What Causes IBS

[Guest guest]

What Causes IBS

By Carolyn Dean, MD, ND

http://www.carolyndean.com/content/view/60/47/

 

Many theories exist about the cause of IBS. However, only one cause of IBS is

currently accepted by conventional medicine. According to doctors and

researchers, IBS can occur after a bowel infection, either involving bacteria or

parasites. However, not all people with IBS have had a previous bowel infection,

so what causes their IBS?

 

Medical researchers are considering several possible causes of IBS. However,

they appear to set the stage for IBS making people more susceptible to the

condition. These include:

 

1. Use of analgesics: In survey studies, researchers have found that the

ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminophen, has been frequently used by people who

develop IBS-diarrhea. This drug is known to cause elevated levels of serotonin,

and

research indicates that serotonin may become elevated in patients with

IBS-diarrhea after eating.

 

2. Brain-bowel chemical imbalance: The brain and the gut are intimately

connected by both the nervous system and by neurotransmitter chemicals, such as

serotonin and norepinephrine. Both chemicals may be involved with the production

of IBS symptoms. So far, we know that diarrhea can occur when high amounts of

serotonin inhibit norepinephrine and cause levels of acetylcholine to

increase. On the other hand, when norepinephrine levels increase, the result is

constipation, as well as a lowering of serotonin levels and blockage of

acetylcholine. For IBS patients, this chemical dance may lead to the fluctuating

bowel

symptoms of constipation and diarrhea. But we must ask what the cause of the

imbalance is in the first place.

 

3. Female hormones: Considering that men don't have high amounts of female

hormone, and men do suffer from IBS, female hormones are not the cause of IBS.

However, women have twice the incidence of IBS as men.

 

Mistaken Identity

 

Your intolerance for certain foods can slip by unnoticed for decades, and

then one day you hear an item on TV, read an article in a magazine, go online,

or

read this book, and wham! You just know that wheat or dairy is no longer your

friend. You know that eating bread and bagels and pizza and toasted cheese

sandwiches are doing you in. Identifying a food allergy, sensitivity, or food

intolerance can be exciting, because if you stop eating certain foods you have a

chance of getting your IBS-like symptoms off your back. Gluten enteropathy

and lactose intolerance produce symptoms that can be identical to IBS.

 

Gluten enteropathy (celiac disease) Gluten is a protein that is mainly found

in four grains: wheat, rye, oats, and barley. (Yes, that's toast, rye

crackers, oatmeal, and barley soup!) Enteropathy is quite simply defined as a

disease

of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, the disease is caused by gluten.

Some people are extremely allergic to gluten, and some of the symptoms are

identical to IBS.

 

This disease is also called celiac disease and carries another name -tropical

sprue (don't ask why!). It's a genetic disease, but most people don't know

they have it. Many families who share the condition just think all that farting

and running to the bathroom is normal.

 

The classic symptoms for celiac disease include diarrhea, short stature,

anemia, and weight loss. Doctors are now finding that liver problems, thyroid

problems, gas and bloating, skin lesions, and chronic fatigue may also be

related

to celiac disease.

 

Gluten enteropathy occurs because the immune system gets the idea that gluten

is bad and attacks it using IgA and IgG antibodies. The lining of the small

intestine suffers major collateral damage during the assault resulting in

malabsorption and malnutrition.

 

This disease is more common than people think. Researchers consider it one of

the most common lifelong genetic diseases in the West. It is widespread in

Scotland and Ireland, with an incidence of 1 in 122 people of Scottish and Irish

descent. It occurs in 1 in 200 people in Sweden, but only in 1 in 10,000 in

Denmark. There is some speculation that celiac disease is so common in Scotland

and Ireland because of the heavy grain diet in those countries.

