Overcome Irritable Bowel Syndrome
BLOATING, abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhoea are among the common gastrointestinal (GI) complaints. Very often, two or more happen at the same time or in very close timing.
Interestingly, the episode may happen without any specific reason. Patients commonly realise they are suffering Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) only after consulting medical specialists.
It is a fact that 20% to 50% of all patients who visit a gastroenterologist suffer from IBS. IBS affects 10% to 20% of the population at any one time.
If you Google “Irritable Bowel Syndrome”, you will find different versions of definitions and explanations. However, they share some similarities. IBS is a functional bowel disorder characterised by abdominal pain and a change in bowel habits.
Symptoms may vary between individuals. However, most patients have either diarrhoea or constipation or alternating diarrhoea and constipation. Others may include stomach cramp, flatulence and mucous in the stool.
IBS symptoms tend to come and go in bouts, often after eating certain food or during times of stress. Studies have shown a complex interaction between stress and IBS.
Due to the close connection between the brain and gut, stress has been shown to increase motility and sensation of the colon to a greater degree in IBS patients. With that, it is easily predicted that individuals with high daily stress level are more prone to IBS attack.
The FODMAP approach
First made popular in early 2000, FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. The FODMAP diet is an elimination diet with the idea that fermentable carbohydrates worsen symptoms of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), most markedly IBS.
The high FODMAPs intake may not be the fundamental causes for IBS, but its elimination provide an opportunity to reduce IBS symptoms, as they consist of three common functional properties:
> Poorly absorbed in the small intestine
> Small and osmotically active molecules (laxative effect) > Rapidly fermented by bacteria Among the high FODMAPs content diet an IBS patient should avoid include broccoli, onions, peas, soft and fresh cheese, cow’s milk, goat’s milk, ice-cream, mango, prunes, cherries and avocado. Instead, a low FODMAP diet, including lettuce, tomato, Brie cheese, lactose-free milk, grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime is more recommended.
Ideal bowel support
Research suggests that among the many possible causes and triggers of IBS, people diagnosed with IBS have too many bad bacteria living in their digestive system.
Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Lp299v with over 60 clinical research and reports published over the past 20 years, demonstrates its efficacy in IBS sufferers by reducing abdominal pain, relieving bloating, regulating the volume and frequency of stools and reducing overall gastrointestinal IBS symptoms.
Particularly, the Lactobacillus plantarum Lp299v strain have unique yet superior properties for a significant positive effect on gastrointestinal health.
For one, it displaces harmful bacteria and helps strengthen the intestinal walls and facilitate the work of the intestines. Also, it is able to stimulate the growth of good bacteria that helps in keeping the intestines healthy and functioning properly. These explain the contribution of this probiotic strain to balance the GI microflora, and maintain the healthy GI function, especially relieving IBS problem.
While addressing the stressors associated with IBS will be the essential step to decrease the symptoms as well as to improve the quality of life, paying more attention on the diet to suit the FODMAP approach and supplementing ourselves with the clinically proven probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum Lp299v are probably the two added value to help us get rid of “sensitive” digestive troubles.
This article is brought to you by BiO-LiFE Marketing Sdn Bhd. For details, e-mail health@biolife.com.my.