An Epidemic of IBS

By Carolyn Dean MD ND

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a relatively new condition but it affects up to 20 percent of the population!

It’s not a disease, but a grouping of symptoms related to a change in bowel habits. If you begin to have gas, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation and that goes on for several months, and Crohn’s, colitis, and cancer are ruled out, you may have IBS.

Only one cause of IBS is currently accepted by conventional medicine –symptoms that develop after a bacterial or parasitic bowel infection. Other possible causes include:

1. Use of analgesics due to an ingredient in Tylenol.

2. Brain-bowel chemical imbalance. Most of the serotonin (feel good) receptors are located in the bowel so if you undergo tremendous stress, it can affect your bowel.

3. Female hormones. Women have twice the incidence of IBS as men.

4. Food intolerance.

5. Antibiotics.

6. Yeast overgrowth.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

The symptoms of IBS can easily be mistaken for several other conditions including lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, and fructose intolerance.

Your intolerance for certain foods can slip by unnoticed for decades, and then one day wham –you just know that wheat or dairy, or fruit is no longer your friend. You know that eating bread, bagels, pizza, toasted cheese sandwiches, and high fructose corn syrup sweetened juices 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 (inability to digest the gluten in wheat), lactose intolerance (inability to digest diary), and fructose intolerance (inability to break down fruit sugar) produce symptoms that can be identical to IBS.

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 creation 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.

IBS and the Yeast Connection

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 and absorption of yeast’s 180 different toxins.

Yeast toxins, which include alcohol and acetaldehyde, as well as undigested food molecules and chemicals from drinking water and the diet, when absorbed through a leaky gut can cause widespread allergic reactions. Symptoms of brain fog, dizziness, headaches, anxiety, depression, eczema, rashes, PMS symptoms, sore throat, heartburn, gas and bloating, IBS, and weight gain can all be a result of a leaky gut.

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.

Original Article: City Island Current, Bronx, NY.

Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND

Proficient in both conventional and alternative medicine Dr. Dean offers Consultations for Health by Phone. Her website is www.drcarolyndean.com and email address is holeopharm@pol.net.

Carolyn Dean MD ND has been in the forefront of health issues for 30 years. She is the Medical Director of VidaCosta Spa el Puente, a health spa in Costa Rica opening in 2011. Dr. Dean is President of Hallmark-Dean Academy, U.S., a licensed school that trains Laboratory Technicians and Wellness Guides in a unique, licensed, functional, computerized, urinalysis lab test. Dr. Dean is the author/coauthor of 16 health books including The Magnesium Miracle, Yeast Connection and Women's Health, IBS for Dummies, VidaCosta Good Health Ecyclopaedia eBook.