What causes IBS
Understand and manage IBS
What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
IBS is an exclusion diagnostic and one of the most common gut conditions affecting up to 50% of the population. Once more sinister conditions have been ruled out your GP or gastroenterologist will slap you with the IBS diagnostic which is basically a collection of symptoms including anything from diarrhoea and constipation, to bloating, wind, pain and cramps or any combination of these.
What causes IBS?
A combination of visceral hypersensitivity, poor dietary and lifestyle choices and an imbalanced bacterial gut profile.
Some of the factors associated with bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, wind and gut pain include:
• Dehydration
• Drinking soft drinks, juice including kombucha and alcohol
• Skipping meals
• Overeating
• Eating fast and not chewing food properly
• Eating with bad posture
• Eating too much fat, carbs and sugar
• Eating too much meat
• Not eating enough fibre- fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes
• Chemical and toxin exposures from pesticides and preservatives, emulsifiers etc added to packed foods and sprayed on your foods
• Sleep deprivation
• Stress
• Being sedentary
IBS treatment
Getting your diet under control, learning how to eat and addressing a rushed and imbalanced lifestyle are the key to getting your gut health under control.
Common approaches to treating IBS include FODMAP diet which is recommended for 4-6 weeks to reduce symptoms. It is incredibly difficult and stress inducing to follow, and it is not addressing the root cause of your symptoms.
In our clinic we don’t use such outdated diets. We prefer a more intuitive and scientific approach. Instead of getting you to eliminate all the foods you like, we screen and address the root cause of your symptoms. Meaning we fix your gut with the help of with nutrient dense foods, tea, support products so you don’t have to give up all the things you love.
