The Dreaded Irritable Bowel Syndrome!


So 2010 has arrived and without trying to sound too cheesy, I am going to mention the phrase - New Year – New You!!!! So what does that mean? Well, for some of you, I hope it means sorting out those niggly health problems that you’ve been moaning on about or indeed, keeping to yourself over the past few years. So I thought I would put a bit of focus on one of those possible issues, that being Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

IBS is becoming increasingly common and almost ‘accepted’ in the western world as something almost normal. How crazy is that? It is believed that as many as 20% of the adult population experience some symptoms of IBS, and being a colonic therapist, it is one of the most common reasons that people seek my help.

There is nothing pathologically serious about IBS. It is actually a disorder of the muscular walls of the bowel. It affects gut motility – the rate that food and waste is pushed through to the rectum – too slow = constipation and too fast = diarrhoea. With IBS, this can of course alternate.

Compared with other bowel complaints there are no particular changes visible in bowel tissue, and your overall health is often good, despite your symptoms. However, it can be very embarrassing and stressful.

Symptoms
Predominantly Constipation, but also:-
Abdominal pain, Cramping
Bloating/Gas/Gurgling
Diarrhoea – Often alternating with constipation.
Mucus in stools
Urgency
A feeling like you still need a bowel movement after you have had one
Symptoms worse after eating

Causes
There is no singular reason why you would get IBS and stress is often to blame. However, it is more likely that constipation is usually the root of the problem. If there is a back up of your body’s plumbing system, it puts the bowel under a lot of strain and it actually causes it to become half asleep. So treat the constipation and often the symptoms will subside.

In 1983 The Health Education Council reported that 80% of the population have slow bowel movements and 40% are regularly constipated, and millions of pounds are spent annually on laxatives. So from this you can understand why IBS is on the increase. It’s because you are all bunged up! Below are other contributing factors that can increase and aggravate your IBS symptoms. They include: -

Candida Albicans – too much yeast in the bowel
Food allergies and intolerances (including yeast and gluten)
Prescribed medication
A lack of essential nutrients. Particularly B vitamins, essential for bowel health.
Poor digestion
Unstable blood sugar (feeds the yeast in the bowel)
Emotional problems

Colonic Hydrotherapy
We are basically trying to improve the health and function of the colon, particularly if constipation and the build up of waste matter are behind the problem A colonic is going to gently remove the build up of old waste, which over the years has put a lot of pressure on the gut wall, creating dysfunction in motility – either too fast or too slow.

The bowel motility is helped further during the Colonic by using water temperature variation to either relax or stimulate peristalsis of the muscles, therefore re-training the muscle reaction.

Lifestyle Adjustments
As well as having a course of 2 or 3 Colonic treatments, there are other suggestions you can experiment with, which you might find will relieve and reduce your symptoms. However, if you don’t cleanse the bowel, they will only act in a more palliative fashion. These we will discuss more during your consultation, but it might include reducing stimulants and irritating food and introducing a gentle fibre supplement.

Supplements
I also strongly recommend the use of supplements, which should hopefully only be needed in the short term to support your body whilst it gets back onto the straight and narrow. Again, we can discuss this, but be prepared to buy some Probiotics after the treatment, as these are essential when restoring the balance of healthy bacteria and maintaining the health of the bowel, and also Slippery Elm to soothe and heal the gut wall.

So I hope that has given some of you some food for thought, and you might take the leap and come and book in a couple of treatments. You could also think about a Detox Retreat!!! www.vitalitydetox.com

Posted on 11 Jan 2010 by Mandy Elliott