Digestive Health Archives

Gut bacteria can change very quickly

If you read our blog regularly, you appreciate how good gut health, supported by taking a multi-species probiotic, affects the overall quality of your bodily health, from lowering your blood pressure to obesity.

However, an important part of treating any health condition is knowing how long it will take before your health returns to normal.

A pair of American studies published this year have concluded the human gut microbiome is uniquely flexible and may change in as little as a single day, a good thing to know when monitoring health problems like inflammatory bowel disease.

The microbial shift between diets is fast!

In one study published in Nature, Harvard University scientists tested the composition of gut bacteria on humans after discovering how flexible and responsive the microbiomes of mice were each day.

Researchers tested their premise on nine human volunteers who were prescribed radically different diets for five days with a break in between them. (The gut health of the nine patients was tested before, during and after each diet.)

The first diet centered on meats and cheeses—ribs, eggs and bacon—then followed after a break by a high-fiber diet focused on plant-based foods—granola, lentils, fruits, rice and vegetables.

“The relative abundance of various bacteria species looked like it shifted within a day after the food hit the gut,” Duke University researcher Lawrence David told Nutraingredients-usa.com.

After three days on each diet, the collective behavior of human microbiota had changed along with the way gut bacteria behaved.

Checking your microbiota easy as checking out an iPhone app

MIT researchers came up with similar findings, published in Genome Biology, and were helped with the use of an iPhone app.

The two study participants were monitored for a full year via the collection of daily stool samples and tracking various health measures (sleep, exercise, emotions, diet) using an iPhone app.

“On any given day, the amount of one species could change manyfold, but after a year, that species would still be at the same median level,” explained Eric Alm, MIT associate professor and senior author of the paper. “To a large extent, the main factor we found that explained a lot of that variance was the diet.”

For example, increases in dietary fiber matched boosts in Roseburia, Eubacterium rectale and Bifidobacterium (one of the species contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic and EndoMune Advanced Junior).

During the yearlong study period, both subjects became sickened, which changed their gut bacteria considerably. In both cases, the relationship between specific groups of bacteria and diet occurred in one day.

While living in a developing country, one patient experienced a two-week bout of diarrhea and severe problems with his microbiota. However, once he returned stateside, his microbiota recovered and returned to its original composition.

Interestingly, the second patient experienced food poisoning fueled by Salmonella. During that time, Salmonella levels tripled to 30 percent of the gut microbiome while the Firmicutes phylum of beneficial bacteria almost vanished.

Beneficial levels of Firmicutes bacteria increased with the patient’s recovery to some 40 percent, but the strains were different from those present at the start.

The long-term goal of this research, said Dr. Alm, is to ease the data collection process so patients suffering from inflammatory bowel syndrome or other diseases could be fitted with a personalized monitoring system that warns them ahead of a flare-up so it can be avoided.

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12 simple steps to lower your blood pressure safely

Digestive Health, Healthy Aging / By @drHoberman

Have you been seeking alternatives to medicines to lower your blood pressure?

Hypertension is a very common medical problem, and there are very effective medications available to treat elevated blood pressure, but most people would prefer to avoid taking prescription drugs whenever possible.

A recent Journal of the American College of Cardiology study discovered an excellent reason for patients to seek out other options, based on an extensive review of some 400,000 patient records at Kaiser Permanente Southern California who were taking medications for hypertension.

Being over-treated or under-treated with medications above or below a “normal” range of 130-139 systolic pressure and 60-69 diastolic blood pressure increased a patient’s chances of death or the development of kidney failure.

Too Much or Too Little

“Physicians have often emphasized the need to bring a patient’s blood pressure down as low as possible for the best outcomes,” said lead study author Dr. John Sim. “However, the findings of our study suggest that treating patients with high blood pressure too aggressively may potentially lead to poor health outcomes.

“Through personalized treatment plans, we can minimize the lifestyle burden on patients and improve the safety of their treatment regimens, while reducing the cost to both patients and the health care system as a whole.”

A third of all Americans suffers from high blood pressure, according to the National Institutes of Health, amounting to nearly $100 billion spent on medications, services and missed workdays.

However, there are alternatives that can lessen your dependence on so many medications while being just as effective. Try these 12 simple steps to lower your blood pressure safely. (Any lifestyle alterations you make should always be discussed beforehand with and monitored by your doctor.)

