Holistic healing

IBS: symptoms, dietary changes and natural treatments

Discover your all-inclusive guide to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and how you can treat it naturally.

We’ve all experienced miserable stomach pains and cramps before, but if yours are debilitating or ongoing, you might be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It’s a common and very frustrating gastrointestinal condition that affects countless people – the average age of onset is between 20 and 29, with women affected twice as often as men, but anyone can manifest it. IBS can begin in childhood, adolescence or adulthood and can resolve unexpectedly for periods throughout an individual’s lifespan, recurring at any age.

However, as the Gastrointestinal Society states, since the condition is caused by a contraction of the muscle in the intestines, interrupting normal digestive tract functions and bowel movement, there is no structural abnormality when one does a colonoscopy, CT scan or other medical tests. This means it can be very difficult to figure out if you have IBS or not.

How to diagnose and tackle IBS

Typically, IBS is characterised by low energy levels, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, bowel hypersensitivity, digestive problems, excess wind and/or abdominal pain. The condition can even cause itchy, flaky ears, metallic tastes in the mouth, thinning hair and repeated bouts of thrush and cystitis, explains holistic therapist Christine Fadley. However, it’s important to note that the combination of Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms is different for every person who suffers from it, and the treatments can differ in efficacy, too.

While natural IBS treatments shouldn’t take the place of your regular medical treatments prescribed by your GP or a specialist, they can do wonders when tried alongside it. Some treatments can be done on your own at home; others you can do with the help of a doctor or therapist.

Eat fewer irritant foods

The digestive system is extremely complex, influenced by many nerves and hormones, meaning that the types of food eaten, the frequency and environment of eating, as well as various medications affect both the secretions and motility of the intestine. Therefore, the biggest and best change you can make to improve your gut health is to lessen or completely stop eating foods that are difficult to digest. These types of foods are otherwise known as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPS).

As Harvard Health Publishing points out, these include lactose foods, like cow’s milk, yoghurt and soft cheeses, fruit such as pears, peaches, cherries, mangoes and watermelons, sweeteners like honey and agave nectar, products with high fructose corn syrup, vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beetroots, garlic and onions, and grains such as wheat and rye.

Since these foods are difficult for your small intestine to digest and absorb, your body increases the amount of fluid in the bowel and creates more gas, leading to IBS’s signature bloating and stomach pain. As well as a low-FODMAP diet, it’s best to avoid common triggers of digestive problems, such as caffeine, alcohol, fatty foods, spicy foods and products that may be spoiled.

Eat healthy and easy-to-digest foods

Try to add healthy foods that are easier to stomach. This includes lactose-free dairy foods such as rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, lactose-free yoghurt and hard cheeses like feta and brie; fruit such as bananas, blueberries, cantaloupes, grapefruits, honeydew, kiwis, lemons, limes, oranges and strawberries; vegetables such as bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, bok choy, carrots, chives, cucumbers, eggplant, ginger, lettuce, olives, parsnips, potatoes, spring onions and turnips; protein foods such as beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs and tofu; nuts and seeds such as almonds, macadamias, peanuts, pine nuts and walnuts; and grains such as oats, oat bran, rice bran, gluten-free pasta, rice, corn and quinoa. Chew food well and take your time to help digest your meals – it’s better to let your teeth and saliva break down your food slowly than to wash it down with water or other drinks.

To protect itself during IBS, the gut may also secrete mucus, making it harder to absorb the vitamins and minerals needed to feel energetic and healthy. Taking a good daily vitamin and mineral supplement will boost the nutrients available for energy and repair. Once you have a healthy gut, you can slowly reintroduce FODMAPs into your diet, while recording your results in a food diary, to identify which food groups are responsible for your symptoms.

Eat more foods with probiotics

Addressing the gut bacteria can also help in treating IBS. If the beneficial bacteria in the intestines has been disrupted, it leaves your gut open and vulnerable to a bacterial overgrowth of yeast, fungi, parasites and other potentially harmful strains of bacteria. These disruptions can be caused by a history of using antibiotics, the pill, steroids, low fibre intake, high sugar and processed food intake, excessive alcohol consumption and stress.

