Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Archives

IBS + Fibromyalgia + Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Digestive Health, Disease, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Summary: The gut-brain link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is very real.

Several months ago, we discussed the genuine link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and disruptions in the gut-brain axis.

It’s hard to deny that connection, given that IBS patients experienced greater symptoms of depression and anxiety at rates more than double the norm compared to those without IBS.

Apparently, this same research team from the University of Missouri was just getting started in finding connections with IBS…

The painful link

A second look at data collected from more than 1.2 million IBS patients at 4,000 American hospitals yielded new connections with fibromyalgia, a condition punctuated by widespread and intense musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and cognitive problems, as well as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

IBS patients were five times more likely to experience symptoms of fibromyalgia than those who weren’t dealing with IBS, according to the study appearing in the medical journal Biomedicines. Also, CFS was more prevalent among IBS patients, but not at as high a rate as fibromyalgia.

One interesting quirk in this analysis sheds light on younger people experiencing more gut-related problems than ever before: IBS patients with fibromyalgia or CFS were more likely to be younger compared than others dealing solely with IBS.

Also, the ever-present problems we face with the epidemic of obesity along with hypertension elevated the risks that IBS patients would face CFS or fibromyalgia too.

The why

When asked how fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome could “piggyback” with IBS to create new and painful challenges, scientists pointed to two very familiar culprits that create gut health problems:

Antibiotic use leads to bacterial imbalances in a patient’s microbiome.
Breakdowns in the gut wall allow waste products, toxic substances and other nasties to seep through the intestinal barrier and into your bloodstream, a condition better known as leaky gut.

Fortunately, the same non-drug solution for treating IBS — probiotics — is also a solution that has garnered some success in treating patients with fibromyalgia and CFS, according to a previous report. But not any probiotic will do.

If you really want to protect and improve the health of your gut, you’ll need a probiotic featuring multiple strains of beneficial bacteria that support the healthy microbial diversity of your gut.

Any probiotic you consider should also contain a prebiotic, the unsung heroes of gut health made of carbohydrates and non-digestible plant fibers that feed the good bacteria in your gut.

You can achieve both of your gut-healthy goals with EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, formulated with 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families, plus the proven probiotic FOS.

Resources

IBS + Fibromyalgia + Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Read More »

IBS and Your Gut-Brain Axis in Conflict

Mental Health / By @drHoberman

IBS and Your Gut-Brain Axis in Conflict

A good argument can be made for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) being not only the most common condition gastroenterologists diagnose — it affects an estimated 15 percent of all Americans — but one of the most challenging ones too.

But familiarity doesn’t guarantee clarity, considering IBS comes in three different subtypes: IBS-D (diarrhea), IBS-C (constipation) and IBS-A (a mix of diarrhea and constipation).

An aspect of IBS that’s rarely explored: its potential impact on your gut-brain axis, the connection that links your brain, intestines and emotions.

So, it should come as no surprise that mental health issues are much more prevalent among IBS patients than those who aren’t, based on an analysis of data conducted by researchers from the University of Missouri.

Mental Health Challenges and IBS

Scientists collected mental health data on more than 1.2 million IBS patients hospitalized in 4,000 U.S. hospitals over a three-year period from a national database, according to the study appearing in the Irish Journal of Medical Science.

More than 800,000 IBS patients in a hospital setting experienced symptoms of anxiety (38 percent overall) or depression (27 percent overall) at rates more than double the norm compared to people without IBS.

Overall, the prevalence of those problems plus bipolar disorder, suicidal attempts/ideation and eating disorders was significantly higher than the general adult population.

This is where the gut-brain axis comes into play, says Dr. Zahid Ijaz Tarar, lead researcher and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Missouri. “Medical professionals need to treat both ends of the axis.”

“I frequently tell my patients who have IBS that, if they have any type of psychologic stress, it will get expressed in some form or another,” says Yezaz Ghouri, senior author and assistant professor of clinical medicine and gastroenterology at the University of Missouri.

