A Practical Way to Manage IBS Holistically
What is IBS?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the gut-brain interaction, meaning it impacts the function of the gut leading to digestion symptoms like bloating, pain, and changes in gut motility: constipation, diarrhea, or both.
An important marker of IBS is pain, which sets it apart from simply chronic constipation or diarrhea. Often, our conditions that have similar symptoms will be ruled out, usually through screening tools and assessment from your doctor versus a standard set of tests.
The causes of IBS are somewhat mysterious, but research has evolved in this area over the last 10 years. We know that IBS can be caused by foodborne illness, other bacterial or viral infections, and abrubt changes to the gut microbiome or the gut-brain connection.
What causes IBS?
While the exact cause of IBS can be hard to identify, there are drivers of IBS that can contribute to the changes we see in those living with IBS. Each person’s driver(s) will be unique and each person may be all of them, or just 1-3. These drivers include:
Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome = the unideal makeup of microbes
Gut-brain communication = the gut and brain aren’t working well together and may be over-communicating to one another leading to poor digestion, increased pain (visceral hypersensitivity) and changes in mood
Altered immune activation = immune cells in the gut are reacting when they shouldn’t, leading to cell death and increased intestinal permeability (the “leakiness” of the gut)
Change in motility = constipation, diarrhea, or both related to nerves and gut-brain communication
Many treatments focus on manipulating symptoms of IBS, including the pain and either constipation or diarrhea. Some newer treatments do aim to address underlying problems, including antibiotics for dysbiosis and gut-brain therapies for gut-brain miscommunication.
Can IBS be cured?
According to the data that is available, IBS cannot be cured. Instead it must be treated and managed for chronic symptom relief. This may change in the future with evolving research. We know that the drivers of IBS can lead to the major problems those with IBS face, but they aren’t always what we call the symptom triggers.
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What leads to IBS symptoms?
Because of IBS, there are a variety of things that can lead to symptoms:
What you eat
How you eat
Stress
Sleep
Routines
Movement and exercise
Meds and supplements
Hormone changes - birth control, cycle, pregnancy, menopause
So how do you manage IBS holistically?
Address both the drivers of IBS and the symptom triggers.
Instead of starting with complexity, be practical by starting with what is most consistent in your life that can help with both. This includes adequate and quality sleep, routines, self care to bring down stress, and how you eat.
Sleep is non-negotiable and 7-9 hours are needed for your body (gut, microbes, immune system) to function well
Routines include how you start and end the day for stress, toilet time for adequate bowel movements, movement, and self care to support your gut-brain connection.
How you eat can include consistent meals, getting enough calories to meet nutrition needs, taking a full break and relax before eating, and chewing your food well.
This provides a strong foundation to build from to then target both drivers and symptoms more with diet changes, gut-brain therapies, medications, supplements, and exercise recommendations. This also helps you find more stability so that you aren’t left as confused by symptom changes during a diet change, like the low FODMAP diet.
If you’re stuck in an IBS cycle you feel like you can’t get out of, and you want guidance on holistic management, the MASTER Method Membership is for you!
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