Struggling to trust your gut? Perhaps you have IBS!
Dr Harry is giving you 4 steps to help you manage it today
- Written by Dr. Harrison Weisinger MBBS, Ph.D.
Irritable bowel syndrome, “IBS” for short, is one of the most prevalent health problems of our time. It is estimated that between 10 and 15% of people suffer from IBS – with women slightly more commonly affected than men. The prevalence of the condition in people over the age of 50 years is 25% lower than in those under that age [1]. IBS, through its constellation of abdominal symptoms and unpredictability, can drastically reduce quality of life. Despite this, only a small percentage of sufferers ever seek medical attention – which is why over half of those that have IBS are never diagnosed [2]. Because pharmaceuticals are rarely effective in managing the problems of IBS, researchers have looked to other remedies – with extremely encouraging results.
Get control of your gut! Let's look further into IBS
While the symptoms of IBS aren’t life-threatening, they definitely do negatively impact quality of life. Classically, IBS causes abdominal pain ranging from mild to severe, diarrhoea or constipation (or even both!) and bloating. It’s no wonder that IBS is the second leading cause of absenteeism from work [3] and the reason for up to half of all specialist referrals to gastroenterology [4]! Furthermore, IBS is associated with other conditions including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional dyspepsia, non-cardiac chest pain, and psychiatric disorders including major depression, anxiety, and somatisation.
Irritable bowel syndrome, by definition, exists in the absence of biological disease markers (in other words, blood and stool tests, as well as imaging studies, are normal). However, the cramping, bloating and pain of IBS – like many other symptoms we put up with, for instance headache, poor concentration, general aches and pains and lethargy or fatigue almost certainly represent sub-clinical inflammation.
As I’ve previously explained, the purpose of inflammation, believe it or not, is to protect our bodies from harm. Or at least to protect them from further harm. Put simply, inflammation is a natural process in which immune cells such as white blood cells, proteins and fluid are attracted to a site of injury (or “insult” as doctors call it) within the body.
The classic example is if you were to twist your ankle – within minutes your ankle would be hot, swollen and painful. Think of this as the body getting all of the materials required for repair to your ankle, while at the same time giving you the sensation of pain. That’s to stop you standing on that ankle! Reflect for a second just how fast and powerful the inflammatory response can operate. In many ways, it’s the body’s way of ‘bringing a gun to a knife fight’! Inflammatory processes occur within our bodies every second, and without them, we couldn’t survive. You could say that our bodies constantly manage the balance between switching inflammation on and off.
As I’ve previously explained, the purpose of inflammation, believe it or not, is to protect our bodies from harm. Or at least to protect them from further harm. Put simply, inflammation is a natural process in which immune cells such as white blood cells, proteins and fluid are attracted to a site of injury (or “insult” as doctors call it) within the body.
The classic example is if you were to twist your ankle – within minutes your ankle would be hot, swollen and painful. Think of this as the body getting all of the materials required for repair to your ankle, while at the same time giving you the sensation of pain. That’s to stop you standing on that ankle! Reflect for a second just how fast and powerful the inflammatory response can operate. In many ways, it’s the body’s way of ‘bringing a gun to a knife fight’! Inflammatory processes occur within our bodies every second, and without them, we couldn’t survive. You could say that our bodies constantly manage the balance between switching inflammation on and off.
We run into trouble when that balance is disrupted, and we get inflammation in places where it actually becomes harmful to us. For example, one of the critical factors in heart disease is inflammatory plaques developing inside the walls of the arteries supplying the heart. In Coeliac disease, the inflammation occurs in the gut. Pneumonia, the lungs. Anaphylaxis, the upper airways. In Alzheimer’s, the brain, and so on. Of course, many of these conditions require medical and potentially, surgical therapy. However, it is equally, if not more, important for you to reduce inflammation where possible – and doing so, extend your life and improve the quality of it.
And this brings me to the essence of this article: how to reduce inflammation. Naturally.
Improve your life today by taking these 4 steps to manage your IBS
In my experience as a general practitioner, people with recurrent abdominal pain, with or without abnormal bowel movements, should:
#1 Get checked out!
In the vast majority of cases, persistent or recurrent abdominal symptoms represent IBS. However, a small proportion are not. For this reason, GPs always consider, and may perform tests for, other conditions like gastroenteritis (which can be viral, bacterial or parasitic – parasites like Giardia can hang around!), inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and Coelic disease. The presence of various “alarm symptoms” like weight loss or bleeding from the bowel alert the practitioner to test for sinister conditions including bowel cancer.
