What’s Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

Last updated on February 24th, 2023 at 09:21 pm

5 minutes read.   

 

Do you sometimes have stomach upset after eating a certain food? IBS may be your problem. Find out how to treat and control it today.

IBS is a common functional bowel disorder that generates a significant health care burden and can severely impair quality of life. (1)

Only a small number of people with IBS have severe symptoms. Some people can control their symptoms by managing their diet, lifestyle, and stress. More-severe symptoms can be treated with medication and counseling.

Symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation, or both. IBS is a chronic condition that you’ll need to manage long-term.

IBS doesn’t cause changes in bowel tissue or increase your risk of colorectal cancer. (2, 3)

This article teaches you everything you need to know about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), to improve your lifestyle.

Feel free to skip ahead.

• What’s IBS?
• Symptoms
• Causes
• What triggers IBS?

• Treatment and Control
• Home remedies for IBS
• Complications
• FAQs
• Conclusion

What’s Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that affects the stomach and intestines, also called the gastrointestinal tract.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and debilitating functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects 9%-23% of the population across the world.  (1)

Irritable bowel syndrome is also called an Irritable colon, Spastic colon, or Nervous stomach since symptoms often happen when you’re feeling emotional stress, tension, and anxiety.

Symptoms

Symptoms of IBS include:

• Abdominal pain or cramps, usually in the lower half of the abdomen.
• Bloating.
• Bowel movements that are harder or looser than usual.
• Diarrhea, constipation, or alternating between the two.
• Excess gas.
• Mucus in your poop (may look whitish). (4, 5)

Causes

The exact cause of IBS isn’t known. Factors that appear to play a key role include:

1. Muscle contractions in the intestine: (Visceral hypersensitivity), the walls of the intestines are lined with layers of muscle that contract as they move food through your digestive tract.

Contractions that are stronger and last longer than usual can cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Weak contractions can slow food passage and lead to hard, dry stools. This occurs as a result of extra-sensitive nerves in the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

2. Brain-gut dysfunction: (Nervous system) Issues with the nerves in your digestive system may cause discomfort when your abdomen stretches from gas or stool.

Poorly coordinated signals between the brain and the intestines can cause your body to overreact to changes that typically occur in the digestive process.  That’s Miscommunication between nerves in the brain and gut. This can result in pain, diarrhea, or constipation.

3. Severe infection: IBS can develop after a severe bout of diarrhea caused by bacteria or a virus. This is called gastroenteritis. IBS might also be associated with a surplus of bacteria in the intestines (bacterial overgrowth).

4. Early life stress: People exposed to stressful events, especially in childhood, tend to have more symptoms of IBS.

5. Changes in gut microbes:  Examples include changes in bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which typically reside in the intestines and play a key role in health. Research indicates that the microbes in people with IBS might differ from those in people who don’t have IBS. (6)

6. In addition, food sensitivity, carbohydrate malabsorption, and intestinal inflammation all have been implicated in the pathogenesis of IBS. (7, 8)

Triggers

What triggers IBS?

Symptoms of IBS can be triggered by:

Diet: food plays an important role in IBS. In most cases, if you have IBS you will fill worst when you eat or drink certain food than someone who doesn’t have IBS. Food allergy is different from IBS. A true food allergy rarely causes IBS.

But many people have worse IBS symptoms when they eat or drink certain foods or beverages. These include wheat, dairy products, citrus fruits, beans, fiofio/agbugbu (sorghum) cabbage, milk, and carbonated drinks.

Stress: Most people with IBS experience worse or more-frequent symptoms during periods of increased stress. But while stress may make symptoms worse, it doesn’t cause them. (6)

Treatment and Control

How to treat and control IBS?

There is currently no cure for IBS. Treatment is aimed at symptom relief. (2)

Here I will teach you the home remedies I used to control IBS for years.

Home remedies for IBS

Let me tell you my story. Over the years I have been leaving with IBS. IBS is not a life-threatening problem, it is just a digestive disorder that is been triggered when you ingest certain substances in the body.

However, it can be a chronic discomfort if you fail to find out what mostly triggers yours and abstain or limit it.

For instant, if I eat or drink certain food such as carbonated or caffeinated beverages, fruit juice (not homemade), alcohol, wine, deep-fried food, raw milk, corn (whether roasted, cooked or processed in the form of swallow), hardboiled egg, fruits like oranges, oil bean, breadfruits, legumes like beans and fiofio/agbugbu (sorghum) I will have stomach upset throughout the day.

Sometimes I may end up having diarrhea, especially with beans or raw milk.

Did I stop eating all this food?  No. Do you know what I learned to do?

First of all, I begin to monitor how my body reacts to any food I eat,  that was when I found out that all these food I mentioned here disrupt the way my digestive system works.

