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Unlike more serious bowel conditions, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is generally regarded as a treatable digestive tract problem. While IBS causes symptoms including significant abdominal pain, bloating and discomfort, there is no recognized organic cause for the condition.
Common treatments revolve around identifying and eliminating digestive tract issues rather using prescription medications to relieve symptoms. Alternative medicine practitioners caution that many medications create more issues than they help.
Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms routinely include cramping, gas, diarrhea or constipation. Practitioners of naturopathic medicine recommend examining diets and lifestyle factors before considering taking prescription medications. Changing those factors, especially dietary considerations, is often effective. Practitioners are always concerned about side effects associated with prescription medications, and prefer to resolve problems without that added risk whenever possible.
Stress is often identified as contributing to IBS. Since stress also contributes to high blood pressure and numerous other physical issues, finding a way to reduce or eliminate stress is important for overall health. Simply reducing stress, however, may well reduce IBS symptoms. Practitioners caution that dietary modifications are often needed in addition to stress reduction.
A gastrointestinal disorder can be exacerbated by eating certain foods or combinations of foods. Dietary experts suggest that IBS sufferers use extra caution when deciding what items to include in their diets. Many foods and beverages are directly linked to digestive issues. Caffeine and alcohol, for example, often compromise digestion, as do greasy or heavily processed foods. Eliminating those items often produces positive changes quickly.
Since every person is unique, foods that affect one person may not create any issues in the next. Tracking diet habits often provides clues identifying the foods causing problems. Monitor foods and beverages ingested, so suspect foods can be identified when symptoms flair. Natural healing experts work with sufferers to analyze causes of IBS and recommend changes to minimize or eliminate symptoms.
It is important to recognize that not all gastrointestinal issues can be lumped together. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, for example, are not treated in the same way IBS is. If other underlying conditions are present, they must be addressed properly.
The majority of people afflicted with IBS see a reduction or elimination of symptoms without introducing expensive, and often unnecessary, prescription medications. However, digestive issues can be serious. Sufferers should always consult medical professionals when considering treatment options.
Typically IBS is diagnosed when standard medical tests including colonoscopy can not find a diagnosis for bowel disorders. This is due to the limitation of these tests. There is a cause to irritable bowel syndrome and I use the best alternative laboratories in North America in order to determine the cause of IBS and restore normal bowel function using natural medication in order to treat the cause as determined by stool and saliva samples.
The cause of IBS may be due to any one of the following as determined by a Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis:
- Bacterial overgrowth and infection
- Low intestinal immunity
- Low digestive enzyme output
- Food intolerance
- Parasitic infection
- Yeast infection (not a cause of IBS but may aggravate the condition)
Winnipeg Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment
Naturopathic treatment is then given in order to treat the cause of IBS and restore normal bowel function sometimes permanently. Please call our office if you wish to receive help for IBS.