Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

It is estimated that up to 1 in 5 people are affected by IBS, with more women than men being diagnosed. There isn’t enough research for a definitive answer as to why this is the case but it may be that women seek out a diagnosis sooner than men or that the effect of the female hormones is having an exacerbating effect on the IBS symptoms.

IBS is an interesting condition because there is no test, scan or procedure that can say you have it. IBS is a ‘diagnosis of exclusion’ meaning that other problems like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis (or other digestive problems) are ruled out first and so eventually you are left with the diagnosis of IBS.

So you now have a label for the symptoms you are experiencing, which in itself can be something of a relief, you may also have been told there is no definite cure for IBS. So where does that leave you, what do you do now, live with the symptoms for the rest of your life?

Supplements

A good quality multivitamin and mineral would form the foundation of your supplement programme to make sure that you are getting a ‘little bit of everything’. You then add in those nutrients in slightly higher amounts which are known to be helpful for IBS.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for IBS because it has a balancing effect on your immune function. It is thought that the immune response in the gut with IBS is too strong and is over-reacting to foods causing pain and cramping.

These days many people are deficient in vitamin D without realising it. We have alarmingly low levels of vitamin D in the UK, more than 50 per cent of adults has insufficient vitamin D levels.

There is some concern that most people today are not getting much vitamin D from their diet, especially those who are eating junk food and not eating any or very little oily fish or eggs. My recommendation would be check your level with a simple home finger prick test please click Vitamin D Deficiency Test

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Omega 3 fatty acids are so important because they help to control inflammation in your body and it is now thought that inflammation is the root cause of many of our degenerative health problems in today’s world. It is usually thought there is no inflammation connected with IBS but researchers have found a kind of ‘mini-inflammation’ in the lining of the bowel which can then make your bowel more sensitive and increase pain and cramping. By using certain nutrients that have an anti-inflammatory effect it is possible to help reduce this sensitivity.

Many of the women I see in the clinic have been taking evening primrose oil supplements – an Omega 6 fatty acid – for years and have not been eating enough Omega 3 oils, or taking them in supplement form, to counterbalance this. Some women are also taking combinations such as Omega 3, 6, and 9 in supplement form because they have heard that we need a good balance of all the Omega fatty acids. This is true, but you have to take into account what your own levels may be in the first place. It is no good adding in more Omega 6 if you have already got enough or in fact too much in your body. (You can now have a blood test to tell you if you have the correct levels of Omega 3 to Omega 6 in your body see below). To check whether you have sufficient levels of Omega 3 please click Omega 3 Deficiency Test (at home finger prick blood).

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that is very helpful for your immune function. In large amounts it can cause diarrhoea so can actually be helpful if you have constipation by gradually increasing the amount. Start with 500mg once a day and gradually increase the amount by 500mg each day until the stools are the consistency that is comfortable. If you suffer predominantly from diarrhoea rather than constipation, then try just 500mg a day and if it doesn’t make the diarrhoea worse then try another 500mg the next day. I would suggest you use the alkaline form of vitamin C magnesium ascorbate and not ascorbic acid. The optimum amount per day for your general health is 500mg twice a day.

Probiotics

Research has been mounting over the years to suggest that probiotics can be extremely beneficial in helping with IBS. Scientists think that probiotics work for IBS because they are now suggesting that IBS could be caused by an imbalance in bacteria within the gut, the effects of having a gastrointestinal infection, having a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or an overactive immune function in the gut and probiotics can help with all these possible causes.

Tests

There are a number of tests available that are extremely useful and are well worth considering. These tests can give you invaluable insights into understanding what is going on in your body at the moment.

The analysis of these results lets you know what supplements you need to take in order to bring your body back into balance and into optimum health. You would then be re-tested after three months to monitor your progress and to adjust the supplement programme accordingly.

Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis & Parasitology Test

I think a stool test can be extremely useful in trying to determine the cause of IBS because it is well known that having a bout of food poisoning can leave you twice as likely to develop IBS and in my experience that ‘bug’ may still be there causing you symptoms.

The stool test I would suggest gives you much more information than just checking for bugs or parasites. It actually assesses how well you can digest and absorb your food, especially your ability to absorb fats, which are often a trigger for IBS symptoms. This stool test also gives a measure of how much of the beneficial bacteria like lactobacillus and bifidobacterium you have in your gut. When you are checking for parasites, it is important that you give three stool samples, not just one, because the parasite may not be picked up on only one sample. For more information click Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis & Parasitology Test

Online Personalised Supplement Assessment Programme
Discover what vitamins and minerals you need and should be taking
The analysis of this comprehensive questionnaire will give you a three monthly supplement programme to help balance any vitamin and mineral deficiencies you may have. Find out more – Online Personalised Supplement Assessment Programme

Vitamin D Deficiency Test (at home finger prick blood)
With all the news in the press about the benefits of having good levels of vitamin D e.g. prevention of cancer, especially breast cancer, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis it is important that you know whether or not you are lacking in this vital vitamin.

We know that Vitamin D is required for calcium absorption, but it also plays many other important roles including prevention of cancer, especially breast cancer, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. As well as all of these benefits, it is now thought that having good levels of vitamin D is important for healthy immune function which is crucial for IBS and it can also help slow down the ageing process and low levels have been implicated in other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and inflammatory bowel disease. To check whether you have sufficient levels of Vitamin D please click Vitamin D Deficiency Test (at home finger prick blood)

Omega 3 Deficiency Test (at home finger prick blood)

If you want to find out if you are getting enough Omega 3 fatty acids from your diet and whether you have the correct balance of essential fatty acids.
Signs of an Omega 3 fatty acid are dry skin, lifeless hair, cracked nails, fatigue, depression, dry eyes, lack of motivation, aching joints, difficulty in losing weight, forgetfulness, cystitis. If you have also tried to lose weight by going on a low-fat or no-fat diet, you are likely to be deficient in these essential fats. It is now estimated that we are getting ten times more Omega 6 fats from our diet than Omega 3 and over the last century there has been an 80% decrease in the consumption of these Omega 3 fatty acids. When you eat Omega 3 fats they are converted to substances that have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. Find out more – Omega 3 Deficiency Test (at home finger prick blood)

Many of the women I see in the clinic have been taking evening primrose oil supplements – an Omega 6 fatty acid – for many years as it can be helpful with PMS. But you can end up with too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3 in your body. Some women are also taking combinations such as Omega 3, 6, and 9 in supplement form because they have heard that we need a good balance of all the Omega fatty acids. This is true, but you have to take into account what your own levels may be in the first place. It is no good adding in more Omega 6 if you have already got enough or in fact too much in your body. (You can now have a blood test to tell you if you have the correct levels of Omega 3 to Omega 6 in your body see below). To check whether you have sufficient levels of Omega 3 please click Omega 3 Deficiency Test (at home finger prick blood).

After three months you would then have a re-test in order to monitor your progress and adjust your supplement programme according to your new condition.

Read More

If you would like more in-depth advice on how to look after digestion and IBS then read my book Natural Solutions to IBS.