Given that at least 90 percent serotonin your body produces is generated in the gut and specific bacteria play key roles in producing it, disruptions from IBS or other gut health issues do matter.

Solutions For Treating IBS and Gut-Brain Axis

If you suffer from IBS and have emotional challenges because your gut-brain axis is out of balance, plenty of good options are available that help out on both fronts.

For example, cleaning up your diet, devoting some time each week to exercise and paying attention to your sleep can do a lot of good.

If managing your stress becomes a challenge, your physician may want to prescribe an antidepressant drug like a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) like fluvoxamine or an older tricyclic drug like amitriptyline.

You’ll also want to consider taking a probiotic, a proven and effective non-drug solution that helps your gut and brain at the same time. But not just any probiotic will do…

A probiotic formulated with proven strains from the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families, like those contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, can go a long way toward relieving your IBS and rebalancing your gut-brain axis safely and effectively.

Resources

Irish Journal of Medical Science

University of Missouri School of Medicine

IBS and Your Gut-Brain Axis in Conflict Read More »

Could Your Gut Be Hiding IBS?

Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

Could Your Gut Be Hiding IBS?

Gastroenterologists diagnose more patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) than any other gut-health condition.

But that familiarity doesn’t always mean more clarity, which can be more problematic given the three most common subtypes of IBS: IBS-C (constipation), IBS-D (diarrhea) or IBS-A (a mix of diarrhea and constipation).

A recent study appearing in the journal Gut may shed new light on the roots of IBS, especially for those dealing with diarrhea symptoms from IBS-D.

Bacteria In Hiding

The culprit is Brachyspira, a bacterial “family” composed of seven different invasive species. Two of those seven species harm humans and trigger diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss.

The fascinating part of this study was how researchers at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) actually found samples of Brachyspira while comparing the gut health of 62 IBS patients with 31 healthy volunteers.

Fecal samples are often the most direct and easiest approach used by scientists to examine gut health issues, yet samples collected in the study provided no evidence of the sickening bacteria.

Brachyspira was eventually found “hiding” in biopsies of colonic tissues collected from nearly a third of the IBS patients tested, but not in biopsies of healthy patients. What’s more, patients infected with Brachyspira primarily suffered from IBS-D.

Antibiotics Are No Answer

So, scientists took the next step in the process to determine if they could treat IBS-D patients with a common weapon: Antibiotics. Patients were instructed to take 500 mg doses of the antibiotic metronidazole three times a day for two weeks.

Yet, antibiotics didn’t eradicate the problem due to more “hiding” by Brachyspira inside intestinal cells, according to Dr. Karolina Sjöberg Jabbar.

“This appears to be a previously unknown way for bacteria to survive antibiotics, which could hopefully improve our understanding of other infections that are difficult to treat.”

The Next Step

These unusual findings have left researchers curious about the connections between IBS and Brachyspira, and open to non-drug treatments that may be more effective, like probiotics.

Probiotics are proven, versatile tools for treating diarrhea and shortening its duration, maintaining the motility in your intestines that eases constipation and always keeping your gut-brain axis in balance.

When you’re looking for a good probiotic, make sure this supplement is formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families, along with a prebiotic to give your gut as much help for treating IBS.

EndoMune Advanced Probiotic covers all of the bases on your checklist to treat IBS safely and effectively and restoring the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut.

References

Gut

University of Gothenburg

ScienceDirect

WebMD

Nutraingredients

Could Your Gut Be Hiding IBS? Read More »

Illustration of the human digestive tract. Text: Origins of IBS 101

IBS 101: The Origins

Diet, Digestive Health, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

IBS 101: The Origins

Some of the most popular articles on our website feature irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common condition gastroenterologists diagnose.

As many as 15 percent of all Americans may experience IBS symptoms during their lifetime, yet only a small portion of people are diagnosed and treated for it.

That’s really not surprising given the three IBS subtypes, depending on whether the main symptoms are constipation (IBS-C), diarrhea (IBS-D) or a mix of both (IBS-A), that can create a lot of confusion.

