IBS for Health Interlink May 2014
A person with an optimally functioning digestive tract has a clear mind, good skin, good energy levels and better all round health.
What Are the Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
- Abdominal pain, aching, heaviness
- Excessive wind
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- Incontinence
- Mucus in the stool
- Small ribbon or pebble-like bowel movements
- Rectal discomfort, never feeling the rectum is completely cleared
- Poor appetite, weight loss
- Wanting to eat frequently to move things along; weight gain
- Tightness around the waist
- Headaches backache
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Painful periods painful intercourse
- Difficulty bending down.
I have known Drs to advise IBS sufferers to take daily medication to help the problem. In my opinion a disorganised bowel flags up an issue that needs to be identified and solved. Keeping a food diary can often help in the search for triggers.
If a food diary still does not help identify the route cause of the problem then a registered nutritionist should be able to arrange a Stool Analysis test which can help to identify any imbalances in the natural gut flora including pathogenic bacteria, yeast and parasites together with indications about digestive abilities.
Unwelcome visitors to the gastrointestinal tract can include bacteria, yeasts or parasites. These can all flourish living on your by-products and it is their by-products that cause you problems.
Allergy tests or Food intolerance tests can also be run to see if different foods are responsible for bowel issues.
Many simple measures are often however all that is necessary. How many of the five portions of fruit and vegetables do you eat a day and how much of the recommended litre and a half of water do you drink? 
Fruit and vegetables, along with whole grains and pulses, contain the fibre that when mixed with the water we drink swells to form an easy to pass stool. Do you leave enough time in the morning for life’s little ablutions or are you always rushing around trying to fit everything in. A balanced diet and a balanced lifestyle all help to balance our gastro-intestinal system, and a happy gut frees you up to live a happier life. 
When Bacteria goes “bad”!
In a healthy bowel three to four pounds of bacteria (the gut flora) work away to complete digestion, make vitamins and kill off bad bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, thus keeping the contents of the gut “sweet”. If the bad bacteria take over the stool becomes “sour” from putrefaction and a great deal of gas is formed. This is where the bloating and discomfort comes from. A good micro flora formula including lactobacillus and ifidobacteria, which thrive in different areas of the gastro intestinal tract, together with a healthy diet can help to populate the bowel with the right type of bacteria.
A Healthy Bowel Movement
This should be bulky, soft and mid brown in colour. It should pass cleanly from the body and should smell very little.
A constipated bowel movement
Because it has lost more water it is dark and compacted; it can also be streaked with mucus or blood. Blood in the stool must always be investigated even if you feel it is the result of straining to pass the hard faeces. Sometimes this opens up a crack (fissure) around the anus or causes a pile (haemorrhoid) to bleed.
The needs of the sluggish bowel.
Start by drinking more water, particularly on waking and between meals. If you drink more water with meals it dilutes the gastric juices, which is not beneficial. Eat foods with a high water content, vegetables (particularly raw), and fruit.
A high fibre diet does not need to be a high – bran diet. It is better if the whole grains are eaten instead of eating extra bran, as extra bran can sometimes lead to irritation of the lining of the bowel or prevent the absorption of some minerals. Flax seed both gently 
cleans the bowel and also provides a good source of fibre that helps to both bulk the stool and feed the healthy bacteria. Flax is also high in essential omega oils that can have a mild natural anti-inflammatory effect.
The Sluggish bowel needs exercise. Consider what you are doing with your body all day long – how you are restricting your abdominal muscles by the way you sit, by tight clothing or permanent tension. Walking or cycling to work, swimming or just doing a few simple stretch exercises every day can prevent constipation.
Causes of constipation include:
- Lack of water
- Lack of fibre
- Disturbance of the balance of the gut bacteria
- Tension in the muscles of the colon, rectum and anus. Possible need for increased magnesium.
- Putting off going to the lavatory
- Pelvic congestion due to lax muscles or pre-menstrual tension.
- The effects of some drugs; for example, iron tablets, codeine, tranquillisers, sleeping pills, anti-depressants, beta-blockers, water pills, some anti-histamines, some antacid preparations, some anti-convulsants drugs.
N.B if medication should be identified as the cause then alternatives can be discussed with your Dr, but never stop taking medication without discussion. Instead you may have to work harder at all the other dietary and lifestyle measures to help solve the problem.
