Dr. Mercola September 22 2004 13,628 views
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects some 36 million people in the United States. It has puzzled medical professionals and researchers who have posed several theories about its origin. However, research now indicates it is caused by an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine.
After eating, IBS patients usually experience a combination of bloating, gas, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea. These problems trigger an immune response causing flu-like symptoms -- headaches, joint pain, muscle aches and chronic fatigue. Investigators suggest that in IBS sufferers, normal bacteria from the large intestine move into the small intestine, prompting the initial bowel problems.
Bacteria, up to 100 trillion, are commonly found in the intestines; they play several important roles in the large intestine.
Common medical tests would not detect an increase of bacteria in the small intestine, so investigators took an indirect approach. Patients ingested a lactulose syrup and within three hours their breath was measured for gaseous products of bacterial fermentation.
Results indicated that 84 percent of IBS patients tested registered abnormal breath tests that suggested an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine.
Following double blind and placebo-controlled guidelines, researchers gave patients either antibiotic therapy or a sugar pill. Those with high bacteria levels who took antibiotics reported a 75 percent improvement in symptoms.
Researchers concluded that small intestinal bacterial overgrowth allows gut bacteria to penetrate the intestinal lining and enter the body.
Science Daily September 3, 2004
Researchers may have gotten good results with antibiotics but you don't need them to solve IBS. In fact, a drug-based solution makes no sense.
There are certainly times when antibiotics are necessary, but they are widely overused. Unfortunately, for every time traditional medicine uses them appropriately there are at least 10 to 20 times when they are used and have caused complications. It is this inappropriate use that has resulted in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a need for a new type of treatment.
Occasionally antibiotics are required, however, and can save one's life. If you are put on one, it is very important to remember to take high-quality good bacteria to replace the beneficial bacteria that are killed.
That's right. There are good bacteria. Many people are unaware that daily exposure to our environment and even some habits considered healthy -- like taking antibiotics -- often kill these good bacteria essential for health.
My favorite recommendation is to find a source of raw milk and then produce kefir out of it. For those of you who don't know what kefir is, it is similar to yogurt and is very similar to make. All you do is stir in a kefir packet and room temperature raw milk and let it sit on the counter overnight and when you wake up in the morning the bacteria have reproduced and converted the milk into an many hundreds of billions of healthy bacteria. If you want to try raw milk for yourself, look for a farm in your state by following this link. If there's no resource for raw milk close to you, you may want to try Organic Pastures Organic Raw Milk. This raw milk is high in antioxidants, vitamins (including B-12), all 22 essential amino acids, natural enzymes (including lactase), natural probiotics and good fatty acids.
To battle IBS, you need to focus on what you are eating and how you are living. A few steps could get you and your intestines back on track:
Make better food choices. Pay careful attention to removing grains and sugars as they typically feed bad bacteria and gluten in particular can cause serious intestinal inflammation in many individuals.
If you have problems with the frequency of your bowel movements please consider purchasing some organic flax seeds and grind 2 to 6 tablespoons fresh in a coffee grinder and consume it. It is full of alpha linolenic acid which will balance the omega 3 oils in cod liver or fish oil, but more importantly flax has water soluble fibers like lignans that will decrease diarrhea or improve constipation as these types of fibers are bowel movement normalizers. Freshly ground flax seed is a far better option than psyllium or Metamucil
Eating for your metabolic type will get your body to operate at its optimum level.
Add coconut oil and coconut to your diet. Coconut oil has been shown to play a role in soothing inflammation and healing injury in the digestive tract. Its antimicrobial properties also promote intestinal health by killing troublesome microorganisms that may cause chronic inflammation.
In my experience, there usually is an underlying emotional stress or anxiety associated with IBS patients. EFT is an excellent tool to address this stress. Learn more about it by reading my free manual.
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Although antibiotics may eradicate bacteria in the small intestine, antibiotics are non-discriminatory. Antibiotics also destroy beneficial bacteria, which are difficult to reestablish given a typical, pro-biotic-free, high-in-hidden-sugars American diet. This leaves intestinal real estate wide-open for re-population by microorganisms such as anaerobic bacteria, yeast and fungus - without good bacteria to control bad populations by competitive inhibition.
Thank you, Dr. Mercola, for providing clear and concise information about IBS, and how to manage it through diet and exercise.
I have to wonder if the bad bacteria getting into the small intestine from the large intestine is due to a lack of an immune response. Perhaps this could also be a symptom of something wrong with the immune system?