A recent European study conducted by the Dutch university, KU Leuven, has shed some new light on the real mystery: What triggers IBS.

Food Allergy Or No Food Allergy?

This team of Dutch researchers had already demonstrated how blocking histamine (a chemical released when the immune system is fighting a potential allergen) improved the health of IBS patients.

The real question: If the immune systems of healthy patients don’t react to foods, what would change to trigger IBS? This same European research team conducted tests on mice and IBS patients to find out.

Knowing that patients experience IBS symptoms after a GI problem like food poisoning, scientists infected mice with a stomach bug while feeding them a protein found in egg whites that’s commonly used as a food antigen (any molecule that provokes an immune response).

After the infections cleared up, mice that were fed the same food antigen a second time became sensitive to it, evidenced by the release of more histamine in their bodies and signs of abdominal pain.

What’s more, this immune response was localized in the part of the intestine infected by the gut bug but didn’t produce more generalized symptoms of a food allergy.

When researchers conducted a similar test on 12 IBS patients (injecting their intestines with a mix of cow’s milk, wheat, soy and gluten), the results mirrored the same ones seen in mice to at least one food antigen.

More Work To Be Done

Although scientists have identified one trigger for IBS, there’s still a lot of research ahead before a reliable solution ever comes. But you don’t have to wait to treat IBS dependably and safely.

We already know that following a more balanced diet with more fiber and fewer carbohydrates eases symptoms. A registered dietician may also recommend a FODMAP diet, a restrictive but temporary eating plan to help you target problem foods that could trigger IBS symptoms.

Your doctor may also recommend medications, but changes in a patient’s IBS subtype can make that a tricky proposition. Also, if stress is a factor in your IBS challenges, your physician may prescribe an antidepressant drug too.

However, if you’re wary about taking a drug, there are good non-drug options for easing symptoms, like probiotics that handle the key symptoms of each IBS subtype.

Probiotics do a great job of treating diarrhea and shortening its duration. Maintaining the motility in your intestines with help from probiotics eases constipation. And, when stress becomes a factor, probiotics work well to keep your gut-brain axis in balance.

The reputation of probiotics has become so rock-solid that professional organizations like the British Society of Gastroenterology recommend them as a frontline treatment for IBS.

When you’re looking for a good probiotic, be sure it’s formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria that support the healthy microbial diversity of your gut.

Any probiotic you consider should also include a prebiotic, the unsung heroes of gut health that feed the bacteria living in your gut.

You can enjoy the best of both worlds with EndoMune Advanced Probiotic, formulated with 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families plus the proven prebiotic FOS.

Resources

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

IBS 101: The Origins Read More »

Vitamin D capsules laid out in the shape of the sun. TEXT: Can vitamin D help relieve IBS symptoms?

Does Vitamin D Relieve IBS?

Digestive Health, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Does Vitamin D Relieve IBS?

Vitamin D is a versatile and very essential nutrient that does great things for your body.

Not only does vitamin D aid in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus to keep your bones strong and healthy, it reduces your risks of some serious health problems (from multiple sclerosis to heart disease and the flu) and helps you regulate your mood too.

Plus, your body makes vitamin D naturally thanks to your daily exposure to the sun. (That’s why it’s called the sunshine vitamin.) However, if your body doesn’t produce enough vitamin D, eating fatty fish (salmon and tuna) or fortified foods like milk or cereal or take a daily supplement may help.

But should you take vitamin D to relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Not so fast…

Putting Vitamin D To The Test

For nearly a decade, scientists at the University of Sheffield have done lots of research on the connections between IBS and low vitamin D levels. In fact, the results of their 2018 study determined that vitamin D had some small benefit, leading them to advise most IBS patients to take a supplement.

Scientists put their theory to the test in this latest study: A 12-week trial in which 135 patients with chronic IBS took a 3,000 IU of vitamin D or a placebo with a goal of lessening its symptoms.

Although vitamin D levels increased in comparison to a placebo treatment, there were no differences reported in the severity of IBS between both groups of patients or even a mild alternations to their quality of life.

