What Causes IBS?

If you have irritable bowel syndrome—IBS—then you know the pain it can cause and sometimes the embarrassment. Sometimes, IBS causes diarrhea. Sometimes, it causes constipation. Sometimes people have both, constipation during one flareup and diarrhea during another. Sometimes, the urgency is so bad, you don’t make it to the bathroom. Abdominal pain and excessive gas after eating are two more signs. If it’s particularly toxic smelling, it’s also a sign it might be IBS or a food intolerance or allergy. Changes in your bowel habits or white mucus in your pooh are other signs.

The brain-gut connection may not be working.

There’s a communication between the gut and the brain that helps your digestive system work. IBS may be caused by a breakdown in that system. The enteric nervous system that’s part of the autonomic nervous system has to do with digestion. It handles how the digestive muscles move, fluid secretion, and blood flow. It plays a vital role in IBS. The brain/gut communications go both ways. The interaction is most visible when you’re under stress. Any dysfunction can cause excessive gas, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea.

Your gut microbiome may be causing IBS.

Your gut microbiome is the collection of microbes in your gut. Each microbe plays a role in the body. Some are beneficial bacteria that aid digestion. If you don’t have enough beneficial microbes to aid digestion, you don’t digest food properly. Some bacteria break down nutrients, and others message the brain. Gut bacterial dysbiosis occurs when there are abnormal balances of microbes. There’s a lower density of 21 bacterial species in the people with IBS and those with good health.

People who have had a severe GI infection may end up with IBS.

Some people develop IBS after a serious GI tract infection. Is the problem from the infection or the antibiotics for that infection that killed beneficial or harmful microbes? Some food allergies or intolerances can also lead to or contribute to the symptoms of IBS. Researchers found a link between people who had severe stress in childhood, which includes sexual, emotional, and physical abuse.

• Lifestyle changes may help people with IBS. Keeping a food diary and identifying food that may trigger it is helpful. Increasing soluble fiber and probiotic foods may also help improve IBS.
• Besides certain foods, stress can cause flare-ups. Learning to control stress with deep breathing or other techniques helps. Women may have flare-ups during their menstrual cycle.
• People most at risk for IBS also include those with anxiety, depression, or PTSD—post-traumatic stress disorder. It also may accompany other conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or chronic pelvic pain.
• Lab tests for IBS exclude other conditions with similar symptoms rather than identify IBS. Blood and stool tests rule out other diseases. A hydrogen breath test can rule out bacterial overgrowth and food intolerance.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness Studio