 

Surprise, surprise! The way to treat gluten enteropathy and gluten allergy is

to stop eating gluten. Period. If you suffer from gluten enteropathy or

suspect you might, there are a host of nongluten grains that may fill in that

gap

in your diet (rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, kamut, and millet). Because

grains supply vitamins and minerals necessary to the body, diet is important, as

are dietary supplements.

 

Lactose intolerance

 

Lactose (milk sugar) intolerance occurs when your body doesn't produce enough

lactase enzymes to digest dairy products. You may be one of the more than 50

million Americans who are lactose intolerant or lactose sensitive -yes, 50

million. The symptoms of lactose intolerance are just like the symptoms for IBS:

 

* Abdominal pain and bloating

 

* Constipation

 

* Diarrhea (usually very runny)

 

* Alternating constipation and diarrhea

 

* Cramps

 

* Gas

 

* Vomiting

 

Here's what happens when you don't digest milk and cheese: Dairy that is not

broken down properly by enzyme action travels through your intestines,

attracting a considerable amount of fluid in order to dilute it. This mass of

fluid

alone is enough to cause an episode of watery diarrhea. If that isn't bad

enough, the unabsorbed lactose (which is, after all, a sugar) becomes food for

the

trillions of bacteria and yeast in your intestines. Through a process of

digestion and fermentation, these sugar-loving organisms create what amounts to

a

gas-producing factory in your gut.

 

A certain group of people with lactose intolerance develops chronic

constipation. We've heard horrible stories of people going from doctor to doctor

for

decades because they can only have a bowel movement every two or three weeks.

When it finally comes out it is hard as a rock and can cause bleeding and

tearing of the rectum. They're told to eat more fiber, drink more water, and

exercise, but doing so makes no dent in this type of constipation. The cure is

to

stop consuming dairy products.

 

Yogurt and kefir (a fermented milk product popular in Europe) seem to be much

less of a problem for people who are lactose intolerant because the

fermentation process digests much of the lactose in these products. Plain

organic

yogurt and kefir are the best kinds to eat. They contain good bacteria called

probiotics and don't have the high amounts of sugar that are in the sweetened

varieties.

 

Antibiotics, an Iatrogenic Cause of IBS

 

Over the past several decades, the U.S. population has grown dependent on

antibiotics to treat even minor infections. Their overuse has resulted in the

cre

ation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that have learned to outfox the most

brilliant pharmaceutical scientists.

 

Antibiotics kill small, one-celled organisms; that's their job. When we take

them to stop a bad bacterial infection, however, they aren't smart enough to

tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Thus, even the good

bacteria get wiped out. The fact that the good bacterial count diminishes

with antibiotic treatment isn't the end of the story. In the vacuum left after

antibiotics wipe out the bacterial population of the gut, a normal gut fungus or

yeast called Candida albicans takes up residence.

 

Certain antihistamines, antibiotics, antacids containing magnesium,

laxatives, diuretics, sedatives, caffeine-containing medications,

antidepressants, and

mineral supplements containing excessive amounts of magnesium can trigger IBS

symptoms.

 

The Benefits of Magnesium

 

After it's absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to cells, magnesium is

an important mineral for preventing heart disease and muscle spasms and for

relaxing the muscles and blood vessels. It also has a relaxing effect on the

bowel. However, too much magnesium inside the gut irritates the gut lining. So

if

it is not absorbed, it has laxative effects. All magnesium salts can stimulate

the intestines, especially magnesium oxide, and are useful if you are

constipated. But people with IBS-diarrhea do well on angstrom-size magnesium

which is

almost completely absorbed by the cells. instead of causing diarrhea.

Magnesium oil has even less side effects because it can be sprayed on the skin

and

never touches the GI tract -but it can relax gut tension. (Angstrom-size

minerals are available at www.pureaquahealth.com and magnesium oil can be

found at

www.globallight.net .)