For people living with severe IBS, low vitamin D levels may be attributable to changes in diet and lifestyle as a result of adjustments they make due to anxiety or other coping mechanisms, says lead study author Dr. Bernard Corfe.

How To Relieve IBS

If you’re coping with IBS, you may already know that making basic adjustments — eating more fiber and low FODMAP meals, reducing your stress and getting more movement and sleep — are helpful. (These are important ways to curb the obesity epidemic).

Depending on the subtype of IBS affecting you and its severity, your physician may suggest targeted drugs like alosetron (Lotronex) or rifaximin (Xifaxan), but these come with their own side effects ranging from constipation to pancreatitis.

If you want to treat IBS without a drug, many medical experts believe probiotics are one of the most effective and safest treatments available.

Probiotics lessen constipation by maintaining the motility in your intestines and reduce the duration of diarrhea. Plus, they work with your gut-brain axis to calm your emotions and help you better handle your stressors.

What’s more, studies have shown the effectiveness of multi-strain probiotics, especially when they’re taken over the long haul.

Remember your gut microbiome is a diverse accumulation of bacteria, so any probiotic you take needs to be built to combat the symptoms of IBS plus protect and enhance your body’s immune system.

Look for a probiotic with proven strains of beneficial bacteria from the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families, like those found in EndoMune Advance Probiotic.

One more thing: The next time you have blood work done during your annual checkup, be sure you ask about your vitamin D levels and consult with your physician about a supplement if you need one!

References

European Journal of Nutrition

The University of Sheffield

Healthline.com

National Institutes of Health

Nutrients

Does Vitamin D Relieve IBS? Read More »

Thumbs up graphic with healthy foods inside. Thumbs down with unhealthy food inside. Text: Do you have IBS? How's Your Diet?

How Diet Affects IBS

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

Poor Diets Increase IBS Problems

For those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), not a day goes by without the imminent reminders of symptoms of diarrhea, constipation or both. But, did you know up to 45 million Americans suffer from IBS, the most common reason patients consult with a gastroenterologist?

Although the experts aren’t exactly sure what causes IBS, a lot of factors play a role, from emotional issues and bacterial infections in your digestive tract to food sensitivities.

What’s more, these factors vary among patients, and there are different subtypes of IBS, depending on whether diarrhea (IBS-D) or constipation (IBS-C) dominate or both symptoms alternate (IBS-A).

However, we may be learning some important clues about the causes of severe IBS related to a very familiar culprit of all sorts of gut health problems: The typical Western diet filled with low-fiber processed foods and bad fats.

Bad Diets, Severe Symptoms

Suspecting poor diets could be a major factor in IBS, a group of European researchers compared the health of 149 adults with IBS (almost half suffering from severe symptoms) to 52 healthy patients by monitoring their eating habits (four days) and stool samples (two weeks) closely via detailed diaries.

Once patients turned in their diaries, three facts stood out right away.

Eating meats and plant-based foods were major drivers in determining dietary patterns. (This makes sense given what we know about paleo diets creating serious gut health imbalances and heart health problems.)

IBS patients with more severe symptoms ate diets filled with more sugary, carbohydrate-rich, low-fiber processed foods that are found in the Western diet.

The guts of IBS patients produced a lot of specialized microbial enzymes related to breaking down complex carbohydrates known as food glycans. That overproduction of glycans is important, given how they shape bacteria in the human gut, according to a study appearing in Nature Reviews Microbiology.

The Take-Home Message

If you’re suffering from IBS, many physicians will recommend eating a more balanced diet focused on avoiding gluten and foods that generate more gas and consuming more fiber. Your doctor may also recommend following a low FODMAP diet, and other important lifestyle changes, like reducing your stress levels and getting more sleep and exercise.

If you’re having problems with IBS, you may want to avoid a drug like alosetron (Lotronex) that has its own share of unpleasant side effects, and consider taking a probiotic.

In addition to protecting the overall health of your gut, probiotics work well to maintain the motility in your intestines which lessens constipation, plus they are a safe, effective means to treat diarrhea too.

