Irritable Bowel Syndrome Relief Treatments

Although medical science has developed greatly and life expectancy has increased many times, the overall health of the population is not necessarily improving. Irregular diet and increased stress have together taken a toll on the health of many people. With our high stress lifestyles and increasing dependence on processed and high fat diets, disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome have affected millions around the world. So, most doctors tend to be of the opinion, when asked for information, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is caused by either physiological or psychological reasons, or sometimes both.

The vagueness is simply because the cause of IBS is not known.   What is known is that a number of studies have shown that the percentage of people who get treated for IBS, who also have a psychological disorder is high.  In fact, one study showed that between 50 – 90%os people who have IBS also have a psychological disorder like General Anxiety Disorder, or post traumatic stress disorder.

Also, anecdotally, there has been some success for peoples with IBS who have attended hypnotherapy, which attempts to treat the psychological roots of the condition.

This may be why when combating this disorder; diet changes sometimes don’t show the improvements expected.

However, it is worth stating that the role of diet and food is crucial in helping to identify any trigger foods that may worsen existing symptoms. Also, simple changes to the diet like avoiding alcohol and caffeine have shown themselves to be useful treatment methods for many IBS sufferers.

Similarly, effort should be made to include roughage and water in the daily diet in order to ease the IBS symptoms.

Since IBS falls in the general category a lifestyle induced disorders, its symptoms can often be improved by having a better mind body relationship. And in order to do this, one can use the help of certain specific healing sciences, some of which have been used for thousands of years with amazing benefits.

Yoga is an ancient Indian science. Its theory was written thousands of years ago. Yoga basically involves the use of specific positions to restore the balance among the various organs of the body. It is totally natural as well as safe.   Although a person should always discuss changes to exercise regimes with their doctor, especially if they have previously been relatively inactive.

Besides the use of the various positions known as asanas, yoga attaches a lot of importance to some basic good health practices that mankind seems to have been forgotten in the rush of the western life, including:

Deep breathing
Consuming a predominantly vegetarian diet
Regular meditation
Simple living

Today you can find numerous books and videos to help you learn Yoga. If you are lucky, you may even find a Yoga teacher in your neighborhood. However, you must understand that there is no specific Yoga position that is meant to combat IBS. But there is a set of Asanas that aims to improve the overall digestion system and the metabolism of the body, and has been shown to help calm anxiety and stress.

With all these benefits, regular practice of Yoga should help in reducing the symptoms of IBS. Within a few months of regular practice, you will become more aware of your body, and should be able to better read the information Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms are sending to your body, and achieve an overall improvement in health.

Don’t forget to sign up for the free newsletter that has proven methods for managing IBS naturally. In the newsletter you’ll also find more information, irritable bowel syndrome symptoms and treatments.

Statistically, it has been shown that there is a correlation between those with irritable bowl and GERD.  The overlap between IBS and GERD exceeds the individual presence of each of the symptoms and the study found that IBS was relatively uncommon in the absence of GERD.

Essentially, what this means is that if you have IBS, then there is a good chance that you also have GERD, Acid Reflux, or regular heartburn.

GERD basically occurs when stomach contents and acid return or reflux into the esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that serves as the passageway for ingested food from the mouth into the stomach. It is abnormal for stomach contents to regurgitate into the esophagus, since the normal lower esophageal sphincter or LES is designed to only allow entry of ingested matter.

The dysfunction of the LES may stem from anatomical anomalies, although these are not very common.  It more likely to stem for other triggers like excess acid, food intolerance, poor diet or other physical conditions, like pregnancy or being overweight.

Two of the most common causes of LES dysfunction may be pressure due to hiatal hernia, which pushes gastric acids upward or hypochlorhydria (insufficient stomach acid).

Without enough stomach acid, instead of food moving into the intestines, it can be refluxed back into the esophagus. There is a valve that opens to allow matter in the stomach to move on into the intestines, but it requires sufficient gastric acid to function.

The risk factors of GERD may predispose an individual to developing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, before fully showing the effects of esophageal reflux. In the case of alcohol consumption and smoking, vasoconstriction (contractions of the blood vessels) may cause hypomotility (abnormal muscle movement) of the intestines, which effects the passage of stool through the intestinal tract.

Vasoconstriction may also reduce the amount of blood circulating in the digestive system, which is why abdominal cramping may occur. As contractions intensify with chronic smoking and excessive alcohol intake, it would increase the risk of gastric acid to accumulate, thus, be returned into the esophagus.

Pregnancy can aggravate irritable bowel syndrome and lead to GERD. The increasing pressure inside the abdomen as the baby grows can lead to increased GERD symptoms, and also pregnancy is linked to IBS as it the pressure can irritate the hypersensitive intestines.

So, even if there is sufficient gastric acid, the pressure can force it to be expelled upward into the oesophagus. A similar effect can happen in those that are overweight.

Some types of food also lead to the development of symptoms related to irritable bowel and GERD. Caffeine and foods high in fat, as well as food that promote gas should be restricted to alleviate symptoms of both conditions.

Don’t forget to sign up for the free newsletter that has proven methods for managing IBS naturally. In the newsletter you’ll also find more information on related conditions like irritable bowel and GERD.