Diet for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel syndrome or IBS is a disorder that is characterized by symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, gas, cramping and abdominal pain. IBS often cause patients to suffer great stress and discomfort. Although, IBS does not cause severe damage unlike any other type of disease such as cancer and the likes, but the effect that it cause especially on the psychological aspect of patients is enough to make them suffer.

There are various ways of controlling Irritable Bowel Syndrome like for instance diet, medications and proper stress management. IBS affect people in different ways but sometimes it can be disabling and often renders some IBS patients to skip work, not to attend social gatherings or refrain from traveling short distances.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a common disorder experienced by most American adult population. It occurs predominantly among women than in men and usually starts attacking at the age of 35 or earlier.

Diagnosing Irritable Bowel Syndrome
The first step to treating or controlling Irritable Bowel syndrome is to consult a doctor. This is very important since proper and correct diagnosis is required to come up with treatments that will help you in controlling symptoms of IBS.

Although there are no particular tests for IBS, but still diagnostic tests are needed to rule out the possibilities of other diseases that exhibits the same symptoms as that of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The tests commonly performed for IBS include blood tests, x-rays and stool sampling test.

Aside from the aforementioned tests, a doctor may also perform colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy to check the inside of the colon. The said tests are performed by means of inserting a tiny, flexible tube that has a camera at the end. The doctor makes use of this equipment in order to clearly see the inside of the anus or the colon.

The doctor may also base his diagnosis on the IBS symptoms that you are experiencing or exhibiting such as abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, constipation and others. Some doctors refer to a specific list of IBS symptoms to help them in their diagnosis.

Treating IBS by Changing Diet
Changing your diet can actually help in reducing symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. However bear in mind that before you change your diet it is important that you consult your doctor since there are certain foods that aggravate symptoms of IBS. Your doctor will guide on the proper food to take and to avoid.

Keeping a journal can also help you to keep track of food that you have to avoid. Some of the common foods to avoid include dairy products, which really caused Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms. Fiber-rich foods are great for controlling IBS symptoms especially constipation.

You can get fiber from whole grain breads, fruits, cereals and vegetables. Fiber-rich foods help in keeping the colon distended, which in turn prevents spasms. There are also some types of fiber that store water in the stool making it easy for IBS patients to move bowel. But remember to add fiber in your diet gradually so you would not have gas pain. If the IBS symptom you have is diarrhea then a fiber-rich diet is not a solution.

In addition, drinking six to eight glasses of fluid can also help in preventing constipation and dehydration especially for IBS patients that have diarrhea. Drinking sodas or any carbonated drinks, chewing gum, eating too fast and eating large meals is a no-no for IBS patients since it triggers symptoms of Irritable Bowel Symptoms.

Michael Holt, Ph.D.
Magi Institute of Natural Medicine

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