In fact, the latest guidelines issued by the British Society of Gastroenterology in the medical journal Gut now recommend probiotics as a frontline treatment for IBS.

But, not any probiotic will do the trick.

Taking a probiotic formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune Advanced Probiotics —‑with 10 buildings blocks from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families — will help to treat the symptoms of IBS more effectively plus give your body’s immune system a much-needed boost.

Resources

How Diet Affects IBS Read More »

Probiotics: A Safe Way to Treat Migraines

Probiotics / By @drHoberman

It’s very difficult to describe the debilitating, forceful pain migraine headaches exert on patients in vivid detail. Not only can migraine symptoms be frighteningly severe and wide-ranging, at their worst, they can last for more than three days!

One out of four households includes someone who experiences migraines, and 90 percent of those sufferers have a family history of problems with them too.

About three years ago, we explored the growing connection between the gut microbiome and migraines and how probiotics may serve as a way to treat them very soon.

That time may be much closer than we expected…

Multi-strain probiotics to the rescue

Some 80 patients out of 100 who were experiencing either episodic or chronic migraines completed a trial that evaluated the benefits of taking two daily doses of a multi-strain probiotic or a placebo for 8-10 weeks.

Patients in both migraine groups who took probiotics reported reductions in attacks by at least 40 percent and in intensity by at least 29 percent, exceptionally good results by any measure, compared to taking a placebo.

(Nine of the strains used in this trial are a part of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic’s effective and powerful mix of beneficial bacteria providing 30 billion CFUs in every serving.)

Given the duration and severity of pain people experience due to migraines, these results are certainly great news!

The hows and whys

Although the hows and whys probiotics make a difference in migraine treatments haven’t been nailed down, some health experts believe the gut-brain axis — the connection that links your intestines, emotions and brain — may be the reason.

A recent review of studies also cited other possible gut-based problems that could contribute to migraines, including some very familiar ones like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and leaky gut.

The other piece of the puzzle may come down to the multi-species advantage that probiotics like EndoMune address.

Multi-species probiotics are formulated to protect and strengthen the diversity of your gut as well as treat a wider range of health challenges, including sleep, mental health and hypertension.

Resources

Probiotics: A Safe Way to Treat Migraines Read More »

Bathroom sign with text that says, "IBS Sufferer?"

How Probiotics Can Aid IBS Sufferers

Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

I’ve spent a lot of time talking with physicians, pharmacists and patients over the years about the benefits of probiotics. The topic that comes up most frequently when I talk to people is how probiotics help those who suffer daily from symptoms related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Routinely, patients consult with gastroenterologists about IBS more than any other condition, and it’s one of the most common problems primary care physicians see too.

As many as 20 percent of Americans experience symptoms of IBS, but a lot of patients still have a hard time recognizing them for what they are.

In fact, a global impact report of IBS estimates that it can take up to four years for a patient to receive an IBS diagnosis and only after undergoing many costly and unnecessary procedures.

Medical prescriptions for IBS

When I became a gastroenterologist, the medical understanding of IBS was very limited. Back then, many health professionals believed the common symptoms of IBS — abdominal pain, gas, constipation and diarrhea — were related to stress.

So, doctors treated stress by prescribing a range of tranquilizers and antidepressants combined with antispasmodics that affected the nerves going into the GI tract.

Nowadays, drug regimens have changed to more targeted IBS medicines like alosetron (Lotronex), eluxadoline (Viberzi), rifaximin (Xifaxan) and lubiprostone (Amitiza).

However, these drugs create their own sets of side effects, including pancreatitis, abdominal pain, nausea and constipation. Also, the kind of drugs doctors prescribe will differ depending on the subtype of IBS.

What about probiotics for IBS sufferers?

The good news for IBS patients who are otherwise healthy: Among the many non-drug therapies used to treat IBS, probiotics rises to the top of the list due to their effectiveness and the lack of drug interactions with other medications.

Probiotics work in versatile ways to reduce IBS symptoms safely. However, the kind of probiotic you take really matters when it comes to treating IBS effectively.

