The symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are quite common. However, most of us have experienced cramps, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea frequently enough to dismiss these as nothing more than just a result of fatigue and overeating.

This mindset has made it difficult for us to recognize that there could be something more to these symptoms than we initially thought. As such, many suffer from this irritable bowel syndrome for extended period of time without even knowing it.

Causes

There is no single known cause of irritable bowel disorder, only certain theories that attempt to explain its origins. Doctors believe that people suffering from this disorder not only have bigger colon than normal, they are also particularly sensitive to certain food and to stress.

A study conducted recently also showed that this condition could result be a result of gastrointestinal tract bacterial infection. People who have had gastroenteritis sometimes develop the condition, in this case known as post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome.

Diagnosis

For assessment, you need to undergo several diagnostic tests. These are conducted to rule out other syndromes or diseases. These tests may include stool sample testing, blood tests, x-rays, and most probably a sigmoidoscopy, which inspects the inside of your colon.

Treatment

The first and probably the most important step in treating irritable bowel syndrome is diet. This is called as the first step to relief, and requires you to eat a well-balanced diet as well as avoid certain kinds of food and beverages.

It is recommended that you eat lots of fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. More importantly, do not eat food which are high in fat and sugars because these have been proven to upset one’s stomach, aside from causing other health problems as well.

Stress can also trigger some of this disorder’s symptoms. As such, getting regular exercise is also a must, as well as drinking lots of liquids.

Diet plays a crucial rule when it comes to dealing with irritable bowel syndrome. Complementing this with a medication prescribed by your physician could do wonders for your health and well-being.



By: Jessica Bradbury

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When you have a diet free of your food intolerance, you could enjoy the benefit of a symptom free life almost immediately. Furthermore, some of the sensitive foods can be reintroduced into your diet after a period of abstinence.

It is easy to make the necessary changes to cope with your food intolerance. As you would need to change your diet and avoid the sensitive food, it is important to prepare yourself for the changes.

Here are a few tips on how to make the necessary changes:

There are many free from foods available in the shops nowadays. Examples of free from foods are replacing diary milk for soya milk or oat milk and wheat flour for rice flour or buckwheat flour. With free from food, you can still have the food you enjoyed. Eat a variety of food at different meal time, for example, take porridge for breakfast, snack on a fruit, have a vegetable soup for lunch and a rice based meal or fish and vegetables for lunch. In order to ensure that you only eat food that will not give you intolerance, it will be a good idea to plan your menu ahead. Planning a head give you time to select the right type of food, and prevent you from slipping back to quick fix food that will make you unwell. Make a conscious effort to avoid the sensitive foods. When you go on your food shopping, check food labels carefully, to ensure that they do not contain any of the ingredients you are intolerance to. There are things you can do in advance. Certain meals can be prepared in advance such as cook brown rice, lentils or pearl barley and freeze them for use when needed. Follow a healthy eating plan using fruit, vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, fish and meat. Include high energy food like lentils, sweet potato and beans for a complete balanced diet.

Food intolerance need not be a lifelong ailment, find out what your food intolerance is with laboratory test such as foodScan 113 and with proper care, you will feel well again.



By: Jenn Lim

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Irritable bowel syndrome – As the name suggests affects your bowel which is also your large intestine. It is an important part of your digestive system which makes and stores stool. This condition is associated with many symptoms due to which it is termed as syndrome. You may be shocked or surprised by the number of people who are affected by this kind of a problem. IBS cannot be termed as a disease but a functional disorder related to the bowel. Intestinal diseases like ulcerative colitis and Cohn’s disease can damage your intestine but IBS does not harm your intestine through inflammation or any other methods. The key to control this syndrome is to have a healthy and stress free lifestyle. This syndrome puts you through lot of pain and discomfort.

Some common reasons which cause this syndrome are large meals, bloated colon, specific medicines and food. Stress may not be directly related to IBS but if you are suffering from IBS, stress can surely aggravate the situation. It is known that during menstrual periods chances of IBS increases due to change in hormonal pattern. Common symptoms which pinpoint towards IBS are bloated stomach, abdominal pain with cramps, diarrhea, constipation, excess gas/ flatulence, mucus in the stool.

Food becomes an important part when affected by IBS. There is no one food which triggers this problem. Any food which is high in fat, insoluble fiber (which cannot be dissolved in water like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and cereals and caffeine (in any form like carbonated beverages, tea, coffee and even decaf) can cause this problem. Soluble fibers on the other hand are our saviors. They can get through problems like diarrhea and constipation. An increased fiber diet really helps you beat this problem. But excess of anything can be trouble. Other than helping you out from this mess it may push you further into it. There are no specific treatments which can cure IBS problem but by using preventive measure we can relieve the symptoms. A change in ones lifestyle can make a huge difference to fight this condition. Some dietary changes, changes in medicines as well as counter attacking stress-related problem make a lot of difference.

Home Remedies for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Instead of having one large meal, eat small meals which will not add too much stress on your digestive system.

Another method of treating this syndrome is by the use of hypnotherapy. It is one of the drug-free solutions to combat this problem.

Avoid stress by doing some relaxing activities like reading, chatting up with your friends, listening to music and many more.

In dietary changes avoid all the fatty foods like French fries, cheese, ice-cream, chocolate, alcohol and many more.

