IBS affects between 5- 20% of men & 15-25% of women.
 It is the most common chronic health disorder in the western world, affecting more people than asthma, diabetes & depression combined.
It involves abdominal pain (cramps) & discomfort, bloating, excessive wind, a change in the frequency of bowel movements &/or a variation in the form of the stool. It can be constipation or diarrhoea dominant & defecation often relieves the abdominal pain.
IBS is also characterised by a noisy tummy & very commonly involves things like dizziness or light-headedness, fatigue, sleep
disturbances, anxiety, low libido & low backache.
Although not directly caused by stress, it is exacerbated by perceived stressfull events.
IBS differs from the more serious digestive diseases ulcerative colitis & crohns (inflammatory bowel diseases -IBD) in that IBS does not cause damage to the gut. It is a functional problem, not a structural one. There are no red flags (ie bleeding) in IBS as there are in IBD. We have found it most important to re-assure the person with IBS that their condition is not a serious threat to their long-term health.
The real damage in IBS is to the person’s quality of life, self-esteem & confidence. Frequent & urgent bowel movements (or too few), cramping & bloating certainly make life very uncomfortable & quite worrying. In fact, there is a strong psychological component to many cases of IBS.
Many people who have IBS also have food sensitivities & allergies. Reactions to things like gluten (the protein in wheat, barley, rye), lactose (the sugar in milk) & certain fruits which contain high levels of salicylates or fructose are fairly common.
Our approach to this problem is from 2 angles. The first is ”fine tuning” the diet. In many cases this fine tuning includes an analysis of what is called FODMAP (fermentable oligo, di, mono-saccharides & polyols) in the person’s diet. These FODMAPS are natural food chemicals which cause wind & bloating, & are removed from the diet.
Dietary modification by itself sees excellent improvement.
However, when combined with stress management techniques like EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) &/or meditation, the person can start living again free of this debilitating handicap.
A naturopathic consultation includes both approaches & provides the most effective outcome.
