Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is characterised by some or all of the following:
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Loose bowel movements
- Constipation
- Painful bowel movements
- Gas
- Foul smelling bowel movements or gas
- Fatigue
- Nausea
I had this myself many years ago and it was not fun! (for me and anyone near me due to the gas!). I would get doubled over in pain, ride it out, then carry on drinking and partying until it happened again. Terrible! But I didn't know what was happening! I went to the doctor, all bloods were fine and was told I probably had IBS and there was nothing he could do. Oh, and I kept getting thrush which is linked.
I then went to get a colonic (internal cleanse) and met the Naturopath there who changed my life. He taught me about what was happening, helped heal me and inspired me on my health journey into Naturopathy.
So why does this happen?
Common causes:
- Alcohol. It causes significant inflammation, irritation, damages gut mucosa and messes with out microbiome balance (the bacterial community in the gut and throughout the body)
- Stress. The gut brain connection is huge - hence 'the anxious poo!'
- Junk food. Sugar, preservatives, additives, colours, flavours etc. All crap to damage the gut
- Food intolerances. We all have particular foods which cause trouble for us, and sometimes those are what we think of as 'healthy' foods. For me it is almonds, chocolate, tofu, chicken.. devastating!
- An imbalanced microbiome. We all have a variety of helpful and unhelpful organisms working inside us. Problems occur though, when the unhelpful guys, like candida, proliferate and dominate. They cause damage, mess with digestive function, cause inflammation and much more.
So what should I do if I think I have IBS?
Well, you can choose to try to self-heal or seek advice. Some good places to start include:
- Have a break from alcohol. If you are going to drink, avoid beer and wine as they are the worst for the gut. Clean spirits with soda and lemon type thing would be better.
- Manage stress - do less, say no, delegate, talk to friends, practice breathing and meditation.. do yoga!
- Cut out the crap food and focus on a wholefood diet - meat (if you eat it), veg, fruit, nuts and seeds. Avoid food which contains ingredients you haven't heard of. If in a packet the ingredients should look like this: 'Ingredients: Walnuts'.
- Reduce / avoid gluten. Only causes trouble. Mostly found in wheat - so avoid flour based products. Oats also contain gluten, fine for some people, not for others.
- Investigate food intolerances. You can do elimination diets, hair testing, blood testing, kinesiology..
- Probiotic medicine. I highly recommend Immunity Fuel Probiotics. Happy to order some for you if you wish.
So that's IBS in a nutshell. Everyone is different though - symptoms vary, causes vary, response to treatment varies. Just know that if you have digestive issues, it's not normal, and can totally be treated :-) Any questions please ask!
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