You can include soluble fiber in your diet such as rice, pasta and noodles, oatmeal, barley, fresh white bread, turnips, sweet potatoes, avocados, papayas and many more.

Drink enough fluids to remain hydrated as well as to have smooth bowel movements.

Avoid gas generating vegetables like beans, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and onions.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.



By: Sharon Hopkins

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome or simply IBS is something that inflicts discomforts with symptoms such as changes in bowel function, abdominal pain and bloating. Millions of people around the world are known to suffer form these symptoms of IBS. Fortunately though, these days there are many options available when it comes to IBS treatment. Among them, natural treatment of IBS is perhaps the most preferred by people.

One of the reasons why natural treatment of IBS is preferred by many is because it is not known to cause any major negative side effect. This may not be the case with other methods of treatment. Natural treatment procedures are also known to be effective in the long run, which is another reason which makes them the preferred mode of treatment.

Perhaps the most natural treatment of IBS lies in taking a healthy and balanced diet. The diet should be rich in fiber content. You should also take many servings of fruits and vegetable as part of your diet. Drinking plenty of water is another aspect that needs to be reiterated here.



Whole grains along with fruits and vegetables are known to be high in fiber and can therefore offer you relief from symptoms of constipation. They also help in preventing spasms of the colon region. Drinking water similarly helps in preventing dehydration as well as IBS related diarrhea. Drinking lots of water not only helps with IBS symptoms but also with improving your overall health.

Natural treatment of IBS with aloe vera is something that is finding a large number of takers these days. This plant is known to contain certain ingredients which can help in giving relief from IBS symptoms. Peppermint is another such natural product which helps in giving relief from IBS symptoms. Peppermint is in fact also known to be effective in many other digestive complaints too.

The key to beating IBS symptoms is to balancing the gut by introducing what are known as friendly bacteria. This can come in the form of various natural products. You can also find many natural IBS treatment coming in the form of capsules which can be purchased as over the counter medicine these days.

As part of natural treatment for IBS you should also know the foods items that you need to avoid eating too. Some of the food items that you need to avoid if you have any of the IBS symptoms are wheat, alcohol, diary products, caffeine, beans and fructose. Small changes in your dietary habits would in itself count among the many natural treatments available for IBS symptoms.



By: John Howard

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ibs

 

Factors influencing motility of the colon, among others, food, medicines, emotional problems, stress, nervousness, anxiety and depression are all considered possible IBS Symptoms.

 

With regard to dietary treatment we must take into account the time involved in this extended illness, to reduce symptoms and improve the general condition.

 

When you are in stage of diarrhoea, besides the pain, there is loss of water, electrolytes and nutrients, making it extremely important to control these IBS Symptoms. Suppress the intake of dairy and meat, while a good IBS Diet factor is egg white for hard to make proteins.

 

As part of an IBS Diet cut down on fatty acids, and use only small amounts of corn oil, also cut down on carbohydrates, eat only rice, corn flour, meal, semolina noodles, cookies, dry bread to improve IBS Symptoms.

 

Increased consumption of vegetable broths, with salt, water, fruit, wines, is fine for an IBS Diet. Fruits and vegetables, such as, apple peeled, cooked or grated, banana, carrot, pumpkin, are all good for IBS Symptoms.

 

Reduced lactose with lean white cheese, fresh mozzarella, ricotta cheese, yogurt, in small amounts, according to tolerance are reasonably well tolerated in relation to IBS Symptoms.

 

In an IBS Diet you should begin to incorporate first white meat, such as chicken, fish, then the later on red meat, cooked vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peeled or cooked fruit, peeled and raw fruit and then when fully normalize bowel function has returned, well-washed raw, leafy vegetables, dried fruit, vegetables, whole grains, so as to slowly increase the input of fiber to reach the recommended daily levels to prevent constipation, an IBS Symptoms.

 

In case you are in the stage of constipation, an IBS Diet should include increased consumption of fruits like citrus, kiwi, plums, and not consume apple, banana or quince, as they are astringent. Consume much more wheat bran, leafy greens, beets, other vegetables to ease constipation IBS Symptoms.

 

Increase fiber intake by selecting according to the symptoms (pain, flatulence etc…).

 

Make a small amount of fatty acids included in each meal, such as cream, oil, cream cheese, etc. For dairy in your IBS Diet choose whole white cheeses and yogurt

Take in plenty of fluids, preferably cold water, juices and jellies.

 

General Recommendations for IBS Diet when IBS Symptoms occur include, outside of the stages mentioned above, food should be varied, and in smaller more regular meals (4 to 6 meals) to avoid them being very heavy, containing both types of fiber (soluble and insoluble) respecting the recommendations and providing adequate calories for each individual according to weight, age, activity and physiological status to ease IBS Symptoms.

 

Harmonize food intake (carbohydrates 50 to 60% Protein 10 to 20% and the rest of the calories supplied by fat with increase in polyunsaturated fats), choose lean meats and low fat dairy, avoiding extreme temperatures in the IBS Diet (very cold or very hot), use soft and aromatic seasonings, lower sugar and salt, drink water throughout the day, not soft drinks, coffee, or alcoholic beverages, if possible do not chew gum or smoke to avoid IBS Symptoms.

 



By: Darrell F

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