One important but very simple tip to note in your diet for irritable bowel syndrome is to learn to be relaxed while eating and take time to chew the food properly. For starters, your stomach does not remotely look like your teeth.  And whatever you do not do with your teeth in terms of grinding your food down into easily digestible bits will have to be done by your stomach or your small intestine.  Could you even imagine how hard it must be for your intestine to digest large chunks of food?  Just how much more enzymes must your body produce to break this food matter down into liquid form to prepare it for absorption?  How much more energy and effort must your body expend?  To avoid the distress of digesting poorly chewed food, leading to the presentation of unpleasant symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, practice slow eating.  Take at least 20 minutes to complete a main meal.  Chew your food till it is liquid before swallowing.  Keep reminding yourself to do that over and over again until it becomes you.  Cardinal rule number one for your diet for irritable bowel syndrome requires you to take your time to savour your food, practice chewing thoroughly before swallowing.

Cardinal rule number two for your diet for irritable bowel syndrome requires you to eat regularly.  This means eating 3 square meals or 3 meals and 2 snacks evenly spread out through the day.  In short, do not skip meals and become overly hungry and end up eating every edible morsel in your path.  Once again causing severe distress to your body.

Cardinal rule number three in your diet for irritable bowel syndrome, requires you to decrease fat consumption, especially saturated fat from animal sources. This means eating less meats and more plant foods.  If possible, processed meats should be excluded from your diet for irritable bowel syndrome as much as possible.  High meat consumption makes your digestive system sluggish, lengthening the time it takes for your food to go through your digestive system thus making you susceptible to developing constipation.  Constipation is often associated with pain, gas production, indigestion and overall abdominal discomfort exacerbating symptoms for irritable bowel syndrome.

Increase fibre intake to alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and decrease transit time if you are susceptible to developing constipation.  This can be done by having at least 5 serves of vegetables (5 cups uncooked or 2.5 cups cooked) and a serve of beans each day.  And depending on whether you have a fruit sugar intolerance (e.g. fructose) you may or may not be able to have two serves of fruit.  If digestion of fructose poses a problem for you, spread out your fruit intake to reduce your symptoms of fructose intolerance.

Lastly, do a food diary and log all the food items eaten and the symptoms you experience.  With this diary, list all the offending food items and put them on your definitely-avoid list or eat-less-of list.  The offending foods vary from one person to another.  Get your own list together through your methodical food record and make an effort to eliminate the offending foods.

In summary, remember to eat slowly, chew your food throughly, reduce fat intake, eat more vegetables and beans and avoid the offending food items to reduce your symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.  If you are able to do that, you have succesfully set the foundation for designing your very own diet for irritable bowel syndrome.

So can you expect acupuncture to help or even cure your IBS?  The short answer is: the jury is still out, but probably there is a benefit for at least a third of patients.

Some have speculated that acupuncture, through effects on gut sensation, motility, and/or brain-gut interactions, might be of benefit in IBS.   Some animal studies have shown promising results from acupuncture (World J Gastroenterol 2009;15:5211–5217; Life Sci 2008;83:356–363; Dig Dis Sci 2008;53:689–693; Neurosci Lett 2005;376:20–23; Dig Dis Sci 2005;50:1264–1270).

Despite the encouraging results from animal studies, studies in IBS patients have been much less persuasive. Many of these research trials have used ‘sham’ or fake acupuncture to allow the researchers to check for a placebo effect (Am J Gastroenterol 2009;104:1489–1497; Digestion 2001;64:100–103; World J Gastroenterol 2005;11:4040–4044; Gut 2006;55:649–654; Am J Gastroenterol 2009;104:1489–1497). Unfortunately, none has provided convincing evidence of superiority of acupuncture over sham acupuncture in the treatment of IBS.

However, before closing the door on acupuncture to treat IBS, what are the possible explanations for such inconclusive proof acupuncture helps?

1. The first and most obvious potential explanation is that acupuncture provides no treatment benefit for patients with IBS.
2. Another possibility is that the studies are so confounded by inadequacies that the results do not reflect acupuncture’s true clinical benefit.
3. The third explanation is that acupuncture is of benefit, but that its benefit is masked by the lack of an appropriate sham condition.

Whether the improvements in IBS symptoms after acupuncture and sham acupuncture simply represent placebo or perhaps something more substantive will undoubtedly remain the subject of considerable debate between traditionally trained practitioners of Western medicine and those providing CAM therapies.