The Top 12

1. Get moving with an exercise plan. Starting slowly by investing two days a week on activity is a good place to start, according to Men’s Fitness.

2. Find ways to better handle the stressors in your life, such as learning meditation or taking a yoga class.

3. Cut down on your body’s intake of salt by skipping extra condiments and limiting your intake of processed and fast foods to a minimum.

4. The best pathway to better health is exercising along with eating a better diet, rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and potassium that can reduce the damaging effects of sodium on your blood pressure.

5. Exposure to secondhand smoke along with smoking increases your risk of atherosclerosis, building up the fatty substances in your arteries that elevate your risk of death, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). This is one case in which you win by quitting something.

6. Because excess belly fat is a major contributor to hypertension, maintaining a body weight closer to your body mass index (BMI) is very important.

Too Much Everything!

7. Check with your doctor about all the medicines you’re taking that can elevate your blood pressure or create other health problems. Over-the-counter meds containing licorice root, ginseng and ephedra can cause problems, too.

8. Are you drinking a lot of caffeinated coffee, tea and soft drinks? Limit your intake of caffeine, considered by many to be the most popular drug in the world.

9. Limit your consumption of alcohol to a moderate, daily amount based on your gender (one drink for women and two for men).

10. Did you know the stress associated with visiting your doctor may be enough to elevate your blood pressure to hypertensive levels? Wirecutter offers great guidance on how to choose a home blood pressure monitor that will help you track your numbers more accurately every day.

11. Eating a small amount of minimally processed, flavanol-rich dark chocolate every day not only helps to lower your blood pressure, but the yummy brown stuff also interacts with the good bacteria in your gut to produce anti-inflammatory compounds.

The Probiotic Treatment

12. Taking a daily probiotic may lower your blood pressure, according to a recent study in the AHA journal, Hypertension.

Based on an analysis of nine studies examining the effect of probiotics on 543 patients with elevated or normal blood pressure readings, taking a probiotic decreased the systolic (top) number by some 3.5 milliliters and diastolic (bottom) blood pressure by 2.38 milliliters.

Patients who benefited the most took a multi-species probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic for at least two months.

Each timed-release capsule of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic contains 20 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) and 10 strains of bacteria that benefit your health in a growing number of ways.

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Avoid the Norovirus on your Cruise

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

You’ve spent a lot of time and effort saving up for that once-in-a lifetime vacation: a leisurely cruise taking you and your loved ones across the ocean to some exotic locale.

Then, you get “that” call from one of your fellow travelers warning you about the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas ship disaster last winter during which some 650 passengers and crew members were sickened by a gastrointestinal illness.

As you dig deeper on the Internet, you learn that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified 53 separate outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness between 2010-13 and start to wonder if the CNN headline “Are cruise ships floating petri dishes?” isn’t true.

The likely target of this massive illness: norovirus, an infection that causes the sudden onset of severe diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting, and a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Typically, symptoms can last up to three days and most people recover on their own. But, in some instances, the norovirus may hit older adults, infants and those with underlying diseases harder, necessitating medical attention.

(Cruise ships aren’t the only places where the norovirus infections can spread. Schools, hospitals and nursing homes can be breeding grounds, too.)

A worldwide problem

A recent report in The Lancet Infectious Diseases spelled out the problems with the norovirus on a worldwide scale, featuring data from 48 countries on some 187,000 cases reported from 1990-2014.

You may be very surprised to learn the frequency of norovirus was slightly more common in developed countries (20 percent) than in undeveloped nations (14-19 percent).

“Norovirus spreads from person to person and through contaminated food and water and contact with contaminated surfaces,” said Dr. Benjamin Lopman, the lead author of this study who works in the Division of Viral Diseases at the CDC in Atlanta.

“The virus is contagious that as few as 18 viral particles may be enough to infect a healthy person, while more than a billion viruses can be found in a single gram of an infected person’s stool.

“Our findings show that norovirus infection contributes substantially to the global burden of acute gastroenteritis, causing both severe and mild cases and across all age groups,” Dr. Lopman concluded.

Unfortunately, the study authors believe their conclusions justify the development of a norovirus vaccine. However, there’s really no need for one more vaccine, as long as you follow the six ways to avoid traveler’s diarrhea outlined in a recent blog post.

Research has concluded taking a probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic or EndoMune Advanced Junior for kids before a long-distance vacation can boost your family’s immunities naturally and help them avoid norovirus infections altogether.

