What are the root causes of IBS? (part 1)
Bloating, gas, cramps, indigestion, pain? One minute you can’t go to the loo and the next minute you can’t get off it.
Could it be Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? It’s incredibly common. According to Guts UK, a charity set up to promote awareness of and funding for digestive problems, it affects up to a third of people at some stage or another and it is one of the main reasons people visit their doctor.
According to the NHS, it is a lifelong problem that no one really understands, a problem you have to live with(1). (If you do have IBS symptoms you should speak to your GP just in case it is something other than IBS). The frustrating thing when you have an IBS diagnosis from the GP is that you tend to be left to look after yourself because it is not anything ‘serious’. It felt pretty serious to me! The NHS does have some diet and lifestyle suggestions, but they aren’t all helpful.
As a long-term IBS sufferer and a registered nutritional therapist, specialising in IBS and gut health, I’m saying that you can feel better, you don’t have to live with the symptoms.
If you suffer from IBS you need to look for the root causes. Yes, that is plural, there may be more than one cause.
Some possible root causes are;
SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). This is where bacteria grow and thrive in the small intestine. It’s not a question of beneficial or non-beneficial bacteria. There shouldn’t really be many in the small intestine at all.
Dysbiosis is an imbalance in the levels of beneficial and non-beneficial bacteria in the large intestine or colon (bowel), potentially caused by the overuse of antibiotics, alcohol, high-sugar diets and stress.
You might have yeast overgrowth or a pathogenic bacteria infection. The gut environment gets out of balance (due to dysbiosis) so that yeast and pathogenic bacteria can thrive.
Other possibilities are;
Lactose intolerance. This is when your body is not able to digest lactose, a type of sugar found naturally in milk and other dairy products because you don’t make enough of the digestive enzyme lactase. However if genetically you are from the northern hemisphere you are at low risk.
The ten countries with the lowest prevalence of lactose intolerance are (2):
Denmark - 4%
Ireland - 4%
Sweden - 7%
United Kingdom - 8%
New Zealand - 10%
Netherlands - 12%
Norway - 12%
Niger - 13%
Belgium - 15%
Cyprus - 16%
If you are not lactose intolerant, you may still be reacting to the A1 protein in cow’s milk, due to an IgE (an allergic immune response) It might be worth trying goat or sheep milk which is an A2 protein.
Read more about food intolerance by looking at my blog why complete a food intolerance test
Another possibility is fructose malabsorption. Excess fructose found in all fruit and some vegetables pulls fluid into the bowel a possible cause of diarrhoea, excess gas and bloating. Sweeteners can have a similar effect, so be careful! They can be high in low-calorie and no-sugar processed foods.
What can you do to improve your symptoms?
The following suggestions are very basic but surprisingly effective at improving symptoms.
DO
Try a cup of hot water with lemon or ginger tea before meals to stimulate digestion.
Try 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (with the ‘mother’) before a meal. (I warn you for some people myself included it is too hard to swallow!)
Take your time to prepare and eat your food– the thought, sight and smell of food starts the digestive process.
Make sure you’re chewing properly.
Try a few cubes of pineapple or papaya before a meal. These contain enzymes that can boost your digestion. You might also consider taking a digestive enzyme supplement
DON’T
Eat at your desk at work or while distracted. Concentrating on your food allows your body to produce gastric acid and digestive enzymes. Read my blog, top tips for gut pain at work
Eat on the go or when you’re stressed out. You won’t digest your food properly or absorb the nutrients and could end up with indigestion and heartburn.
Don't drink too much water or other fluids with your meal as this dilutes the stomach acid needed to digest your food properly.
Finally, if you are suffering you can ask your GP to test for some gut pathogens including H-pylori and Giardia, but if you want a comprehensive analysis of your gut health then you may need to complete a functional stool test, which evaluates the levels of beneficial vs non-beneficial bacteria, tests for pathogens, yeast infections and GI inflammation levels.
Regenerus labs run a test called GI360(3) a good starting place
There are other possible root causes, which I will discuss in future blogs, so keep reading!
For more information or advice then please contact me for a free 30-minute no obligation consultation
Sending you happy tummy vibes!
Jacxx
Reference
1: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs/
2. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/lactose-intolerance-by-country
3. https://regeneruslabs.com/products/gi360-complete
