Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a very common condition affecting approximately 15% of the population at any one time (1). People with IBS usually have three main symptoms: pain in the lower abdomen, diarrhoea, or constipation and abdominal bloating. In IBS the intestine does not work properly, but with no obvious damage to the digestive tract. Patients with IBS may in fact have one or more of the following gastrointestinal complaints: leaky gut, dysbiosis, Candida overgrowth, parasitic infections, food intolerances and allergies.
In addition to increasing the numbers of beneficial bacteria in a person’s intestine, probiotics may also reduce the amount of gas produced. People with IBS tend to produce higher than average amounts of gas (2), while Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria (in probiotics) produce no gas. Evidence has shown that taking a daily probiotic can help reduce the symptoms of IBS (3).
References
1. Heaton, K.W. and Thompson, W.G. (2003), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (2nd edition), Health Press, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK.
2. King, T.S., Elia, M. and Hunter, J.O. (1998), “Abnormal colonic fermentation in irritable bowel syndrome”, The Lancet, 352:1187-1189.
3. Cartwright P. (2003), Probiotics for Crohn’s and Colitis, Prentice Publishing.