Avoid the Norovirus on your Cruise Read More »

How can white bread be healthy? It’s all about your gut!

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

In a recent blog post, we discussed how the human body can experience measurable health benefits by eating dark chocolate that interacts with Bifidobacterium in the gut to produce anti-inflammatory compounds.

The trick about deriving nutritional benefits from dark chocolate hinges on eating bitter-tasting brands that are minimally processed.

A recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry demonstrates just how versatile the healthy gut can be by taking advantage of the most popular processed food in the Western diet: white bread.

The white bread scoop

Because our diet has a direct impact on gut health, Spanish researchers from the University of Oviedo compared the intake of fibers and polyphenols (commonly found in fruits, vegetables, teas and spices) consumed in a normal diet in fecal samples taken from 38 healthy adults.

Many previous studies linking the gut microbiota to diets have focused on single foods full of soluble fibers that work as prebiotics (defined as nondigestible food ingredients that benefit human health by stimulating the growth of one or several bacterial species in the gut including Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria).

In some of those studies, pectin alone, a gelatinous polysaccharide present in ripe fruits, usually evades digestion to reach the colon where it stimulates the growth of various gut bacteria.

However, pectin was also associated with a drop of certain fecal bacteria (C. leptum and B. coccoides) in this study, leading researchers to believe that it interacts with other chemicals in oranges to create this effect.

The most interesting finding: Eating plain white bread, made with refined grains, was responsible for a spike in Lactobacillus, one of the strains of bacteria contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Until this study, prebiotic spikes in gut bacteria were mostly observed from eating whole-grain cereals due to the fiber content.

Don’t do it!

Before you consider adding white bread to your diet, there are plenty of healthy reasons to avoid it.

The most recent study on the consumption of white bread—scientists tracking the health of some 9,200 Spanish college grads during a five-year period—found patients who ate only white bread and two or more portions each day were 40 percent more likely to become overweight or obese compared to those who ate just one portion a week.

Conversely, no significant risk was found by eating only whole-grain bread with more fiber and various kinds of carbohydrates.

These results go hand-in-hand with dietary recommendations posted by the Mayo Clinic to prevent heart disease.

Yes, white bread is better than sweets, but it has a high glycemic value, so eating a lot of it can add to your risks of obesity and diabetes, said UK nutritionist Dr. Carrie Ruxton to BakeryandSnacks.com.

For your health’s sake, the best choice to promote good gut health is taking a multi-strain probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic and EndoMune Advanced Junior that contain no dairy products, preservatives and artificial colorings and are GMO- and gluten-free.

How can white bread be healthy? It’s all about your gut! Read More »

Is kombucha tea really the “Champagne of Life” or an imposter?

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

A diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables and protein sources that aren’t red meat, along with cutting back on your daily caloric intake, can do wonders for your overall health, waistline and, particularly, your gut health (promoting the presence of beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus).

So, you may be thinking eating probiotic-rich foods in addition to taking a good probiotic is a good thing for your health. However, the jury is very much on the fence about the true benefits of eating probiotic-rich foods.

These mixed messages haven’t slowed down the meteoric popularity of kombucha tea—affectionately called the Champagne of Life, Fungus Japonicus and Mushroom Infusion—on grocery and book store shelves as a complete cure-all nor has it changed the minds of foodies about its perceived value as an energy booster or “fountain of youth.”

Looking for the cultures

Tart and bubbly, kombucha tea is made when brewed black tea is steeped with sugar, then fermented with cultures of bacteria and yeasts in a glass container. After at least a week’s time, billions of microorganisms ferment, soon forming a kombucha mushroom or SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) on top of the tea.

The bacteria cultures contained in kombucha tea can vary greatly, from Saccharomycodes ludwigii to Candida stellate and Pichia fermentans. (Depending on how and where kombucha tea is made, it may also contain molds and fungi.

Despite the questions, people are buying millions of bottles of kombucha tea from companies like GT’s, Tonica and Celestial Seasonings at $4 per bottle. Last month, a new book by Steve Lee, the Portland-based entrepreneur behind Kombucha Wonder Drink, entitled Kombucha Revolution: 75 Recipes for Homemade Brews, Elixirs and Mixers, shows people how to incorporate the popular drink into daily diets.

