Irritable bowel syndrome info by Ray Sahelian, M.D. health food and healing information
Irritable bowel syndrome is a problem with the intestines. In people
with Irritable bowel syndrome, the intestines squeeze too hard or not hard
enough and cause food to move too quickly or too slowly through the
intestines. Irritable bowel syndrome is also called functional bowel
syndrome, irritable colon (the large intestine is also called the colon),
spastic bowel and spastic colon. It's not the same as inflammatory bowel
diseases like Crohn's disease.
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome are at increased
risk for migraine, depression or fibromyalgia.
Natural Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome
Studies of some natural
alternatives have had promising results, but none are proven.
Thus far, research suggests that certain nutrients may be beneficial in
reducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in certain individuals. These nutrients include
turmeric, or curcumin,
certain probiotics,
and artichoke leaf
extract. Food allergy elimination should also be tried, see below.
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Irritable bowel syndrome symptom
Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms — crampy
abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.
Irritable bowel syndrome diet
It's difficult to come up with a
diet that would work in most people with
irritable bowel syndrome. However, consider making some of the following diet
changes: cut back on sugar, cut back on dairy products, especially milk, and
consider eliminating certain foods.
People with
irritable bowel syndrome have high levels of antibodies that indicate they are
allergic to common foods like wheat, beef, pork, and lamb. The idea of food
allergy as a cause is supported by studies that systematically eliminated
certain dietary components and then reintroduced them to see how symptoms were
affected. In one study, researchers compared levels of antibodies to common
foods in 108 patients with irritable bowel syndrome and a comparison group of 43
unaffected "control" subjects. As well as the antibody measurements, the
researchers also conducted skin prick testing to 16 common foods including milk,
eggs, cheese, wheat, rice, potatoes, various meats, and soya beans. Antibody
levels to wheat, beef, pork, lamb and soya beans were significantly higher in
IBS patients, and tended to be higher for egg yolk and egg white. However,
there was no significant correlation between symptom severity and frequency and
antibody levels. Nonetheless, the researchers note that elevated levels of
food-specific antibodies have been seen in asthma, which suggests there could be
a similar process going on in irritable bowel syndrome. American Journal
of Gastroenterology, July 2005.
Irritable bowel syndrome treatment
Many people turn to natural treatments to relieve irritable bowel
syndrome symptoms because there is no one treatment for irritable bowel syndrome
that works for everyone.
Cause of irritable bowel syndrome
Scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of irritable bowel
syndrome, but food allergies are one possibility.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition causing
constipation or diarrhea (or sometimes both, cyclically), cramping and
generalized gut discomfort. Because no clear physical cause has been discovered,
it has been thought that stress and mental disorders play a role.
People who experience high levels of stress and anxiety appear to
be more likely to develop irritable bowel syndrome following a severe gastric or
intestinal infection.
Allergies as cause of irritable
bowel syndrome
Individuals with allergies are more likely to have irritable bowel
syndrome than do those without allergies. People with allergic conditions such
as hay fever, eczema, and asthma are more likely than other patients to have
IBS. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, January 2008.
Irritable bowel syndrome and
pelvic pain
Researchers have observed in rats that acute irritation of the urinary
bladder leads to increased sensitivity in the colorectum, and conversely,
irritation of the colorectum leads to sensitization of the urinary bladder.
There appears to be neural cross-talk and bidirectional cross-sensitization of
the colon and lower urinary tract. This cross-sensitization may account for the
substantial overlap of chronic pelvic pain disorders. Irritable bowel syndrome
and interstitial cystitis are two very common clinical conditions that affect
primarily women of reproductive age. While these two conditions are often
treated as separate entities, in actuality, as many as 40% of women suffer from
both conditions.
Irritable
Bowel Syndrome Research Info
A "probiotic" preparation containing the beneficial microbe Bifidobacterium
infantis relieves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, a common problem that
usually involves cramping, diarrhea and constipation, new research shows. In
contrast, treatment with another probiotic microbe, Lactobacillus salivarius,
appears to have no effect. Previous studies of probiotic preparations have been
small and yielded inconsistent results. For the current study, 75 irritable
bowel syndrome patients were randomly assigned to take L. salivarius or B.
infantis mixed in a malted milk drink or the malted milk drink alone every
morning for 8 weeks. Patients kept track of their symptoms on diary cards
collected weekly for analysis. The B. infantis mixture was better than the
malted drink alone at reducing overall symptoms, abdominal pain and discomfort,
and bloating. In contrast, the L. salivarius mixture was no better than the
malted drink alone in reducing symptoms. The investigators point out that the
symptom relief achieved with B. infantis was comparable to that seen with
Zelnorm (tegaserod) and Lotronex (alosetron), two drugs that have been recently
approved for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
SOURCE Gastroenterology, March 2005.
Turmeric extract may improve irritable
bowel syndrome symptomology in otherwise healthy adults: a pilot study.