The benefits of multi-strain probiotics are well-documented, as it takes a variety of beneficial bacteria to maintain and protect the balance of good bugs in your gut.

A recent review of studies appearing in the medical journal Nutrients concluded probiotics containing multiple strains of beneficial bacteria provided better results in treating IBS.

Overall, seven of those 11 trials reviewed by European researchers found probiotics significantly improved IBS symptoms compared to a placebo.

What’s more, eight of those trials evaluated how IBS patients benefitted from taking a multi-strain probiotic. When IBS patients took a multi-strain probiotic for at least eight weeks, the results were more dramatic and beneficial.

A similar review of studies appearing in Complementary Therapies in Medicine came to the same conclusions about probiotics as a safe and effective treatment for IBS symptoms and abdominal pain too.

The take-home message

Have you been thinking about treating your IBS with a probiotic but don’t know where to begin?

You can start by reading about many more reasons why you need to take a probiotic, not only to relieve your IBS symptoms, but to protect the health of your gut every day.

Populated by more than 1,000 diverse species of bacteria (10 times more than the cells in your body), your gut performs a wide range of duties 24/7 to protect your health.

Taking a multi-strain probiotic, like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic with 10 strains of beneficial bacteria, is a smart and proven way, not only to make a daily difference in your gut health but do a world of good in treating your IBS symptoms too.

Resources

Nutrients

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

American College of Gastroenterology

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Medline Plus

Medical News Now

MedPage Today

News Medical Life Sciences

Mayo Clinic

WebMD

How Probiotics Can Aid IBS Sufferers Read More »

Graphic with lists of good bacteria and bad bacteria in your gut.

The IBS/Traveler’s Diarrhea Connection

Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

The holiday travel season may be long over, but the memories of that special trip, maybe to a warmer destination many time zones and thousands of miles away, still resonates.

Your only sour memory of that trip is a bad case of traveler’s diarrhea, the most common ailment vacationers face when they journey long distances, particularly to international destinations like South America, Africa, Mexico and Asia.

That run-in with traveler’s diarrhea could leave you vulnerable to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common gut health problem that affects up to 15 percent of all Americans, according to the American College of Gastroenterology.

A weakened immune system

Although researchers are still trying to figure out all of the answers, a recent study may have found an important connection between IBS and traveler’s diarrhea, according to a recent study appearing in the journal Cell.

To support a healthy gut, our body’s immune system must be equipped to maintain a balanced response to problems as they come without overdoing it.

For example, inflammation can help the gut fight an infection, but too much of a response “can cause lasting harm,” says Dr. Daniel Mucida, head of The Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology.

After Dr. Mucida and his team treated mice with a weak form of Salmonella (a very common bacterium that causes food poisoning), they discovered a lingering drop of neurons in the gut that could create an inflammatory response.

Previous work by Dr. Mucida determined these neurons could also be triggering the death of a specialized set of gut immune cells that can lead to constipation, a key IBS symptom.

A gut bacteria imbalance

Not surprisingly, this research team also discovered treating mice with Salmonella tipped the balance of beneficial gut bacteria in their tiny bodies in a bad way.

However, those neurons recovered when scientists restored the healthy balance of bacteria in those very same mice.

Fortunately, one of critical steps you should take to prevent traveler’s diarrhea — taking a probiotic — works very well when treating IBS too.

That being said, not just any kind of probiotic will do the trick.

Many probiotics are formulated with a single strain of bacteria to treat a specific problem, but not the kinds that patients encounter with IBS.

Based on a very recent review in the journal Nutrients, patients experienced greater benefits when taking probiotics with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria for at least eight weeks.

The human gut is populated by more than 1,000 species of bacteria. A probiotic made with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria is formulated to boost your immune system and treat IBS more effectively.

Taking a product like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic made from 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families plus a prebiotic (FOS) that feeds the good bugs in your gut may be the safer and more effective choice for treating IBS and traveler’s diarrhea too.

