Your Health: Irritable Bowel Syndrome

You don't have to suffer with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). There are easy discoveries and solutions.

What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and what causes it? Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a condition that alternates between constipation and diarrhea due to various reasons. There is no formal diagnosis as to what causes IBS. It could be stress, anxiety, poor diet, food allergies or intolerance, not drinking enough liquid or other factors. About 20% of the American population has IBS.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is sometimes just a mysterious misfire of nerve signals to the brain as to whether you need to "go" or not. IBS is not necessarily associated with any other illness or bowel disorder. And it does not usually lead to intestinal cancer like some other bowel diseases. However, it can be included in many immune disorders.

Symptoms of IBS: There will generally be long periods of constipation alternating with sudden bouts of diarrhea. Migraine headaches and acid reflux often accompany the periods of constipation, because your system is not cleaning itself out. Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, feelings of not being finished when you have a bowel movement, and pressure in the anal area can also be symptoms.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome can mimic celiac disease, which is a serious total intolerance to any products with gluten. The person with IBS may be allergic or have a food intolerance to gluten (which is in most wheat products, some oats, rice and barley and many prepared foods), but probably does not have celiac disease.

Bleeding during movements is more indicative of ulcerative colitis than of IBS. The person experiencing IBS should be checked for celiac or ulcerative colitis, and also have a colonoscopy just to check for polyps or cancer.

If all tests are negative, the solutions for IBS are simple!
-TAKE PROBIOTICS. "Probiotics" are supplemental forms of "friendly" or "good" bacteria your body probably isn't manufacturing if you have IBS. These colonies of good bacteria help to balance the bad bacteria in your immune system, which can account for "gut health." Look for combinations of lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidus, and other probiotics. However, the person with IBS should not take probiotics in dairy form (yogurt products). Take them in pill or powder form.

-Stay away from wheat, dairy and processed sugar (table sugar or sugar in baked goods and beverages), high fructose corn syrup, and gluten-added products. All these things inhibit proper digestion. Many alternative grains for wheat, alternatives to cow's milk, and sugar-free desserts can be found at health food stores.

Traditional doctors for many years usually advised for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome to "eat more wheat" as fiber. They, along with alternative care physicians, are now finding that, because of its binding properties in some people, wheat is the worst solution. Get your fiber from vegetables, beans, low-sugar fruits and gluten-free grains like amaranth, millet, quinoa and brown rice (there is even pasta made from brown rice).

-Take digestive enzymes. You may not be making enough natural digestive enzymes to promote good and regular elimination. These come in supplemental form.

-Drink plenty of water. Anything added to your liquids, like sweetener or sugar, cream in the coffee, or the carbonation of soda will not do the same thing to restore liquid to your body as water does. The constipation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome can come from being dehydrated, and diarrhea can make you dehydrated. After diarrhea, drink sugar-free beverages with electrolytes.

Don't start all remedies at the same time. You won't know what is working.
(This column gives advice from personal experience. The writer is not a doctor or professional health worker).

Sources:
"Irritable Bowel Syndrome," National Digestive Information Clearing House, http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ibs/.
Natural Remedies for Irritable Bowel, About.com, http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/digestiveproblems/a/IBS.htm.