Once the gastrointestinal inflammation starts, it contributes to intestinal barrier dysfunction, leading to leaky gut syndrome and food intolerance – as Dr Axe points out, IBS can cause complete lactose intolerance, as the body becomes unable to effectively digest lactose owing to malabsorption or low levels of lactase. The body’s ability to absorb water and nutrients is affected, which in turn causes yet more inflammation and exacerbates IBS symptoms.

To break this vicious cycle, you can consume foods with probiotics – often called ‘good’ bacteria – to release chemicals which break down the damaging toxins produced by unhealthy bacteria, to destroy invading yeasts, make vitamin K, maintain the correct acid/alkali balance in the gut and ease the gas, pain, bloating and diarrhoea from IBS. Foods with probiotics include yoghurt, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi.

Eat more fibre

If your IBS symptoms persist after you clean up your diet and take probiotics for a few days, you can try increasing the amount of fibre in your diet. It feeds the gut microbe, moves the stool through the intestines and binds to fluid in the colon, preventing diarrhoea. Therefore, ensuring you consume the right type and amount of fibre can help keep the intestines working properly.

Soluble fibre sources such as apples, oranges, strawberries, peas, avocados, carrots, sweet potatoes, oats, beans and barley slow down the digestive tract and help with diarrhoea. Insoluble fibre sources such as broccoli, zucchini, cabbage, leafy greens, whole grains, brown rice, flaxseeds and chia seeds help speed up the digestive tract, alleviating constipation.

You can also take natural supplements such as psyllium powder or psyllium husks. Since psyllium is a fibre that absorbs water and becomes gelatinous, it helps by binding loose stools and softening the hard ones so that they are more easily passed. Psyllium has the added advantage of soaking up harmful toxins made by yeasts and generally calming things down. However, you will need to drink plenty of water when taking psyllium.

Peppermint oil

Peppermint oil is also an effective remedy that can drastically improve IBS symptoms, with clinical trials dating back to 1972. With or without caraway seed, it can act as a natural anti-spasmodic, meaning it works by relaxing the muscles found in the stomach and digestive tract, which can then speed up or slow down the motility of the gastrointestinal tract. This results in relief from symptoms such as nausea, bloating, flatulence and altered bowel habits.

If taken as capsules, they should be enteric-coated so they can dissolve in the intestines rather than in the stomach, explains specialist Dr Mark Atkinson. Alternatively, you can try drinking peppermint tea made from peppermint leaves after your meal.

Though considered safe for normal usage, large doses of peppermint can have negative effects and sometimes interfere with the absorption of vitamins, minerals and medications, so it’s worth talking with your doctor about a strategy that is best for you. If you use antacids, don’t take them at the same time as peppermint oil, as they can break down the coating on the capsules and cause heartburn.

Exercise and stress-reduction activities

Surprisingly, people with IBS who make working out and meditation part of their routine have fewer symptoms. Since IBS sufferers tend to have an extremely sensitive gut that responds more easily to stress, activities and strategies that make you feel more relaxed can reduce the sensitivity of the gut and help overcome your IBS symptoms faster. This includes mindful walks, workout sessions at your local gym or gentle exercise classes like yoga, which can calm the digestive system and help relieve symptoms like abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence and bloating.

In Sarah Stanbury’s 10 Ways To Beat IBS, she suggests tai chi or qi gong, which are well-known forms of Chinese exercise that promote the flow of ‘qi’ or ‘chi’ and help unblock any metaphysical stagnation that may be causing symptoms, as well as hula hoop exercises and circular belly dancing moves, which are easy and fun ways to help shift stagnation of liver ‘qi’.

Self-massage can also have an effect on symptoms, as it will function as a soothing stress reliever as well as a slight push on your digestive system. Using your palm, work on your small and large intestines by stroking the area above your navel and below your heart in a clockwise direction. To help treat and even prevent symptoms, Sarah says it’s worth carrying out this massage on a daily basis – just make sure that you always apply pressure in a clockwise motion, as this can help with the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine and speed up the journey of waste as it travels into the large intestines.

Likewise, in her investigation of gut health fixes, Anna Blewett found that those who try cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) experience significantly decreased IBS symptoms. The research she shares, from an American study, found that cognitive activity was able to influence – and improve – gut conditions, making it an excellent first line of defence against IBS, instead of a last resort.