‘The road to better health will not be found through more drugs, doctors, and hospitals. Instead, it will be discovered through better nutrition and changes in lifestyle.’

(William G. Crook, M.D., author of the Yeast Connection)

Gas, bloating, intermittent lower abdominal pain . . . some days you can barely make it to the washroom with explosive diarrhea! Other days you are hard pressed to have a bowel movement – no pun intended! You have had every iscopy and oscopy known to medical science and all tests are negative. The diagnosis: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) also commonly known as a spastic colon.

Why are the tests negative? Because irritable bowel syndrome is a functional disorder with no evidence of structural damage to the intestinal tract. One thing is sure something is irritating the intestine and the long term solution is not to treat and ultimately mask the symptoms with an array of medications. There are many possible causes and equally as many possible solutions.

Masked Food Sensitivities

From my many years of experience with patients, I have learned that for any given individual just about any food can cause just about any symptom. For those who have never experienced this very elusive phenomenon, it is a difficult concept to grasp – especially when the culprits are foods such as dairy products or wheat. After all, dairy products are considered to be nature’s perfect food and wheat is the staff of life! For those able to tolerate them, they are, indeed, healthy choices. However, for increasing numbers of people, these foods create chronic, ongoing symptoms that range from mild to debilitating, an irritable bowel being only one of them. Other foods that are common culprits are sugar, corn, yeast, stimulants such as caffeine, artificial sweeteners and food additives.

Bacterial, Fungal, Viral, and Parasitic Infection

High sugar diets and the common practice of taking oral broad spectrum antibiotics at the first sign of a sore throat, sniffle or earache have created severe disturbances in the bacterial microflora of the bowel, encouraging overgrowth of pathogens such as Candida Albicans, amoebas, and other parasites, resulting in what is commonly referred to as a leaky gut. Restoring bowel integrity by supplementing lactobacillus acidophilus, herbal and/or homeopathic remedies that act as antifungals and antiparasitics in more serious cases medications to eradicate the pathogens – and adding adequate amounts of fiber can go a long way in correcting irritable bowel syndrome. Aloe vera, vitamins, minerals and specific amino acids can help to repair the damage. Essential fatty acids such as flaxseed oil also helps to heal.

Enzyme Deficiency and/or Inadequate Stomach Acidity

In cases where bowel dysbiosis occurs repeatedly, despite various protocols that normally would reestablish the bowel with good bacteria, a look at digestive enzymes and/or hydrochloric acid supplementation would be in order. Swedish bitters are a great way of stimulating gastric juices into action.

Emotional Stress

Need I say more? Taking steps to analyze and reduce stress in your life is critical.

How can you identify the cause(s) of IBS?

Eliminating the foods you most commonly eat for a two week period is one sure way of determining food sensitivities. It is very important to completely eliminate an entire food group – so for instance, if milk is suspect, you must also eliminate cheese, yogurt, casein, whey, and anything else that contains dairy products. Most complementary healthcare practitioners versed in the area of environmental sensitivities would be able to assist you with such a diet and remember, that for such a brief period of time, developing nutritional deficiencies is very unlikely. Other reliable ways of identifying problem areas are Applied Kinesiology or Muscle Response Testing used by increasing numbers of practitioners; electrodermal screening devices such as a Vega or Best system; the Elisa/Act blood test which tests over 250 foods; and laboratories in the U.S. such as Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory in North Carolina that test stool samples for pathogenic microorganisms as well as digestive function.

Keep in mind that although tests can identify culprit foods, very few of them will tell you how the particular foods affect your body, until you actually eliminate them from your diet for a short period of time. If you experience either a withdrawal for several days, or a gradual relief of symptoms, understand that it is a good sign that you have finally identified the substances that were responsible for causing your ill health. Always remember . . . the foods you love the most often cause the greatest problems.

So in summary, you eliminate the items that have been identified or suspected; treat any pathogens that may be underlying issues; work with restoring bowel integrity by taking a good quality brand of lactobacillus acidophilus; take steps to reduce stress levels in your life; increase your physical activity, and you’ll begin to feel better than you have in years!

Judit Rajhathy, BA, RNC, D.Ac. is the author of the best-selling Canadian health book Free to Fly: a journey toward wellness. She is also the owner of Change of Pace Fitness Center in Ajijic and specializes in detecting and treating hidden food sensitivities.