In comparative effectiveness Chinese trials, patients reported greater benefits from acupuncture than from drug therapies. Future trials may help clarify whether or not these reportedly greater benefits of acupuncture relative to pharmacological therapies are due entirely to patients’ preferences for acupuncture or patients’ greater expectations of improvement on acupuncture relative to drugs(Manheimer et al. Acupuncture for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The American Journal of Gastroenterology ,  April 2012).

For now, it is clear that many patients are voting with their feet. They are choosing CAM therapies in large numbers—so much so that CAM therapies now account for billions of dollars in health care expenditures.

So what is important when considering acupuncture for your IBS?

• The available scientific evidence does not support a clinical benefit of acupuncture over sham acupuncture.
• However, it is fair to say that at least one third of patients who receive acupuncture experience substantial benefit in their IBS symptoms.
• And this benefit comes with a very low likelihood of side effects when compared with continuing usual care.

A system of nerves runs the entire length of the  gastrointestinal tract and communicate with the brain via the spinal cord. Thus, the abnormal function of the nervous system in IBS may occur in a gastrointestinal muscular organ, the spinal cord, or the brain.

In a recent review, researchers from the University College Cork, Ireland, examined the cognitive-behavioural model of irritable bowel syndrome (Kennedy, Clarke, Quigley, Groeger, Dinan & Cryan, 2011).

The brain and the gut are engaged in continual crosstalk along a number of pathways collective termed the ‘brain-gut axis’. Over recent years it has become increasingly clear that dysregulation of the axis at a number of levels can result in disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (Kennedy, Clarke, Quigley, Groeger, Dinan & Cryan, 2011). The cognitive-behavioural model of irritable bowel proposes that gastrointestinal symptoms are affected and maintained by interactions between:

1. psychological (e.g. emotions, cognition, bahviour),
2. social (modelling, support) and
3. physiological factors (cramping and bloating).

In this review, it was found that early life stress, trauma and abuse, are considered key risk factors in the development of irritable bowel syndrome in adulthood. In addition to the putative effects on gastrointestinal function, stressful or traumatic early life environments and experiences can profoundly impact on the structural and functional development of the central nervous system, leading to maladaptive behavioural, autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to stress, and cognitive deficits in later life.

Kennedy, P.J., Clarke, G., Quigley, E.M.M., Groeger, J.A., Dinan, T.G. & Cryan, J.F. 2011. Gut memories: towards a cognitive neurobiology of irritable bowel syndrome. Neuroscience and Behavioural Reviews, 2012 Jan; 36(1):310-40.

It is very helpful if you keep a food and symptom diary.  This may help you spot the foods, drinks, supplements, habits, etc. that might set off your symptoms.

Do you know what is in the stuff you are putting in your body?  Get in the habit of reading the information labels on anything you consume, whether it is food, an over the counter medicine, or a herbal remedy.

We need a diverse range of foods to maintain a nutritious diet.  So please do not take the approach that you can never have a so-called IBS trigger food.  While you may find that some in the list severely affect you and may need to be completely eliminated, many can still be eaten in reduced amounts.  Also, there are often substitutes for certain items that allow you to still enjoy eating.

• Eat less fat. Food with a high fat content will serve to increase the strength of intestinal contractions triggered by the body’s own natural gastrocolic reflex. Generally, you should avoid fatty meats and fried foods.
• Avoid alcohol. Alcohol can be an irritant to the gastrointestinal tract – some types more than others.
• Avoid coffee. Caffeine is a stimulant and can cause contractions in the gastrointestinal tract. Unfortunately, all coffee beans, even decaffeinated beans, contain an enzyme that irritates the entire gastrointestinal tract.
• Avoid dairy if you’re lactose intolerant.  Also, dairy products contain the proteins whey and casein which the body finds difficult to digest and could cause symptoms of IBS. In addition, many dairy products are high in fat which can also trigger your IBS symptoms.
• Avoid red meat. This is another tough one, but many people with IBS find their symptoms are triggered by red meat.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes such as sorbitol and artificial fat such as olestra. Sorbitol is found in a surprising number of foods and over-the-counter medications and supplements.
• Avoid carbonated drinks.  These can cause gassiness and bloating and they also usually contain artificial sweeteners mentioned above.
• If gas is a problem for you, avoid gassy foods such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions, brussels sprouts, and garlic.
• Regulate insoluble fiber. Studies have now shown that insoluble fiber can be a severe irritant to the bowel. However, insoluble fiber is in virtually all of the healthy foods that we should be eating. If you avoid insoluble fiber, your diet will be very unhealthy and nutritiously poor.  Luckily, not all insoluble fiber foods will have the same impact on your gut.  So you need to work out which foods containing insoluble fiber you can tolerate the best. This is where your food diary is essential.

