Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, has become one of the more common health disorders affecting 10-15% of the population. It is the single most common complaint for which people see medical specialists who deal with disorders of the digestive tract. The number of adults with IBS is increasing rapidly in all developing countries, and the link appears to be the dietary changes that are common to these countries.
The primary symptoms of IBS include:
• Abdominal discomfort that is typically relieved by a bowel movement
• Pain beginning with a change in bowel movement frequency such as constipation
Other commonly associated symptoms include:
• Bloating, or the feeling of abdominal distention
• Diarrhea
• Excessive bowel movements
• Infrequent bowel movements
• Abdominal fullness causing the urge to urinate frequently
• Indigestion
There are many more infrequent symptoms of IBS that vary considerably from one individual to the next. These diverse symptoms, however, occur concurrently with the common IBS symptoms above. The diagnosis of IBS is made by the presence of the above features combined with negative examinations which have looked for other causes.
Contributing causes of IBS include antibiotic use, anti-inflammatory drug use, imbalances of the types of dietary carbohydrates and fats, poor digestion, and many others. Each case tends to be a unique combination of factors that add up to cause the problem.
A common feature in IBS is an imbalance of the different microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast in the digestive tract. The digestive tract, and particuarly the colon, are normally “populated” with helpful bacteria. Species such as acidophilus help to protect the lining of the colon from overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeasts, from the activity of several toxins and by producing protective chemicals such as butyric acids. Butyric acids produced in the colon serve as the fuel for the cells in the lining of the colon maintaining the healthy functional status. It is also thought that they play an important role in the prevention of cancerous transition of colon cells.
When antibiotic use inadvertently kills off much of the normal bacteria that should inhabit the colon, unhealthy species can then grow altering the health of the intestinal lining and inducing IBS. Dietary imbalances may also be a major contributing factor as the “good” and “bad” organisms require different food for growth. If the diet supplies the food that favors the bad organisms to populate, they can slowly become dominant inducing IBS. Specialized testing of urinary organic acids now allows the accurate analysis of the “dominant” organisms in the digestive tract. Each organism survives and populates by fermenting different dietary substances that produce different organic acid residues which are normally absorbed and excreted in the urine in small amounts. If an organism is overpopulated, a corresponding organic acid will be excreted in higher amounts reflecting the imbalance.
The important point in treating IBS is to appreciate that there are many contributing factors and that each case represents a unique combination of factors and thus a unique combination of corrective steps. With this approach, long-term IBS relief is typically achieved.