#2 Make some dietary modifications
Many practitioners advocate for a diet with slightly increased fibre, or one with a reduction in dairy or ‘gas producing foods’ such as beans [5]. I personally have prescribed a very low carbohydrate diet for many patients with excellent effect.
Since most bloating is due to gas produced in the gut by bacteria metabolising sugar into water and gas, a large reduction in sugar drastically reduces flatus (now you know the medical word for ‘wind’ or ‘farts’!). In fact, a ketogenic diet is one of the most important interventions we can do to reduce inflammation in general.
#3 Try Curcumin
It’s no longer a secret that curcumin is a powerful, plant-based anti-inflammatory. Not surprisingly, there have been a number of randomised controlled clinical trials to have demonstrated the benefit of curcumin supplementation for the reduction of IBS symptoms. For instance, Bundy and co-workers reported a 25% improvement in pain and discomfort score after 8 weeks taking a standardised turmeric extract [6]. One could reasonably expect the effect to be even greater if these subjects were administered Curcumin, the bioactive component of Turmeric. Similarly, in a more recent study in which subjects were given a predominantly curcuminoid supplement (or placebo), investigators found significant and substantial improvements in IBS symptoms after 8 weeks (though in some, benefits occurred after 4 weeks) [7]. An Italian study, published in 2016, reported a 26% improvement in pain scores in IBS sufferers that were given curcumin for a period of 30 days [8], while a separate study found significant improvements in quality of life after 60 days of treatment with curcumin [9]. It’s fair to say that if you suffer IBS, curcumin is definitely worth a shot!
#4 Seek Psychological Support
As I mentioned previously, there is a very strong link between IBS and psychological issues, predominantly anxiety. While the reason for the connection is unclear, here’s what I do know: both non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of anxiety actually help IBS. This is why I recommend cognitive behavioural therapy, which can be done with the support of an app (see e-counseling.com for a list of these), a GP or a psychologist. Curiously, some patients with IBS respond extremely well to anti-depressant medications, even when they don’t have any psychological symptoms!
Try Truth Origins Liquid Curcumin today! Unlike other curcumin supplements, Truth Origins have overcome the major barrier to the effectiveness of curcumin - poor absorption in the gut – by making it fully water-soluble 💧
Thank you to our customer's question which prompted this blog post.
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Dr. Harrison Weisinger (MBBS, Ph.D.)
Dr. Harry is the Medical Director for Truth Origins, and a practicing medical doctor in Australia. Throughout his working career as medical doctor, university professor, and scientist, Dr. Harry has committed his life to improving human health. Each month he reads the various journals and studies being conducted across the world’s leading universities and research hospitals to bring you the latest research surrounding the truth about plant-based medicine.
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References
[1] Lovell RM, Ford AC. Global prevalence of and risk factors for irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2012;10(7):712. Epub 2012 Mar 15.
[2] Sayuk GS, Wolf R, Chang L. Comparison of Symptoms, Healthcare Utilization, and Treatment in Diagnosed and Undiagnosed Individuals With Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Am J Gastroenterol. 2017;112(6):892. Epub 2017 Jan 17.
[3] Diagnostic evaluation of the irritable bowel syndrome. Schuster MM. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 1991;20(2):269.
[4] Everhart JE, Renault PF Irritable bowel syndrome in office-based practice in the United States. Gastroenterology. 1991;100(4):998.
[5] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs
[6] Turmeric extract may improve irritable bowel syndrome symptomology in otherwise healthy adults: a pilot study. Bundy R, Walker AF, Middleton RW, Booth J. J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Dec;10(6):1015-8.
[7] Evaluation of Benefit and Tolerability of IQP-CL-101 (Xanthofen) in the Symptomatic Improvement of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Double-Blinded, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Alt F, Chong PW, Teng E, Uebelhack R. Phytother Res. 2017 Jul;31(7):1056-1062.
[8] Curcumin and Fennel Essential Oil Improve Symptoms and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Portincasa P, Bonfrate L, Scribano ML, Kohn A, Caporaso N, Festi D, Campanale MC, Di Rienzo T, Guarino M, Taddia M, Fogli MV, Grimaldi M, Gasbarrini A. J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 2016 Jun;25(2):151-7.
[9] Efficacy of bio-optimized extracts of turmeric and essential fennel oil on the quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Di Ciaula A, Portincasa P, Maes N, Albert A. Ann Gastroenterol. 2018 Nov-Dec;31(6):685-691.