J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Dec;10(6):1015-8.
To assess the effects of turmeric (Curcuma longa) extract on
irritable bowel syndrome symptomology in otherwise healthy adults. Design:
Partially blinded, randomized, two-dose, pilot study. Subjects: Five hundred
(500) volunteers were screened for irritable bowel syndrome using the Rome II criteria. Two hundred
and seven (207) suitable volunteers were randomized. Interventions: One or two
tablets of a standardized turmeric extract taken daily for 8 weeks. Outcomes
measures: irritable bowel syndrome prevalence, symptom-related quality of life and
self-reported effectiveness. Results: irritable bowel syndrome prevalence decreased significantly in
both groups between screening and baseline (41% and 57%), with a further
significant drop of 53% and 60% between baseline and after treatment, in the
one- and two-tablet groups respectively. A post-study analysis revealed
abdominal pain/discomfort score reduced significantly by 22% and 25% in the one-
and two-tablet group respectively, the difference tending toward significance.
There were significant improvements in all bar one of the irritable bowel
syndrome quality of life scales of between 5% and 36% in both groups,
approximately two thirds of all subjects reported an improvement in symptoms
after treatment, and there was a favorable shift in self-reported bowel pattern.
There were no significant differences between groups. Conclusions: Turmeric may
help reduce irritable bowel syndrome symptomology. Placebo
controlled trials are now warranted to confirm these findings.
Artichoke leaf extract reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and
improves quality of life in otherwise healthy volunteers suffering from
concomitant dyspepsia: a subset analysis.
J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Aug;10(4):667-9.
Does artichoke leaf extract ameliorate symptoms of Irritable
bowel syndrome in otherwise healthy volunteers suffering concomitant dyspepsia?
A subset analysis of a previous dose-ranging, open, postal study, in
adults suffering dyspepsia. Two hundred and eight (208) adults were identified
post hoc as suffering with irritable bowel
syndrome. Irritable bowel
syndrome incidence, self-reported usual bowel pattern, and the Nepean
Dyspepsia Index (NDI) were compared before and after a 2-month intervention
period. There was a significant fall in
irritable bowel syndrome incidence of 26% after treatment. A significant shift in
self-reported usual bowel pattern away from "alternating constipation/diarrhea"
toward "normal" was observed. NDI total symptom score significantly decreased by
41% after treatment. Similarly, there was a significant 20% improvement in the
NDI total quality-of-life (QOL) score in the subset after treatment.
This report supports previous findings that Artichoke leaf extract ameliorates
symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome,
plus improves health-related QOL.
Artichoke leaf extract reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in a
post-marketing surveillance study.
Phytother Res. 2001 Feb;15(1):58-61.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a problem reported to affect 22% of the general
population. It is characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habit, but
has so far defied elucidation of its pathogenesis and proved difficult to treat.
There is a growing body of evidence which indicates therapeutic properties for
artichoke leaf extract. Dyspepsia is the condition for which the herb is
specifically indicated, but the symptom overlap between dyspeptic syndrome and
IBS has given rise to the notion that artichoke leaf extract may have potential
for treating irritable bowel syndrome as well. A sub-group of patients with IBS
symptoms was therefore identified from a sample of individuals with dyspeptic
syndrome who were being monitored in a post-marketing surveillance study of
artichoke leaf extract for 6 weeks. Analysis of the data from the irritable
bowel syndrome sub-group revealed significant reductions in the severity of
symptoms and favourable evaluations of overall effectiveness by both physicians
and patients. Furthermore, 96% of patients rated artichoke leaf extract as
better than or at least equal to previous therapies administered for their
symptoms, and the tolerability of artichoke leaf extract was very good. These
results provide support for the notion that artichoke leaf extract has potential
value in relieving irritable bowel syndrome symptoms and suggest that a
controlled trial is justified.
Enteric-coated peppermint-oil capsules in the treatment of irritable bowel
syndrome: a prospective, randomized trial.
J Gastroenterol. 1997 Dec;32(6):765-8.
To determine the efficacy and tolerability of an enteric-coated
peppermint-oil formulation (Colpermin), we conducted a prospective, randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study in 110 outpatients (66 men/44
women; 18-70 years of age) with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Patients
took one capsule (Colpermin or placebo) three to four times daily, 15-30 min
before meals, for 1 month. Thus, in this trial, Colpermin was effective and well
tolerated.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome questions
Q. I have heard some reports of people taking
yacon to help with dealing with irritable bowel
syndrome
symptoms. Is there any research with yacon and
this condition?
A. I have not come across any research regarding irritable bowel
syndrome and yacon. A Medline search was done with these words and no research
studies came up.
Q. I just thought you might be interested that after a year or more of suffering with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, I tried probiotics and in two weeks have suffered no further symptoms.
Irritable bowel syndrome info