Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is
a highly prevalent gastrointestinal
disorder that reduces patients’ quality
of life and imposes a significant economic
burden to the healthcare system. It affects
between 6–18% of people worldwide
and is characterized by the presence of a
cluster of symptoms and signs including
cramping, increased gas, abdominal pain,
altered bowel habits, food intolerance,
and bloating.
For some people, IBS involves
incontinence or a feeling of incomplete
evacuation. Some patients have no
abdominal pain in the morning, and get
stomachaches in the afternoon. Others
go for two weeks without pain, and then
have a day of crippling pain. These effects
of IBS may cause you to feel you're not
living life to the fullest, leading to
discouragement or depression.
What causes Irritable
Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?
The exact cause of Irritable Bowel
HEALTH MATTERS
Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (IBS)
Syndrome (IBS) is unknown. It is believed
to be due to a number of factors including
alteration in the gastrointestinal (GI)
tract motility, increased sensitivity to
pain, and food intolerances. It is twice as
common in women as men and can last
over a period of months or even years.
Food Intolerance and IBS
The role of food intolerance in Irritable
Bowel Syndrome is not yet clearly
understood, but many people have more
severe symptoms when they eat certain
foods. Depending on how much of the
offending food you eat, and how much
lactase enzyme your body can produce,
symptoms can be mild or severe, and
include nausea, cramping, gas, bloating,
and diarrhoea.
Why Stress triggers IBS
Symptoms
Stress is the body's reaction to any change
that requires an adjustment or response.
The body reacts to these changes with
By Kepha Nyanumba
physical, mental, and emotional responses.
An estimated 40 to 60 percent of those
with IBS have anxiety or depression.
Stress and major life traumas, such as a
breakup, loss of a close family member,
or a family member leaving home, are all
known to worsen the symptoms associated
with IBS.
This happens because the body’s goal is to
maintain homeostasis, or a steady state of
being. After a stress response, fluctuating
hormones are meant to return to normal
levels. However, when people experience
chronic stress and anxiety, their bodies
can’t achieve homeostasis. This is often the
case when a person has IBS.
Stress causes the release of many hormones,
including corticotropin-releasing factor
(CRF). This hormone is linked to the gut’s
healthy bacteria, which maintains bowel
function. The extra CRF also activates
your body’s immune response. While that
may sound like a good thing, immune
activity can have adverse effects, as is the
case when a person has a strong allergic
response to a healthy food.
Exercise is one of the most important
things you can do to combat stress. The
benefits are strongest when you exercise
regularly. People who exercise regularly
are less likely to experience anxiety than
those who don’t exercise
One way to handle stress is to write
things down. While recording what you’re
stressed about is one approach, another
is jotting down what you’re grateful for.
Gratitude may help relieve stress and
anxiety by focusing your thoughts on
what’s positive in your life.
Participate in an Irritable Bowel Syndrome
support group. Social support from others
can be a key factor in managing stress and
controlling IBS symptoms.
Not all stressors are within your control,
but you can control some of them. Take
control over the parts of your life causing
you stress that you can change. One way
to do this may be to say “no” more often.
This is especially true if you find yourself
taking on responsibilities more than you
can handle. Being selective about what
you take on and saying no to things that
will unnecessarily add to your load can
reduce your stress levels.
Adopt journaling as a means to identify
how your methods of managing stress
are improving and ideally how your
symptoms are getting better.
NOTE: While stress can be a contributing
factor to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it
usually isn’t the sole factor. Focusing
on stress reduction, as well as taking
medications and managing your diet to
lower risk of symptom triggers, can help
you reduce IBS symptoms whenever
possible.
Nutrition Management of
IBS
Dietary modification should be the firstline
of treatment in the management of
IBS. There are several types of foods in
particular that often trigger IBS symptoms
and signs.
Avoid culprit foods. Fatty foods aggravate
symptoms in many people with IBS. Fats
slow down the digestive tract, gumming up
the works in an already irregular system.
Milk can also trigger symptoms in people
with IBS who are lactose intolerant.
Reduce or eliminate trans-fatty acids,
found in commercially baked goods, such
as cookies, crackers etc. Many studies show
that probiotics help relieve symptoms of
IBS, including abdominal pain, gas, and
constipation.
Eating a healthy diet that includes mainly
fruits, vegetables, and whole grains plays a
key role in the management of gastritis. If
gas is a problem, you may want to limit the
intake of gas forming foods.
Probiotics and IBS
Probiotics are microorganisms that can
help the symptoms of IBS by regulating
motility, constipation, and diarrhea.
Research is beginning to support a
potential role for probiotics in IBS,
with variability depending on the use of
different probiotic strains, their ability to
adhere to and colonize in the GI tract,
and the number of colony-forming units
an individual ingests.
Prebiotics and probiotics are helpful to
Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients but
they should not be used as a first-line
defence. Instead, it’s important to get to
the root of food sensitivities that may
trigger symptoms.
Kepha Nyanumba is a Consultant
Nutritionist working with Crystal
Health Consultants Limited. You
can commune with him on this
or related matters vide email at:
Kephanyanumba@gmail.com,
follow him on twitter: @knyanumba
or Blog: kephanyanumba.blogspot.
com.
While stress can be a contributing factor
to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it usually
isn’t the sole factor. Focusing on stress
reduction, as well as taking medications
and managing your diet to lower risk of
symptom triggers, can help you reduce
IBS symptoms whenever possible.
Chronic stress can cause your intestinal
bacteria to be imbalanced, a condition
known as dysbiosis. According to studies
stress-induced dysbiosis may play a key
role in a person developing IBS.
Strategies for Coping with
Stress
Make effort to sleep at least six to eight
hours a night. Getting plenty of sleep can
provide you with the energy you need to
go through your day.
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