Then I begin to monitor which among all these food triggers my IBS the most, I found that alcohol, wine, carbonated or caffeinated beverages, fruit juice, oranges, and raw milk triggers it most.

The next thing I did was to monitor how the quantity and the time that I consume the food affect my IBS, I found out that when I eat much quantity of food especially beans my IBS will become worst.

I then went ahead to monitor how the preparation of the food affects my IBS, I found out that how I prepare the food also plays a role in triggering my IBS. So I developed a careful method of preparing some of the food.

I hope you’re getting value.

Here are the home remedies I practice that helped me to control and leave with IBS to date without having to go nutrient deficiency;

• I thoroughly wash beans, and other legumes with cold water, then parboil it before cooking.

•  I scramble eggs instead of hard-boiling or deep-frying it.

•  I eat all my food in small quantities and I don’t eat once is 8 pm at night.

• I don’t eat too much spicy food (Maggi and its member spices). I cook with only natural spices such as ginger, garlic, nutmeg, time and rosemary, curry leaves, scent leaves (aligbe/ahuju/ncheawu), and other herbs.  

•  I eat corn (roasted or cooked) with oil fruits like coconuts or bullet butter pears.

•  I mix milk with hot water before drinking it.

•  I try to incorporate fiber such as tiger nuts, groundnuts/peanuts, fruits, and vegetables into my daily diet. At least one of these fibers must include in my diet every day.

• Then very importantly, I drink enough water, at least 5 bottles above per day depending on the weather. (I always go out with a water bottle).

• I abstain from eating oranges, drinking alcohol, wine, fruit juice, and carbonated or caffeinated beverages.   

Understand that most of the food that triggers IBS contains FODMAPs. Click here to find out how FODMAPs contribute to IBS

Other methods include;

• Participating in regular physical exercise

• Eating food rich in probiotics (“good” bacteria normally found in the intestines) helps relieve gas and bloating.   (9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
• Add supplemental fiber to your diet, such as Metamucil or Citrucel. (16)
• Limit cheese and milk. Lactose intolerance is more common in people with IBS. Make sure to get calcium from other sources, such as broccoli, spinach, salmon, or supplements.

• Try the low FODMAP diet, an eating plan that can help to reduce your symptoms. 17
• Don’t smoke. 18

However, no specific therapy works for everyone, but most people with IBS can find a treatment that works for them.

The best way to treat and control IBS is to monitor the way your body system reacts to any food you eat. Be ready to abstain from any food and adjust and adapt to lifestyle changes. 

Cooking more of your food at home will help control what enters your stomach. You don’t need any medication to treat and control IBS take note.

Complications

What are the complications of IBS?

Poor quality of life: Some people with moderate to severe IBS may have a poor quality of life.

A 2018 study reported that 24 percent of people with IBS missed work in the last week due to IBS symptoms, and 87 percent experienced reduced work productivity. (25)

Mood disorders: According to one 2015 study having IBS might increase your risk of depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, or bipolar disorder. Depression and anxiety can also make IBS worse. (24), (26)

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about IBS

Questions you may have in mind;

What are the symptoms of IBS in women?

You may tend to have symptoms of IBS around the time of menstruation, or you may have more symptoms during this time.

Menopausal women have fewer symptoms than women who are still menstruating. Some women have also reported that certain symptoms increase during pregnancy. 19

What are the symptoms of IBS in men?

Symptoms of IBS in men are the same as the symptoms in women. However, a lot fewer men report their symptoms and seek treatment. It seems to be more common among women than men. 20

What are foods to avoid with IBS?

Managing your diet when you have IBS may take a little extra time but is often worth the effort. Modifying amounts or eliminating certain foods such as dairy, fried foods, indigestible sugars, and beans may help to reduce different symptoms. 21, 22

For some people, adding spices and herbs such as ginger, peppermint, and chamomile has helped to reduce some IBS symptoms. 23

Conclusion

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that affects the stomach and intestines, also called the gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, excess gas, diarrhea or constipation, or both. IBS is a chronic condition that you’ll need to manage long-term.

The exact cause of IBS isn’t known. Factors that appear to play a key role include Muscle contractions in the intestine, Brain-gut dysfunction, severe infection, early life stress, and Changes in gut microbes. However, what triggers it the most is diet especially those that contain FODMAPs.

IBS doesn’t cause changes in bowel tissue or increase your risk of colorectal cancer.

The best way to treat and control IBS is to monitor the way your body system reacts to any food you eat. Be ready to abstain from any food and adjust and adapt to lifestyle changes. 

Cooking more of your food at home will help control what enters your stomach. You don’t need any medication to treat and control IBS take note.

I hope you get the value worth your time. I appreciate the time you spend with me. Leave a comment if you like this post.

Do you have any questions as regards IBS I didn’t answer here?  Have you ever experienced any IBS symptoms I mentioned here? Feel free to share your story with me in the comment section.

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