Do you suffer from bloating, food intolerances, stomach pains or excessive wind? Has there been changes in your bowel movements which are bothering you? Maybe swapping between diarrhoea and constipation? Do you suffer from stomach pain and cramping that is only relieved by moving your bowels.

Well, you could be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS.

Symptoms

The symptoms and severity of the symptoms can vary from person to person, but most people report diarrhoea, constipation or alternating between these too. Urgency, flatulence, bloating, pain, cramping and loss of tolerance to foods they used to be able to eat. Some people can feel like there is a lump in their stomach or back passage, and there may occasional be blood in a bowel movement.

Upon medical investigation, ruling out all the ‘nasties’ a Gastroenterologist, or a GP, will diagnose, IBS. In other words – ‘we have no idea why you are feeling so crappy’, so it is called IBS.

Other symptoms can be fatigue, stress, anxiety about leaving home and depression.

Causes

The symptoms of IBS are shown to be caused by an abnormality in the gut motility, abnormal amounts of bacteria and other organisms in the gut, and the immune system being either under or over active.

The central nervous system also seems to be affected, especially its interpretation of pain signals coming from the gut.

The gut-brain axis is the two-way communication line between the brain and the gut. The autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and nerves in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that link the gut and the brain. This network allows the brain to influence intestinal activities, such as the activity of the immune effector cells. At the same time, the gut can also influence mood, cognition, and other mental health matters.

Disturbances to the system can cause pain, discomfort, a sense of gaseousness, and changes in bowel habits.

Lifestyle Changes

IBS is both a motor and sensory disorder, making patients feel both physical and mental discomforts. Proper distinction to symptoms can therefore be confusing and affect the other. Physical and mental efforts will make the journey to healing better than solely focusing on one aspect more than the other.

Diet Improvements

Fiber and sorbitol from prunes can improve gastrointestinal functions.

Kiwifruit improves bowel function, specifically with constipation. It was found that kiwi shortens colon transit time and bowel movement frequency.

A study on North Americans found that zinc deficiency is common among IBS patients. Zinc has a role in the immune system, gut-brain axis, and even in the integrity of the gastrointestinal barrier.

Caffeine, fat, and sugars such as fructose, lactose, and alcohol sugars are to be avoided for diarrhoea predominant IBS patients.

At Flourish we recommend our IBS patients begin a dietary treatment protocol to help reboot the gut microbiome and mend the gut wall, as leaky gut is often seen with IBS patients.

From our clinical experience, cutting out gluten (found in wheat, barley, rye and spelt) makes a huge difference with IBS patients, then commencing a whole-food plant-based diet to restore and rebuild the gut microbiome is the best treatment plan. We use our 21-day Cleanse program along with the anti-inflammatory blend plus the prebiotic blend to settle the bloating, pain and flatulence.

Bloating is a sign of inflammation, as is pain, so using the Flourish Anti-inflammatory blend makes a significant difference to those suffering from an IBS episode. Our recommendation is 1/2 – 1 scoop of the blend after each meal. If extremely bloated, take 1 scoop of the Anti-inflammatory blend, with 1 scoop of the prebiotic blend within the same glass. Wait 30 minutes or so, and the pain and bloating should have improved.

Further Interesting points:

Somatization, which is the tendency to experience stress because of physical symptoms, is more common with IBS than the normal rates.

This can lead to higher rates of anxiety and depression being reported among patients. These will interfere more with the symptom management and overall health outcomes of patients.

Stress hormones (cortisol), leads to zonulin being released by the gut wall, leading to leaky gut, which as we said above, seems to be one of the primary issues of IBS, or loss of tolerance for certain food groups.

Furthermore, stress-inducing events or phases can cause further issues with the gut-brain axis again leading to a leaky gut. Normal bowel movements can cause discomfort or even pain, which is known as visceral hypersensitivity. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is believed to send stronger pain signals to the brain than normal in response to activity within the GI tract, making even normal muscle contractions such as food moving along the GI tract or normal gas patterns seem painful.