The reality versus the hype

Unfortunately, the perceptions don’t match the debatable health benefits of kombucha tea. Surprisingly, the verdict from most conventional health sources (WebMD, Mayo Clinic, American Cancer Society) matches some of the same concerns voiced by alternative health expert Dr. Andrew Weil.

For one, it’s tough for consumers to make kombucha tea in germ-free home environments and at room temperatures for as long as 12 days where it can become contaminated with harmful bacteria. In an op-ed, Dr. Weil expressed grave concerns about the contamination of home-brewed kombucha teas, as some have contained aspergillus, a toxin-producing fungus.

The high amount of alcohol in home-brewed kombucha teas is another concern, according to Dr. Melissa Wdowik of Colorado State University. In fact, the Whole Foods grocery chain pulled all brands of kombucha teas four years ago due to fluctuations in alcoholic content above the legal 0.5 percent limit, until those amounts dropped.

Also, the “real” health benefits of kombucha teas from the scientific realm are almost non-existent. Although some research has been done with animals, no clinical studies related to kombucha tea have been conducted on humans.

Finally, never assume you’re getting the beneficial strains good bacteria you’d normally receive from taking a probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic in kombucha tea.

Taking a daily probiotic made from multiple strains of beneficial bacteria is far more effective in treating a wide range of problems, from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to traveler’s diarrhea, than drinking kombucha tea with no measurable benefits.

Is kombucha tea really the “Champagne of Life” or an imposter? Read More »

Dark chocolate’s healthy benefits start in the gut

Diet, Digestive Health, Disease / By @drHoberman

Thanks to its polyphenol powers, dark chocolate has gained a healthy reputation as modern science has discovered the delicious ways it beats life-threatening diseases.

Consuming the chemical components of dark chocolate has been linked to suppressing the growth of colon cancer cells and to improving glucose tolerance that may prevent type 2 diabetes.

In fact, the chocolaty path to better health may start in the gut, according to a recent Louisiana State University (LSU) study.

Determining how chocolate mixes with gut bacteria to produce measureable health benefits was a “rather disgusting process,” according to LSU food sciences professor John Finley (as told to Scientific American).

First, three kinds of cocoa powder were doused with enzymes to recreate the upper digestive tract in humans, then traveled to a gut filled with feces harvested from nine grad students (you were warned).

The gut microbes inside the, um, poop, then consumed the remainder of the cocoa. What was left at the end: Fermented fiber and non-digestible compounds, including catechin and epicatechin (also found in green tea, skins and seeds of some fruits). These were broken down into smaller, more easily absorbed molecules that display the beneficial anti-inflammatory activity, which other studies have previously revealed.

The minuses about eating chocolate

If the positive benefits from these studies has piqued your curiosity about eating chocolate a bit more regularly, there are caveats to consider.

A growing number of studies have demonstrated these health advantages come from eating dark chocolate, not processed chocolate candy bars containing milk and sugar. The real plus, health experts say, comes from eating chocolate containing the highest percentages of cocoa.

“The good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast on chocolate. When you eat dark chocolate, they grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti-inflammatory,” says co-study author and LSU student Maria Moore.

Additionally, researchers found patients could achieve even greater benefits by eating dark chocolate with fruits, like acai and pomegranates.

The Bifidobacterium connection

To derive benefits from dark chocolate, however, be sure you’re eating minimally processed chocolate containing higher percentages of cocoa. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the more bitter the dark chocolate will taste.

Also, even though dark chocolate may be good for your health, you can’t eat it all the time. Any extra ingredients can add lots of extra fat and calories your body doesn’t need and limit any health benefits.

However, your gut must be healthy to take advantage of these dark chocolate benefits. Bifidobacterium, one of the beneficial strains of bacteria identified by LSU researchers, is one of the active strains contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic and EndoMune Advanced Junior.

In addition to the multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, both EndoMune probiotics contain no dairy products, preservatives and artificial colorings and are GMO- and gluten-free.

Dark chocolate’s healthy benefits start in the gut Read More »

Gut bacteria controls your weight, cholesterol levels

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

While scientists have shown a strong connection between gut health and obesity, their research has stopped short of pinpointing the origin. Irish researchers are now closer to finding the missing link — bile salt hydrolase (BSH) — in a recent study that could explain how gut bacteria controls your weight and cholesterol levels.

Bile salt hydrolase is a protein produced by gut bacteria that alters the chemical properties of bile acids (chemicals produced in the liver that are an important component of bile secretions) in the gut.