Avoid large meals. Eating smaller meals more frequently, or “grazing” throughout the day may help symptoms. Many people find that IBS symptoms are worse after a heavy meal.

Don’t smoke.  Many people still use tobacco, alone or while eating.  Tobacco, whether smoked or chewed, is a powerful gastrointestinal tract stimulant, irritant, and carcinogen.  Tobacco irritates the lining of the intestines, which can cause diarrhea, intestinal cramping, pain, bloating, and gas. Nicotine can cause nausea and stomach cramps. Smoking also decreases the efficiency of food digestion and metabolism, which can cause altered bowel movements (already a problem for people with IBS) and bloating. Nicotine withdrawal can cause both constipation and diarrhea.  If you needed yet another reason to quit smoking, now you’ve got one.

As already mentioned, your diet diary is crucially important to identify your key IBS trigger foods.  However, it can also identify habits, such as eating larger meals, which exacerbate your symptoms.

The following is a quick overview of the most significant findings from research related to IBS symptoms in women:

1. It is common for IBS symptoms to be affected by the menstrual cycle.
2. For many women, pregnancy results in an improvement in IBS symptoms.
3. Similarly, many women experience a decrease in IBS symptoms following menopause.
4. Women with IBS have a higher risk of being diagnosed with endometriosis.
5. It has been shown that women with IBS are at significantly higher risk to undergo a hysterectomy.
6. Although the hormones oestrogen and progesterone are linked with GI symptoms, neither birth control pills nor hormone replacement therapy have been found to have any effect on IBS symptoms.
7. Some research shows that a high percentage of women with IBS have a history of being a victim of sexual or severe physical abuse.
8. Women who suffer from IBS have more difficulty relaxing and enjoying sex, but are not at higher risk for having problems with sex drive or ability to achieve orgasm.
9. Women with IBS have a higher risk of suffering from urinary urgency, but they are not necessarily at higher risk for urinary incontinence.
10. Women with IBS are also more likely to complain of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms.

IBD may also affect different parts of the gastrointestinal tract.  The location and nature of the inflammatory changes allow two of the major types of IBD to be identified.  These are Chrohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Neither ulcerative colitis nor Crohn’s disease should be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that affects the motility (muscle contractions) of the colon.  IBS is not characterised by intestinal inflammation and is sometimes called “spastic colon” or “nervous colon”. However, some of the symptoms experienced by patients are found in all these conditions.

The severity of inflammatory bowel disease varies from one person to another and it may change over the course of time. Inflammatory bowel disease may have periods of remission and periods of activity or flare-up.

The causes of inflammatory bowel disease are unknown.  It appears that IBD results from abnormal action of the bodies immune system.  A combination of a genetic predisposition and environmental factors (such as viral infections) may trigger this.

Normally, our immune cells protect our body from infection.  When activitated they actually are supposed to cause some inflammation as part of the process of defending the body.  In a healthy immune system, the immune response “switches off” when the threat is gone.  In the unhealthy immune system of a person with inflammatory bowel disease the inflammatory action in the intestinal tract does not seem to “switch off” correctly. As a result, inflammatory cells acculumate in the intestinal lining causing chronic damage and hence the signs and symptoms of the disease.

Stress and eating certain foods do not cause IBD, but both can worsen IBD symptoms.

After sorting through a stack of resumes he found four people who were equally qualified — an American, a Russian, an Australian and a Gujarati from India.

He decided to call the four in and ask them only one question. Their answer would determine which of them would get the job.

The day came and as the four sat around the conference room table the interviewer asked, “What is the fastest thing you know?”

Dave, the American, replied, “A THOUGHT. It just pops into your head. There’s no warning that it’s on the way; it’s just there. A thought is the fastest thing I know of.

“That’s very good!” replied the interviewer.

“And now you sir?” he asked Vladimir, the Russian.

“Hmm…. let me see. A blink! It comes and goes and you don’t know that it ever happened.** A BLINK** is the fastest thing I know.”

“Excellent!” said the interviewer. “The blink of an eye, that’s a very popular cliché for speed.”

He then turned to George, the Australian who was contemplating his reply.

“Well, out at my dad’s ranch, you step out of the house and on the wall there’s a light switch. When you flip that switch, way out across the pasture the light in the barn comes on. Yep, Turning on a** **LIGHT **is the fastest thing I can think of.”

The interviewer was very impressed with the third answer and thought he had found his man. “It’s hard to beat the speed of light” he said.

Turning to Patel, the Guy from India, the fourth and final man, the interviewer posed the same question. Patel replied, “Apter herring da 3 prebius ansers sir, et’s obius to me dat the fastest thing is **DIARRHEA.”

