What is IBS?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the term used for a collection of digestive symptoms. They can include abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, urgency, mucus in the stools, or alternating/irregular bowel motions. There are various triggers for IBS from environmental factors to emotional stress, medications, infection, and poor diet.
What Causes IBS?
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Environmental Factors: Exposure to pollutants, toxins, or chemicals can contribute to intestinal inflammation and disrupt gut function. Examples of this include air pollution, heavy metals, pesticides, and certain food additives.
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Emotional stress: Strong emotions, such as anxiety or stress, can affect the nerves of the bowel. Stress also lowers the immune system which resides in the gut and impairs serotonin levels.
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Medications: Overuse of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors can disrupt the balance of gut bacteria and stomach acid, respectively, potentially contributing to the development or exacerbation of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Note also that anti-inflammatory medications like NSAIDs on an empty tummy can result in gastritis (inflammation of the gut lining). If untreated this can result in IBS.
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Infection: An episode of gastroenteritis will often result in persistent bowel symptoms, long after the offending bacteria or virus has been eliminated. The cause of this is unknown but may involve changes to nerve function in the bowel or changes in the normal bacterial population of the bowel. Up to 25% of IBS may be due to this problem.
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Poor diet: Modern-day high-processed foods, caffeine, alcohol, and low probiotic or low-fibre diets can cause inflammation, contribute to dysbiosis, and bloating, and induce constipation or diarrhoea. Spicy and sugary foods also trigger irritation and bad bacteria formation.
- Food intolerance: Impaired absorption of the sugar lactose (found in dairy and many processed foods) is the most common dietary trigger for IBS. Other sugars believed to trigger IBS are fructose (present in many syrups) and sorbitol. Gluten can contribute to IBS as well. It’s important to note that IBS can also cause food intolerances that weren’t present before.
Consequently, all these factors cause inflammation in the digestive tract as well as dysbiosis, which is considered an imbalance in gut flora. This problematic combination usually results in a ‘leaky gut’ and issues with motility which are what drive the symptoms of IBS.
How to Get an IBS Diagnosis
The Rome criteria are widely used clinical guidelines for diagnosing functional gastrointestinal disorders, including IBS. According to these criteria, a diagnosis of IBS is considered if the individual has experienced recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort at least three days per month in the last three months, associated with two or more of the following:
- Improvement with defecation.
- Onset associated with a change in frequency of stool.
- Onset associated with a change in form (appearance) of stool.
Laboratory tests are also utilised by practitioners to rule out other potential diagnosis. These include:
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Hydrogen breath test. The hydrogen breath test is a diagnostic test used to detect abnormalities in carbohydrate digestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, particularly in the small intestine. It primarily assesses the likelihood of conditions such as lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance, and bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.
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Microbiome testing. This involves analyzing the composition and diversity of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes) that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract.
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Upper endoscopy. A long, flexible tube is inserted down your throat and into the tube connecting your mouth and stomach (oesophagus). A camera on the end of the tube allows the doctor to inspect your upper digestive tract and obtain a tissue sample (biopsy) from your small intestine and fluid to look for overgrowth of bacteria. Your doctor might recommend endoscopy as part of testing for Celiac Disease.
- Stool tests. Naturopaths can send their clients for comprehensive digestive stool analysis that looks at intestinal inflammation, permeability, how well one is digesting and absorbing food, possible infection, and metabolites that heal the gut, like short-chain fatty acids. These tests can also indicate which natural medicines would be the most beneficial for treatment.
How to Manage IBS Naturally
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Download. We recommend downloading our free ‘Nourish Your Gut Garden’ ebook. It’s full of useful and more detailed information on improving your digestive health.
- Flourish your gut microbes. Probiotic-rich foods such as coconut yoghurt and kefir help increase these good gut bugs. Our anti-inflammatory, fermented liquid Happy Turmeric will also help greatly.
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Eat prebiotics. Prebiotics feed our gut bugs (the microbiome)–artichokes, leeks, white beans, chicory, and asparagus are great.
- Eat bitter foods. These stimulate bile and digestive enzymes. Think cruciferous vegetables (sprouts, cabbage, kale broccoli), cacao, grapefruit, citrus fruits, chicory, cauliflower, artichokes, and dandelion root tea. Happy Liver helps in the same way also.
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Avoid triggers. Dairy, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, sugar, soda, and energy drinks can trigger IBS. Gluten can be inflammatory while some raw vegetables can irritate the digestive tract. Following an anti-inflammatory diet is a great place to start.
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Embrace mindfulness. Meditative practices help to manage stress and relax both the mind and gut, aka the gut-brain connection. Here are some great yoga sequences to help you get started.
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Eat slowly. Really take the time to eat your food. Before you eat, allow yourself a few moments to smell and see the food or think about their different flavours and textures. Most people don’t know this, but digestion begins before you actually put food in your mouth! Chew slowly, eat mindfully, and don’t use drinks to wash down your food – saliva should be enough.
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Essential oils. When applied topically, peppermint, spearmint, and essential oil blends can ease the symptoms of IBS, helping to reduce bloating, pain, and spasms. We recommend combining with a carrier oil like coconut or sweet almond.
- Take Happy Digestion. The dose is 6 grams 1-2 times daily, in water or juice.
Happy Digestion can relieve digestive discomfort, gas, and bloating, and regulate bowel transit time while repairing the gut lining and improving the gut microbiome. It also reduces inflammation of the intestinal tract (leaky gut) and provides probiotics to diversify the gut microbiome and prebiotics to feed good gut bacteria.
REFERENCES
Dale HF, Rasmussen SH, Asiller ÖÖ, Lied GA. Probiotics in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Up-to-Date Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2019 Sep; 11(9): 2048.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6769995/
Qin Xiang Ng et al. A Meta-Analysis of the Clinical Use of Curcumin for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2018 Oct; 7(10): 298.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6210149/
