Ridding irritable bowel syndrome
MANY think they have common digestive complaints when they experience abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, emptying incomplete feeling and flatulence – symptoms that affect their quality of life.
In fact, these symptoms may be related to one of the common gastrointestinal problems known as irritable bowel syndrome ( IBS).
Normally, IBS is diagnosed by the doctor and if anyone is doubtful of having IBS, he can easily screen himself through the Rule of Three’s:
He would have to recall whether there are any of the three or more symptoms appear at least three days in a month for the past three months.
The exact cause of IBS is unknown, however, scientists do believe that it is a brain- gut axis disorder.
Generally, gut- related activities are regulated by the brain, which can be impaired by disturbance stressors or activities.
The signals between the brain and gut get “miscommunicated”, triggering IBS episodes.
IBS sufferers may experience hyperactivity, especially under stressful circumstances, such as stress, anxiety and depression.
Spicy foods, fatty foods, coffee, alcohol and some lactose, or food containing fructose may also trigger the symptoms.
The gastrointestinal infection such as gastroenteritis may also lead to IBS symptoms, due to changes to nerve functions in the bowel or changes in the gut microflora.
Although IBS does not lead to death, people suffering from it have poor quality of life, especially among those who are seeking medical treatment.
IBS sufferers ensure they have all the needed medications, especially when travelling. Some people visit the toilet often due to the feeling of incomplete passing of motion.
IBS sufferers who lack control over symptoms may have low self- confidence and stress.
Conventional treatments only target the symptoms – laxatives for constipation, antispasmodics drugs for colon muscle spasm control, antidiarrhoeal medication to stop the diarrhoea and more.
Recently, the use of probiotics has been included in the treatments for IBS.
A single yet specific strain of probiotic namely Lactobacillus plantarum 299v ( Lp299v) has been shown to help in relieving all of the IBS symptoms.
Lp299v originated from human and was the subject of a two- decade Swedish research on its effects against IBS complaints.
Subjects with a daily intake of 10 billion CFU of Lp299v for four weeks reported a 51.9% and 66.4% reduction in abdominal pain and bloating frequency respectively.
Another efficacy of Lp299v among IBS patients shows 95% patients experienced a significant improvement in all symptoms.
Lp299v is among one of the few probiotic strains with a unique intestinal- binding mechanism – strongly binding to mannose receptor located on the intestinal epithelial cell.
This blocks pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella from affixing to the intestinal wall.
This unique binding enables the communication between Lp299v and epithelial cells, which strengthen the intestine and regulate the immune functions.
Lp299v also helps stimulate the colonisation of beneficial bacteria through the production of short- chain fatty acid ( SCFA).
SCFA serves as a food for these beneficial bacteria and therefore encourages their survivability to maintain normal gut health functions.
This article is contributed by BiO- LiFE Marketing Sdn. Bhd.
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