesting and well-written explanation of this connection, read through Sandra Blakeslee's 1996 New York Times article Complex and Hidden Brain in Gut Makes Stomachaches and Butterflies.)

What can be done?

Test for food allergies.
Best test: EnteroLab.Com
Consider doing a colon/toxin cleanse.
Conventional medicine has side effects that mimic IBS.

Prevention Options?

Eliminate fatty foods (French fries), milk products (cheese or ice cream), chocolate, alcohol and caffeinated drinks (coffee and soda).
Avoid grains and gluten.
Increase dietary fiber in diet.
Drink plenty of water each day.
Yoga and walks are easy on the body.
Reduce Stress.
Take Lactobacillus acidophilus 1-2 billion a day.
It is best to adapt to a whole foods diet and lifestyle.

Avoid Grains and Gluten
The first step for any client that visits with me having IBS symptoms, is to go on a gluten/grain free diet. Most people understand this means avoiding all forms of wheat. It is so much easier to simply avoid ALL grains, instead of trying to determine and understand what is gluten. There are SO many other hidden sources of gluten in your diet. Almost all packaged and processed foods contain "some form of processed" gluten/grains, and usually wheat and corn.

Psychology and IBS

Dealing with it can be emotionally stressful and draining.
About half of all people attending hospital clinics with IBS have an additional significant psychological problem such as anxiety or depression.
Most people with IBS will admit that their IBS symptoms are worse during times of psychological pressure.
Stress can worsen the symptoms of IBS.

Are you ready to solve your problems with IBS?
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Call: 800-769-7923 * 303-782-4842 (MST)

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