April is IBS Awareness Month

IBS – Irritable bowel syndrome.  Almost everyone knows someone with IBS.  I also have been diagnosed with IBS so I can speak from first hand experience about the trials and tribulations as well as ways I have controlled this imbalance in my body.

As the name indicates, irritable bowel syndrome is pretty much an umbrella term for the multitude of ways our digestive system becomes irritable and doesn’t function correctly. The general symptoms of IBS include abdominal cramping, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or constipation, and if severe can lead to nutrient deficiencies due to lack of absorption in the gut.

IBS can have a huge effect on your life – who else plans their errands or road trips around the best bathroom stops? Or walking into a mall or restaurant, scoping out where the nearest bathrooms are? Anyone…anyone…Buller? Yep, your life is consumed by not if, but WHEN IBS will occur.  There is no definitive cause for IBS but more of a group of TRIGGERS that create the symptoms:

• Stress – not a cause of IBS but more how the nervous system reacts and influences the body – the gut/brain connection
• Food allergies – gluten, dairy, nuts, etc
• Hormone levels, especially in women
• Frequent antibiotic use

So some ways recommended to have better control over these symptoms and create balance in the body are as follows:

• Manage your stress – meditation, exercise, counselling, journaling
• Clean up your diet – choose real food, our body struggles to produce the correct enzymes to break down food, the more processed the food, the more difficult for the body to recognize how to break it down.
• Create balance in the gut – increase intake of pre and probiotics to recolonize the proper gut bacteria.
• Water – proper hydration is important for all body functions

So in a nutshell, IBS is a common condition and often not diagnosed.  If you resonate with this information, I invite you to discuss this with your healthcare provider to explore ways to improve your health.  For more information click here  or contact me here.

In service,

Dana Clay