References

CDC.gov

Cell, Vol. 180, Issue 1

The Rockefeller University

Nutrients, Volume 11, Issue 9

Gut Microbiota For Health

The IBS/Traveler’s Diarrhea Connection Read More »

probiotics and IBS written on a paper on a clipboard.

Probiotics and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Disease, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the number one reason patients are referred to gastroenterologists.

IBS is a chronic disorder that creates a variety of painful symptoms, including diarrhea, cramping, bloating, gas, constipation and other abdominal pain.

Anywhere from 10-20 percent of Americans commonly experience IBS symptoms (usually younger than age 45). Typically, IBS affects twice as many women as it does men and often begins during young adulthood.

Despite the ability of modern medicine to spot the symptoms of IBS, nailing down a culprit has been far more difficult.

Certainly, stress may be a trigger for IBS, given the role the gut-brain axis plays in connecting your intestines, emotions and brain. The kinds of foods and the amounts we consume (too many carbohydrates) can also be big problems. Ditto for alcohol.

Although there’s no definitive tests for IBS, your gastroenterologist will want to perform some of these procedures to help him/her rule out other health problems.

Blood work
Stool culture
Colonoscopy or upper GI endoscopy
Hydrogen breath test

Another aspect that makes treating this disease really tricky: There’s different subtypes of IBS: Diarrhea-predominant (IBS-D), constipation-predominant (IBS-C) and alternating type (IBS-A).

And, IBS is a health problem that patients can switch from one subtype to another.

Treating a moving target

Many doctors will recommend some very basic lifestyle changes that may make a difference, especially if a patient’s IBS symptoms are mild:

Avoiding high-gas foods and gluten.
Eating more fiber and low FODMAP meals (with supervision from a physician or dietician.
Getting more sleep and exercise.
Reducing stress as much as possible.

(If some of these lifestyle changes sound familiar to you, health care professionals recommend them for fighting the obesity epidemic too.)

Physicians can prescribe medications, but shifts in an IBS patient’s subtype make that problematic too. For example, one drug for IBS-D — alosetron (Lotronex) — is recommended only for women with IBD-D and with special precautions and warnings.

Should stress also play a role, your doctor may want to prescribe an antidepressant drug, like a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (fluvoxamine or sertraline), an older tricyclic drug (amitriptyline or imipramine) or an antispasmodic drug (dicyclomine).

The probiotic approach

Out of the many non-drug therapies medical experts cite to control IBS, however, probiotics always seems to rise to the top of the list because they are among the safest ways to treat this condition effectively.

Why? Probiotics are much more versatile in the ways they work in your body, compared to a drug.

They do a great job in maintaining the motility in your intestines and lessening constipation, a key symptom of IBS.

And, probiotics are a safe, effective means to treat diarrhea and reducing its duration.

When emotions and stress begin to manifest in problems with your gut-brain axis, probiotics can be a difference-making tool.

But not just any probiotic will do.

The evidence

A very recent review of studies appearing in the medical journal Nutrients that examined controlled trials over the past five years underscored the effectiveness of multi-strain probiotics in relationship to IBS.

Of the 11 studies that met the final cut for the review, seven of them reported significant improvements among IBS patients taking probiotics. But that’s not all.

Eight of those 11 trials evaluated how IBS patients benefit from taking a daily multi-strain probiotic. When IBS patients were given multi-strain probiotics for eight weeks or more, the benefits were far more distinct, especially over a long period of time.

Probiotics containing a single species of bacteria may be good for treating one specific problem, but not several health challenges like those that occur with IBS.

Your gut contains a diverse accumulation of bacteria, 10 times more than the cells in your body (in the tens of trillions) and more than 1,000 different species.

That’s why a multi-species probiotic is built to be a more effective way to treat the symptoms associated with IBS and give your body’s immune system a healthy boost.

Taking a probiotic with 10 strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families (plus a prebiotic that feeds the bugs in your gut) like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic can be a safer, better alternative for treating IBS that may help you avoid taking a prescription drug too.

Probiotics and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Read More »