Wind – Mounting Pressure
It is not only trying to pass a hard motion that causes pain; a colicky pain can be experienced when the bowel is tying to move the hard faeces through the colon, or when wind which cannot escape causes the bowel to stretch to a point where it contracts in protest and causes a sharp pain.
Fighting the Flatulence
Mild Symptoms – You could try fennel or peppermint tea, or a quarter of a teaspoonful 
of ginger in warm water. Fennel or caraway seeds after meals can help prevent wind; chew them very well. Drink peppermint or fennel tea.
More Severe Symptoms – Place a covered hot water bottle on your abdomen as you lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Massage
External – Massage with oil (olive is good) from the right groin up and across above the navel then down the left side; continue for ten minutes. This also helps to break down and eliminate toxins. Another way is to rub the abdomen with the lightest possible touch in a clockwise circle; there is no need to undress. It is surprising how much gas is released from the stomach with this simple exercise.
Internal – Laughing is a good internal massage, but if you are full of wind your sense of humour will probably have deserted you. Controlled breathing has a similar effect.
Using the Breath – If possible lie on the floor with your knees up; if this is not possible sit in a straight-backed chair and drop your shoulders. Breathe in and push your abdomen out; breathe out and pull your abdomen in and upwards towards the ribs. Continue for ten minutes.
The Overactive Bowel
You and your bowel need rest. Diarrhoea is usually the bowel’s way of getting rid of a substance it considers poisonous. It can however be an indication that your nervous system is worn out.
If you are tense, your muscles will be pumping out too much adrenaline and as a result of this all your bodily functions, including the muscular action of the bowel, will be speeded up.
It may only be apparent in your bowel but other parts could be affected too; breathing and heart rate will increase, your muscles could feel restless and unable to relax, your thoughts and speech could be more pressured.
If your bowel is reacting to stress, diet alone will not help; you will have to gear down and make relaxation sessions as much a part of your day as brushing your teeth.
If you find yourself passing a loose small bowel movement every time you go to urinate consider your posture. If you hunch over the toilet adopting what could be described as the posture of the sculpture The Thinker by Rodin, then you may find yourself bearing down encouraging the bowel to defecate. Should you recognise this as a possible problem while sitting to urinate imagine a string from the top of your head pulling your body straight up to the ceiling and see if this has a positive effect.
Steatorrhea. Some people have problems digesting fats. Excess fat in the gastrointestinal system can lead to a condition called steatorrhea where stools are light brown and very foul smelling. This can indicate that you may benefit from a pancreatic enzyme or that your liver or gallbladder could benefit from tonifying.
Toxins from yeasts such as Candida Albicans can cause irritation of the gut wall
increasing the chance of food allergies and making bowel movements more frequent. Toxins can also move out of the gastrointestinal tract and affect joints, muscles and brain function including mood, memory and concentration.
Treatment involves dietary reduction in sugars and yeasts together with treatment by antifungals and reintroduction of the natural protective bacteria that is often threatened by our 21st century lifestyles especially continued antibiotic use, refined foods and stress.
Exclude foods you may find yourself intolerant to. Although tests are available I often found that excluding a food for 2 weeks 100% and then reintroducing it on its own, in a good amount, once only, can often identify a possible problem. Remember that food intolerances especially those that affect the bowel can take up to 36 hours to show their effects.
Taking a Bulking Agent for Diarrhoea
Psyllium husks are as helpful for diarrhoea as it is for constipation as it can act as like a sponge and absorb excess fluid in the bowel. It is in the lower part of the bowel that water 
is absorbed from the faecal matter as it passes along its way. If for some reason this journey is too fast then the result is a very liquid and irritating bowel movement.
Coping with the Confused Bowel
If you have the type of lBS characterised by alternate bouts of constipation and diarrhoea the first problem that needs attention is the constipation. Often the diarrhoea can be secondary to the constipation as dried faecal matter can become impacted in the bowel causing a mild blockage. Eventually pressure builds up and all the blocked, still very liquid matter that is behind it, comes firing past causing urgency.
The take away message….
A person with an optimally functioning digestive tract has a clear mind, good skin, good energy levels and better all round health.
Now who wouldn’t want that.