IBS Changes You Forever (part 1)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is more than a nuisance, it alters your body and mind and changes your idea of what a normal life should be.
IBS affects between 25-45 millions Americans annually and about 2/3 of those affected are women. Up to 40% of all visits to a gastroenterologist are due to IBS, and the treatment is almost always symptomatic. “Take this drug when you have diarrhea and this one when you are constipated”.
Meanwhile, I have patients whose lives revolve around their morning bathroom routine and how far they are away from a toilet at any given time… That is no way to live.
In fact, IBS is not really a disease. It is just a label that tries to describe what is happening…your bowel is irritable. Is it angry?
There are 3 types of IBS;
IBS-C - predominantly constipation (25% or more of your bowel movements are hard, infrequent and difficult to pass)
IBS-D - predominately diarrhea (25% or more of your bowel movements are loose and watery)
IBS-Mixed (a mix of the two)
What Causes IBS???
For so many years, IBS was considered a ‘psychogenic’ issue…meaning it was all stress related. It was and still is managed symptomatically with medications that increase or decrease the frequency and quality of the BM.
Unfortunately, these management strategies do nothing for the even bigger issues commonly going on at the same time…
Anxiety/Depression
Brain Fog
Migraines
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Sleep Disturbances
Abdominal Pain/Bloating/Gas
Acne/Skin Issues
Weight Gain
Weight Loss
Malnutrition/Anemia
Autoimmune Disease
The MAJORITY of IBS is caused by a combination of food sensitivities and altered bacteria in the intestines (SIBO). Stress is also big factor that may initiate a shift in nervous system function toward sympathetic dominance (Fight or Flight) which suppresses parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) function. It is almost ALWAYS a factor once people have IBS though.
SIBO stands for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth
It was not long ago when we felt that almost all bacteria was bad…and killing bacteria was good. We indiscriminately used Lysol spray, antibacterial soaps and lotions and antibiotics. I have had patients under 3 years old that had been put on 10-15 rounds of antibiotics for chronic ear infections!
That all began to change in 2007 for some of us. That year a research project began called the Human Microbiome Project. Its aim was to map all of the microbes that lived on and inside of our bodies.
What they found was truly mind blowing… As it turns out, we have trillions and trillions of healthy bacteria that live in our large intestine NORMALLY! Not only are they there, they play a central role in our gut function, digestion, immune system, body weight/metabolism, our emotions and even cognitive function. We have 10x the number of bacterial cells living inside of us than we do HUMAN CELLS, making us 1/10 Human and 9/10 bacteria.
Unfortunately, the lifestyle we lead has had a very dramatic negative impact on this collection of bacteria we now call the MICROBIOME.
The Standard American Diet of process foods, sugar and oils has damaged this essential ‘organ’ living inside of us. Additionally, several other factors alter the health of this bacterial colony:
not being outside in nature exposed to more natural environments where we can interact with more bacteria
lack of sunlight
eating less vegetables
eating foods laced with Glyphosate and other chemicals
overexposure to blue light from technology screens
high stress
chronic inflammation
antibiotics (1 round of antibiotics may create damage that takes a year to recover from)
medications (antacids (PPI), laxatives and oral steroids have a large negative impact on the microbiome)
The Impact of Stress on SIBO
The gastrointestinal system works from North to South. Once food enters the mouth, a series of events take place within the GI tract as well as the nervous, circulatory and endocrine systems to make the management of digestion, absorption and excretion happen. The division of the nervous system that controls the digestive system is the Parasympathetic System and specifically, the Vagus Nerve.
When we are under stress, the Fight/Flight System engages and suppresses digestive function. This allows the barriers (sphincters) between the intestinal segments to relax. At that point, bacteria can crawl up into the small intestine from the large intestine where we have a tremendous amount of food stored and they have a party! They metabolize our food and produce large amounts of chemicals and gas which cause so many of the chronic symptoms and discomfort associated with IBS…
The Good News…Functional Doctors are Trained to Evaluate and Reverse This…
(part 2 to follow)