What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or simply IBS, is a gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorder that causes recurring upper and lower GI symptoms such as:

• Abdominal pain
• Alternating or periodic bouts of constipation and/ or diarrhea
• Increased secretion of mucus in the colon,
• Increased gas and/ or nausea, abdominal bloating
• Loss of appetite or apparent increase of food sensitivities
• General GI discomfort

The condition is often associated with emotional and lifestyle factors, as many sufferers site stress as a trigger to their GI complaints. Unfortunately, the cause is unknown. Although IBS is the most common gastrointestinal disorder seen in general practice, many sufferers don’t seek help.

However, IBS is meant to be a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning all other structural, infectious and medical causes (including lactose intolerance and gluten allergy) are to be ruled out before diagnosing IBS. Whenever there are unexplainable changes to your bowel habits, digestion or weight, it is important to seek medical help.

There are conditions that may mimic IBS:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative colitis)
• Malabsorption diseases such as pancreatic insufficiency or celiac’s disease (gluten allergy)
• Metabolic disorders such as adrenal insufficiency, diabetes, hyperthyroidism
• Mechanical or biological changes such as fecal impaction, diverticular disease and cancer.
• A poor diet high in caffeine or stimulants, alcohol, carbonated beverages and simple sugars or laxative use/ abuse
• Lactose intolerance,
• Dysbiosis (imbalance in intestinal microflora, most commonly caused by Candida albicans overgrowth or as a result of anti-biotic or antacid use)

It is very important to rule out (be assessed for) the above conditions as they will have more immediate or emergency impact on you health. And although IBS is not life threatening, it does affect quality of life for the sufferer.

Conventional medicine does not know how to treat IBS.

If you have constipation, you’ll be prescribed medication to stimulate your bowels. If you have diarrhea, you’ll be prescribed medication to slow down your bowels. You may be prescribed anti-depressants or anti-anxiety drugs (there are serotonin receptors in the digestive tract) for both GI symptoms and any accompanying anxiety that you may have. You may be told to eat less fibre or more fibre or avoid spicy food etc.

Naturopathic Medicine and IBS

The digestive system is the cornerstone foundation of good health. Digestion is a complicated process that requires many steps coordinated together to help you absorb nutrients, get rid of toxins, and modulate immune response. There is a straight forward biological explanation as to why stress triggers your symptoms. When you are reacting to stress, the sympathetic branch of the nervous system shuts down digestion. That is why your mother may have told you not to run right after eating. Because if you did, you’d immediately get a cramp—a pain that may be much like your own IBS discomfort!

A naturopath also understands the long term impact of stress to the digestive system. Stress eventually breaks things down, including your digestive processes.

A naturopath will assess your current state of health with respect to your digestive ability and symptoms, lifestyle factors such as diet and stress management and past health history such as significant illnesses, other existing conditions and past and present medications that may be contributing to your IBS. When necessary, a food allergy test, hair mineral analysis or conventional tests from your doctor may be necessary to assist with proper assessment.

The goal to any treatment plan is to remove the causes of your IBS, repair damage, restore proper digestion and prevent reoccurrence of IBS symptoms.