“WHAT!?” said the interviewer, stunned by the response. The others were already giggling in their seats…

“Oh, I can expleyn sir,” said Patel

“You see, sir, da ader day my tummy was pheeling bad and so I run so fast to the baatrum, but before I could THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHT, I alredi done it !”

Patel is now the new “Greeter” at Wal-Mart in Washington.

IBS is best described as a functional disease.  This means that either the muscles or the nerves that control the intestine are not working normally.  This results in the intestine not functioning normally.

Most of the symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS include constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, stomach cramping, and abdominal pain.

While IBS can cause a high degree of discomfort and distress, it does not permanently harm the intestines and is not known to lead on to serious diseases such as cancer.

Many people with IBS can manage their symptoms and lead active full lives.  However, for some people, IBS can be quite disabling and interfere with a persons ability to undertake normal activities such as attending social events, going to work, or even travelling short distances.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS can be treated or at least be relieved in different ways like modifying diet and lifestyle, and reducing stress.

If you suffer from IBS, you should have plenty of regular exercise and try and improve sleeping habits. Keep away from specific foods that cause the Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS and its associated symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. Intake of proper foods for Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS may vary on the individual. However, it is recommended to avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, milk, tea, and caffeine.

Fibre helps ease constipation and other symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS, thus it should be consumed regularly. In case the symptoms are severe and chronic, seeing a physician is highly recommended. You might also need to undergo some tests and procedures.

One of the key things to remember in the  irritable bowel syndrome diet is to take time to chew your food.  Food items finely chewed makes digestion a lot easier.  Large food particles take a long time to break down into little particles in the stomach and our alimentary canal have to work a lot harder to digest them into liquid for absorption.  And remember, our stomach does not remotely look like out teeth so the process if grinding down this food will take up a lot energy and time.

Fundamentally, the irritable bowel syndrome diet resembles a healthy well-balanced diet.

Some of the rules we should observe to comply with the irritable bowel syndrome diet to reduce the debilitating symptoms are:

• Do not skip meals/breakfast. Eat 6 small portions at regular intervals through the day.
• Eat good quality lean meat.
• Avoid highly processed meats or under-cooked meat.
• Eat plenty of fiber-enriched food products if you are into an irritable bowel syndrome diet
• Avoid foods made from refined flour; go for whole grain flour instead.
• Eliminate fast food/high-fat fried foods
• Reduce sugar and salt intake, and fat consumption if you are on an irritable bowel syndrome diet
• Eat plenty of raw/lightly steamed vegetables and fruits.
• Do not consume excessive amounts of fruit in the diet as fructose may worsen irritable bowel symptoms.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Limit alcohol intake.
• Choose fresh vegetable salad as snacks; eliminate oily/salty snacks.
• Limit carbonated drinks especially Coca Cola
• Reduce coffee and tea intake.
• Reduce food triggers like high salicylate/amine foods.
• Reduce lactose from dairy products or consume low lactose foods

An irritable bowel syndrome diet may also consist of more complicated food guidelines from a doctor or health expert. These guidelines for the irritable bowel syndrome diet are crucial for easing the symptoms and reducing suffering in the person experiencing irritable bowel syndrome.

The ischemic bowel disease is associated with recurring malfunction of the intestinal tract. It is a digestive disease characterized with bowel inflammation leading to poor digestion, absorption and eventually to malnutrition.  This occurs mostly in the large intestine. This progressive bowel disease affects one out of 1000 people in the world.

It is unknown what specifically causes ischemic bowel disease.  This disease is often characterised by insufficient supply of blood and oxygen to the tissues in the gut.  It is postulated that some common factors that could exacerbate the disease state are medication side effects, obesity, prolonged smoking, colon cancer, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and low blood pressure. Elderly people have higher risk of acquiring Ischemic bowel disease compared to younger people.

People who have Ischemic bowel disease may exhibit visible bowel damage and injury of the intestines. During the early stages, patients may experience inconsistent abdominal pains and crippling cramps after eating huge meals. Some patients even complain of tenderness often characterized by and pain in the abdomen’s lower left side. Other symptoms include abnormal bowel movements, black or bloody stools due to rupture of gut lining due to rectal bleeding.

Lifestyle changes are commonly recommended for treating ischemic bowel disease.  Example of lifestyle changes are: regular exercise, weight management, smoking cessation and dietary changes. To repair the damaged blood vessels, the procedure – angioplasty is commonly carried out.  If the infection is too severe, doctors commonly recommend surgical procedures and excise the diseased bowel.  Unfortunately, a large number of bowel removal is done as regularly treatment for ischaemic bowel disease.