IBS is a common digestive condition that affects a considerable percentage of the population. IBS represents an umbrella term for a collection of symptoms, the most frequently reported being: diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, excessive gas and cramping. People with this condition often suffer from more than one of these symptoms and/or symptoms can alternate.
The conventional medical approach to IBS focuses largely on symptomatic treatments rather than the potential causes. Obviously this approach has little chance of offering an actual resolution or a dramatic improvement of the IBS condition. Fortunately, naturopathic or nutritionally orientated therapies offer an approach that is the complete opposite, one that actually attempts to restore digestive health. Practitioners of these therapies will try to identify the primary cause or causes of a persons IBS, and then offer appropriate natural solutions.
Most naturopathic/nutritional practitioners would consider the following to be major causes of IBS: food allergies, food intolerances, parasites, yeast (candida overgrowth), dysbiosis (bad intestinal bacterial balance) and an insufficient secretion of factors by the body that assist digestive function. It must be pointed out that more than one of these is likely to be present at the same time.
Allergies have long been associated with IBS, and in more recent times this concept has gained more credence in conventional medical and research circles. Food allergens are capable it seems of initiating gastrointestinal immune disturbances, and intestinal wall damage, referred to as a leaky gut. People often find they are allergic to the foods they most commonly eat. Some of the commonest allergies amongst those living in industrialised nations are wheat and dairy.
Parasites and candida yeast may have an invasive and damaging action on the gastrointestinal wall. This potentially encourages inflammation of the gut lining, leading to all kinds of IBS symptomology. In addition, damage to the gastrointestinal wall may enhance its leakiness, leading to an increased chance of allergies.
Intolerances may relate to an inability of the digestive system to properly process certain food components, most commonly, certain fermentable sugars and sugar alcohols. Research has specifically confirmed that those with IBS have significantly positive responses when fermentable carbohydrates are removed from the diet. This type of diet is commonly referred to as the FODMAP diet, which stands for Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. The FODMAP diet covers a broad range of foods, from simple sugar sweeteners to a multitude of fruits and vegetables, because of this, attempting this diet requires considerable research and most likely the help of a suitably qualified nutritional expert.
An insufficient secretion of digestive factors such as hydrochloric acid in the stomach and digestive enzymes from the pancreas can dramatically reduce the digestion of foods. This can lead to changes in gut bacterial balance, which raises the likelihood of gut wall damage and allergies. Digestive enzyme supplement complexes and apple cider vinegar can be used to assist digestion. The acidity of apple cider vinegar should help improve the digestion of protein foods in the stomach, especially in combination with a digestive enzyme complex. Look for good quality unrefined apple cider vinegar products, as they contain naturally occurring bacteria that assist healthy bacterial balance. Follow product label instructions.
Dysbiosis relates to a situation where the gastrointestinal bacterial balance has shifted from good to bad. Too many bad bacteria as you can imagine are not conducive to healthy digestive functioning, and may lead to an increased chance of allergies and candida overgrowth. Taking excellent quality mixed strain probiotic (friendly bacteria) supplements should help restore good gut bacterial balance. Many studies have shown that various types of probiotic supplement are able to improve all of the major IBS symptoms. Look for research proven bacterial strains (types); these usually have a number written after the bacteria name on the ingredient list. The commonest probiotic food alternatives to supplements would be probiotic dairy drinks or live yoghurts. These are weak compared to quality probiotic supplements, and they are primarily composed of the common food allergen dairy. Fermented soy yoghurts are another option should you wish to avoid the dairy.
Dealing with any one of the above mentioned potentially causative IBS factors should really be done under the guidance of a naturopath, nutritional therapist or other suitably qualified practitioner. There are all kinds of tests that can be employed by these practitioners; of particular importance to IBS sufferers would be candida, parasite and allergy testing. Ask your practitioner about these.
No comments:
Post a Comment