What is IBS?
IBS stands for irritable bowel syndrome.
To keep it simple, it is inflammation of the gut which means you'll have a hard time absorbing and digesting food
This will often be accompanied with bloating, discomfort and even cramps
It's not nice
I completely get how it must feel
I know how bad I feel just eating a few bad meals
IBS usually happens when a few bad meals turn into the normal
How do you get IBS?
It really depends
Some people are genetically predisposed to it
Most people who suffer due to lifestyle choices
Your body is an incredible survival machine that can adapt to all the stress you throw at it
There's a difference between surviving and thriving though
You can give your body a lot of junk and eventually you're going to feel like what you're eating
The symptoms of IBS
The main symptoms are as follows:
- Excessive gas
- Irregular bowel habits
- Stomach growling
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Abdominal pain/cramping
- Bloating
The causes of IBS
- Chronic stress
- Antibiotic overuse
- Leaky gut syndrome
- Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
- Yeast overgrowth
- Parasites
- Hormone imbalance
- Low vagal tone
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Food allergens
- Food poisoning
- Excessive alcohol
- Excessive caffeine
How do you treat it?
If you look at the causes, you can see it's most probably a lifestyle disease so the solution is to change how you go about your day to day
Chances are that this has built up over years so it's no quick fix but know there's hope
You can slowly do the right things and stop the wrong things
Remember that this is a medical condition so if you want specific treatment, you need to get tested
This can involved stool tests, blood tests and more
Just know that almost all health conditions can be made better by improving your health habits and lifestyle
The following advice is going to help you feel better
Action steps
- Manage your stress
This comes in many forms
Stress can be physical, mental and emotional as well as the food you give your body
If the food doesn't agree with you, that's a stressor
The thing with not being stressed is that everything works better
When you're relaxed, your body works better and you can tolerate more stressors in your life
Find a way of minimising all stressors from work, relationships and lack of sleep
Of course, you still have to live your life but modifying how you do things will dramatically improve your health.
Practice mindfulness and meditation
While you think it won't help because it's not a direct gut fix, it definitely does. It makes you healthier overall because your body feels safe and can work as it should.
- Sleep
One of the simplest and free things you can do is sleep
Your body regenerates when you're sleeping
If you have health issues then you need to sleep more
Aim for at least 7 hours, ideally 9 hours unbroken
This means no phone in your room or any electronics,
Have the room as dark as possible and have a regular sleep time you stick to every night at the same time
- Minimise triggers
Follow a low FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols
This means that these foods can irritate the gut and make symptoms worse
It's like an elimination diet to remove all potential irritants
It's going to take some time and planning
Once you remove the triggers, you give your body and gut the chance to heal
These foods include the following
- Wheat/rye
- Dairy
- Beans/lentils
- Garlic
- Onions
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Brussels sprouts
- Mushrooms
- Fruit
- Sugar/sugar alcohols
Cut out these foods and you should see a noticeable improvement in symptoms.
- Fast
Practice periods of not eating
This again goes to the minimised triggers
What happens is your body clears out a lot of the bad stuff when you don't eat
Practice being hungry, it's healthy and allows the body to heal
Start with 12 hours but you can increase to 16-24 hours depending on your life's demands, do this 1-4 times per week
- Supplement or medicate
Giving your body little extras to add to what you're doing will always help.
This is where my legal responsibilities stop me from prescribing anything but the following supplements can help
- Multi strain probiotics to give your gut some good bacteria
- Peppermint oil to help heal the gut
- Fibre supplements
- Digestive enzymes to help process the food you take in
There are other supplements and medications but look at these as a last resort after you've done all the other lifestyle factors
Finishing statement
IBS can be cured but it isn't easy
It can be simple, you remove triggers, manage stress and eat the right foods while practicing fasting and adding in exercise and you're good
Be patient, start a journal or log to track how you feel after meals,
Create meal plans and you'll gradually get better and better
If you found this useful then please share with a friend or someone you feel might need help
Contact me at fabio@fabiobonanno.coach if you need help working through your specific conditions or I can point you towards the right directiona and refer you to someone
Fabio