Previous studies have shown how “bile acids work as signaling molecules in the host, almost like a hormonal network, with an ability to influence [the] host metabolism,” says co-author Dr. Cormac Gahan of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork (Ireland).

This latest study concluded that increasing levels of BSH slows down weight gains as well as serum cholesterol levels in mice.

The next step in their research is looking for a human connection to this discovery. “The findings may be used as a basis for the future selection of probiotics or dietary interventions which target this mechanism to regulate weight gain or high cholesterol,” says co-author Dr. Susan Joyce.

Even better, Dr. Joyce says, “We now have the potential for matching probiotic strains with specific end-user needs.”

These latest findings go hand-in-hand with a 2013 review of studies that examined the value of BSH as cholesterol-lowering agents. Many studies concluded BSH-active bacteria were efficient in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol as well as total cholesterol.

They may also explain the findings in a recent blog post that demonstrated how a healthy diversity of gut bacteria may prevent obesity and protect patients from the damage done by cardiovascular diseases, including chronic inflammation and diabetes.

The best and easiest way to maintain a diverse mix of bacteria in your gut: Take a multi-species probiotic made from multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic every day.

Protect the gut health and boost the immune systems of your kids by giving them a daily probiotic made just for them, like EndoMune Advanced Junior.

Gut bacteria controls your weight, cholesterol levels Read More »

10 safe, natural ways to stop allergies

Digestive Health, Disease, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

With the warmth of spring comes the nagging irritation of allergies for 50 million Americans, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Unfortunately, spring allergies could stretch long into the summer depending on where you live, and factors like the priming effect, climate change and hygiene hypothesis could influence their severity. Complicating the treatment of allergies further are the unexpected side effects that arise from relying too often on antihistamines.

National Asthma and Allergy Awareness month has come around at the ideal time to remind you of the many ways you can keep these pesky allergens from harming your health without drugs. What follows are 10 completely safe and effective ways to do just that.

Keep it clean

1. To prevent allergens from following you into your home, wash your body every day and change your clothes. And, don’t forget to leave your shoes at the front door too.

2. A 2013 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found acupuncture, a natural treatment that brings pain relief to millions, may also be effective for allergy sufferers. Patients who received acupuncture showed greater improvements and didn’t use their antihistamines as often.

3. Cutting back on fast foods and eating at least three servings of fruit per day may reduce symptoms. Consuming fast food at least three times a week elevated the risks of severe asthma by up to 39 percent among young children and teens.

4. Checking local weather reports every day for pollen counts is crucial. You can also access online resources like The Weather Channel’s Allergies page or the National Allergy Bureau to get personalized forecasts for your area.

5. Closing your windows and running your air conditioner longer will add to your energy costs, but doing both will reduce pollen from swimming into your home.

Protect your bedroom from allergy invaders

6. You spend more time in your bedroom than any other place in your home, thus it’s important to wash all bed sheets, pillow cases and blankets in water heated to at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit every week, according to the Mayo Clinic.

7. Invest a little money by having professional cleaners do a deep cleaning of your entire home, including baseboards, window shades, tile floors and ceilings. And, don’t forget to change your home’s air filters promptly and wash your washing machines to remove extra surprises.

8. Although washing pets can be problematic — your cat will hate you for even considering it — create allergy-free zones in your home to restrict their access, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

9. Working to alleviate the stressors that flood your head may reduce the number of flare-ups with more intense symptoms, according to a recent Ohio State University study.

10. Because your body is under non-stop attack from allergens, taking a probiotic may help, as this recent PLOS ONE study showed in boosting the immunity of patients to hay fever.

With its multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, EndoMune Advanced Probiotic boosts your immune system naturally and safely while maintaining your good gut health.

10 safe, natural ways to stop allergies Read More »

IBS may ease struggle to diagnose celiac disease

Digestive Health, Disease / By @drHoberman

Diagnosing celiac disease can be a long and frustrating process as doctors and patients struggle to identify the various triggers to this condition that plague the immune system.

A recent Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics (JAMA) study linking celiac disease to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in children could ease that process. At the same time, probiotics containing bifidobacterium are promising for treating patients with these dual conditions.

This is good news for celiac sufferers as the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness reports that 83 percent of Americans with celiac disease are either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Many struggle for years with celiac-related health problems before understanding the root causes of their symptoms.