 

IBS and Yeast

 

When antibiotics kill off the natural Lactobacillus bacteria in your

intestines, when cortisone creams, inhalers, or pills stimulate yeast growth,

when you

take the birth control pill, when you are under massive stress, or when you

eat a high sugar diet, yeast grows wild. It grows out of its boundaries in the

large intestine and takes up residence in the small intestine where it can

poke holes in the lining of your small intestine, which can lead to a health

problem commonly called leaky gut syndrome.

 

When it grows out of control in the intestines, yeast causes gas and bloating

because it produces toxic gases. It can spread to the vagina and cause local

burning, itching, and discharge. Moving up to the esophagus and mouth, it

causes an oral yeast infection called thrush. (Thrush is commonly seen in

newborn

babies who catch a case of Candida from their mothers -either by traveling

through the birth canal that is loaded with yeast or just by picking it up from

their mothers' skin when breastfeeding.)

 

Yeast also produces widespread effects all over the body because of the 180

different toxins that are byproducts of its metabolic functions. Just think of

all the urine, feces, sweat, expelled air, and expelled gases that humans

produce. Yeast has its own excretions as well, and some of them are mighty

nasty.

Yeast even produces alcohol that can make you feel and act drunk even though

you haven't touched a drop. And those toxins are absorbed through the leaky gut

that yeast creates in the intestines and can cause symptoms from head to toe,

including all the symptoms of IBS.

 

So what can you do to avoid all these nasty effects? The solutions are pretty

simple:

 

1. Avoid unnecessary antibiotics.

 

2. Reduce the amount of sugar, wheat, and dairy you consume.

 

3. Take a probiotic supplement or eat organic, sugar-free yogurt every day.

 

4. Go to www.yeastconnection.com for an effective yeast-fighting program

that's easy to follow.

 

IBS is also associated with a number of hard-to-treat conditions but by

avoiding sugar, wheat, dairy and treating yeast, many people with these

conditions

improve dramatically.

 

1. PMS

 

2. Fibromyalgia

 

3. Insomnia

 

4. Painful periods

 

5. Urinary frequency

 

6. Chronic pelvic pain

 

No matter what causes you to feel symptoms of IBS, there is abundant hope for

you to feel better by opening yourself up to the possibility of diet and

lifestyle change.

 

 

 

 

This article is an edited excerpt from IBS for Dummies (Wiley 2005)

 

Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND

 

Proficient in both conventional and alternative medicine Dr. Dean offers

Consultations for Health by Phone. If you require individualization of the

advice

offered in this article, you can contact Dr. Dean at www.carolyndean.com or

by email at drdean . At www.carolyndean.com , under Dean

Wellness, you can find a list of food and supplement resources including

food-based

organic vitamins and angstrom-size minerals that Dr. Dean recommends.

 

Dr. Dean graduated from medical school in 1978 and holds a medical license in

California. She is also a graduate of the Ontario Naturopathic College, now

the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, where she sat on the Board of

Governors for six years.

 

Dr. Dean is an expert in difficult to diagnose conditions such as digestive

and intestinal disorders (IBS); hormone imbalance and estrogen dominance; and

yeast overgrowth as evidenced by three of her books, IBS for DUMMIES, Hormone

Balance, and The Yeast Connection and Women's Health. Another of Dr. Dean's

areas of expertise is magnesium. In her latest book, The Magnesium Miracle she

uncovers evidence of magnesium deficiency in 22 health conditions including

heart disease, arthritis, PMS, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and

anxiety. Dr. Dean is able to advise what types of magnesium are best suited for

these

conditions.

 

Dr. Dean has authored a total of twelve books to share her extensive

knowledge in both traditional and alternative medicine. These titles include

Natural

Prescriptions for Common Ailments, Menopause Naturally, Homeopathic Remedies

for Children's Common Ailments, The Miracle of Magnesium, Everything

Alzheimer's, Hormone Balance, The Yeast Connection and Women's Health, IBS for

Dummies,

Death by Modern Medicine, The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Women's

Health, Solve it With Supplements, and The Magnesium Miracle.