An immune reaction that damages the small intestine when certain people eat gluten — hence the growing interest in gluten-free foods — celiac disease can be difficult to treat because it affects everyone differently. Symptoms range from digestive problems to diarrhea, abdominal pain and even depression.

The study results

Based on blood tests taken by Italian researchers during the six-year study, 12 of 15 children who tested positive for celiac disease also suffered from IBS.

The benefits of this link between IBS and celiac disease are two-fold: Scientists suggest only IBS patients be tested for celiac disease rather than those suffering from functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDS), a cost-saving measure considering “screening tests are common, costs are substantial, and the yield is minimal.”

Another important benefit: Just like IBS sufferers, celiac patients may benefit from taking probiotics containing strains of bifidobacterium, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.

The benefits of bifidobacterium

In addition to following a strict gluten-free diet, a 2013 study concluded celiac patients experienced fewer problems with indigestion, constipation and reflux after being treated with bifidobacterium, demonstrating potential for improvement among untreated celiac patients.

Other findings have shown the presence of bifidobacteria in babies may affect the development of celiac disease later in life. For example, breast milk can stimulate the growth of bifidobacterial species in the guts of healthy infants.

Another study was conducted on infants who were related to at least one family member with celiac disease. It concluded that reduced amounts of bifidobacterium were found in patients who experienced an increased risk of developing celiac disease later in their lives.

Bifidobacteria has been used to treat numerous conditions:

Atopic eczema in babies
Flu-like symptoms in children
Hepatitis
Lactose intolerance
Lyme disease
Cancer

More good news: Bifidobacterium is one of the active strains of beneficial bacteria contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic and EndoMune Advanced Junior.

In addition to the multiple strains of beneficial bacteria, both EndoMune probiotics contain no dairy products, preservatives and artificial colorings and are gluten-free.

IBS may ease struggle to diagnose celiac disease Read More »

What is IBS?

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

What is IBS? Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be an uncomfortable condition, but it is nowhere near as serious a health problem as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

However, IBS is still far more common, affecting up to 20 percent of the Western world. Symptoms include gas, constipation, diarrhea, cramping and abdominal pain.

Understanding the combination of conditions that trigger this unpredictable health problem can be a mystery due to multiple contributing factors. Among the causes, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House (NDDIC):

Stress and anxiety
Food sensitivities
Hypersensitivity to pain
Motor problems that cause irregular movement in the bowels
Altered levels of gastrointestinal hormones and body chemicals that transmit nerve signals

The genetic effect

Near the bottom of the list of causes, the NDDIC cites genetics as a common source among family members with a shared history of IBS problems, but is noncommittal about its overall effect. A recent Mayo Clinic study may shed some new light on the genetics of IBS.

Researchers have identified a genetic defect, a mutation of the SCN5A gene that affects the absorption of water and electrolytes. Disruption of this sodium ion channel can lead to constipation or diarrhea.

After comparing the tissues of 584 IBS patients to nearly 1,400 healthy patients, scientists discovered the genetic defect in 2.2 percent of IBS patients.

Is a drug always the best, safest treatment?

Mayo Clinic researchers treated patients with genetic-based IBS successfully by using mexiletine, a drug that improved the sodium ion transport and eased the symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation for this small group of patients.

Mexiletine is part of the antiarrhythmic class of drugs that works by blocking some electrical signals in the heart to stabilize heart rhythms. (It has also been prescribed to treat nerve damage caused by diabetes.)

Unfortunately, medications may come with adverse effects. Antiarrhythmic drugs like mexiletine have been linked to reports of increased risk of heart attack and death, according to MedlinePlus. Those risks are especially elevated among patients who have suffered a heart attack over the past two years.

Taking mexiletine may also increase the chance of experiencing an irregular heartbeat and hasn’t helped people who don’t experience life-threatening arrhythmias to live longer. MedlinePlus warns against using mexiletine unless a patient has suffered life-harming arrhythmias.

Probiotics: The safer, better treatment option

The real problem with taking prescription medications like mexiletine: Too many of them only treat superficial symptoms but neglect to correct the real health problem. However, there is a safer IBS Treatment option that treats the “whole” patient holistically.

Taking a probiotic made from multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic every day not only alleviates symptoms for many IBS sufferers, but corrects the underlying disorder and does it without the risk of any adverse side effects.

What is IBS? Read More »