Gut-health expert reveals his 18 best tips for fighting irritable bowel syndrome – Brinkwire



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Pain and flatulence, diarrhea and constipation, the SCI is unpleasant to say the least.

And almost half of us struggle with this daily discomfort, statistics suggesting that 40% of adults are to some extent suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.

But we do not need to suffer in silence. Dr. Simon Smale, a gastroenterology consultant at Manchester University, says that we can transform our intestinal health with its 18 simple tips.

And some are so simple that you could even start tonight.

"Diet is important and it's not surprising that what you put in the tank influences your symptoms," says Dr. Smale.

But in addition to what you put in the tank, you also need to watch how long you leave it between two refills of this so-called tank. "Start eating regularly, not leaving long spaces between meals and certainly not skipping meals," says Dr. Smale.

Avoid excess caffeine, says Dr. Smale. Caffeine can have adverse effects on the bowel and promote wind and gas. Try to limit yourself to a few cups of coffee a week instead of a few cups a day.

Avoid too much alcohol, says Dr. Smale. Recent research by the British Gut project shows that spirits in particular are bad news for the health of the intestines. But that's not all bad news when it comes to alcohol, as it has also been discovered that red wine could be beneficial.

The benefits of wine are polyphenols, the first-clbad antioxidants found in artisbad ciders, which feed the microbiome, increasing the diversity of microbes.

In fact, the microbiome is better for red wine than for grape juice, which also contains polyphenols, so that alcohol and fruit are good. Stand by the glbad rather than a bottle.

We know you've probably heard this before, but sugar-rich soft drinks need to come out of your cupboard quickly if you have gut health problems. "They create gas in the intestine that leads to flatulence," says Dr. Smale.

What is the solution that I hear you ask? Stop these soft drinks and drink water instead. The water comes with an added benefit because it will help lubricate your gut so everything stays in motion; If the water seems too boring, try a herbal tea for a healthy taste: you will feel ten times better.

In addition, drinking too much soft drinks may even make you anxious. This is due to the intestinal connection of the brain. A diversified intestinal biome is linked to tryptophan and tryptophan, where the higher blood levels are converted to serotonin, the brain chemical we need to be happy.

Dietary drinks may not contain calories or sugar but may contain artificial sweeteners. These sweeteners are nondigestible sugars that can have adverse effects on the intestine and lead to trapped wind.

"Diet drinks and even diet foods often contain non-digestible sugars that reach our large intestines where they ferment. This causes symptoms of wind and bloating, "says Dr. Smale.

Numerous animal studies have shown that sweeteners completely disrupt good intestinal bacteria, resulting in an imbalance called dysbiosis.

If the most common symptom of IBS is excess wind and bloating, you may want to reduce the amount of meals ready for the Saturday night you enjoy – sorry.

"Some foods with a lot of complex carbohydrates, commonly found in microwaves and ready meals, tend to reach the large intestine without digestion. Here they will ferment and produce excessive wind and bloating, "says Dr. Smale.

"Patients often ask me if they need to take a probiotic to relieve their bowel symptoms, and there is growing evidence that probiotics may be beneficial for IBS symptoms," says Dr. Smale.

Make sure to look for a clinically proven probiotic. "A clinically proven probiotic is a probiotic proving that it is effective in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. It means going beyond the intestine it is supposed to affect, "says Dr. Smale.

"There is also a need for enough to have a real impact on IBS symptoms," says Dr. Smale.

To choose an appropriate probiotic, you must also consider other factors, says Dr. Smale. For starters, if you take a probiotic in liquid form, what taste does it have? You certainly do not want a probiotic that leaves a bad taste in your mouth – yuck.

Also, how often should you take it? Some brands of probiotics suggest taking something four times a day, which is often unrealistic with our busy lifestyle, "hardly anyone handles this. This is certainly not the case, "admits Dr. Smale.

Plus, do you need to keep the probiotic in the refrigerator or can you carry it wherever you go? Probiotics stored in the refrigerator are much more likely to be forgotten than those you can keep in your bag.

"Diet is important for bowel function," says Dr. Smale. "If you 're doing everything you can in your diet and you' re familiar with the basics by eating regularly and excluding obvious elements without getting any positive results, then you need to look for support. a dietitian. specific exclusion regimes, "advises Dr. Smale.

The three most common exclusion schemes are dairy products, wheat and FODMAPS.

The term FODMAP stands for "oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and fermentable polyols", scientific terms used to clbadify carbohydrate groups known to trigger digestive symptoms such as bloating, bloating, stomach pain and other symptoms. currents found in IBS. the ill.

"FODMAPS are undigested sugars that enter the large intestine. As a result, they are then available for colon bacteria to ferment, which leads to the production of gas.

"It irritates the colon and causes people to change their bowel habits," says Dr. Smale.

Many studies have shown that low FODMAPS diet helps to reduce IBS symptoms.

A 2016 study published in the journal Gastroenterology and Hepatology states that restricting FODMAP foods is an effective dietary intervention to reduce IBS symptoms.

"It's important to consult a dietitian if you want to try this diet or any other exclusion diet from your IBS, to make sure you do not miss out on essential nutrients," says Dr. Smale. Find a dietitian at the British Dietetic Association.

Foods such as onions, lentils, rye, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beans and dried fruits are rich in FODMAP and are therefore poorly absorbed by the intestines.

As a result, they go through and into the colon where they are fermented by bacteria. This causes the production of excess gas that causes cramps, bloating, wind and pain.

Limiting the two foods that give the most taste to food is not right. But unfortunately, if your intestinal symptoms make you crazy, you may have to think about taking them because these two foods are considered rich in FODMAPS.

These two foods are also badociated with a FODMAP exclusion scheme. Broccoli and cauliflower are examples of cruciferous vegetables.

Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates or sulfur-containing chemicals. When glucosinolates break down in the intestines, they form other compounds such as hydrogen sulfide. This is why the gas that comes out after consuming these foods smells like sulfur.

As for reasons to avoid broccoli and cauliflower, those who consume more FODMAP-rich foods such as Brussels sprouts have demonstrated prolonged production of hydrogen in the diet. intestine and distention of the colon by fermentation.

Which means an excessive accumulation of wind in the intestine. This leads to symptoms of IBS, such as gas, bloating and stomach discomfort.

Try to avoid eating pitted fruits such as plums, peaches, nectarines and mangoes. It's (no) thanks to fructose.

Fructose and sorbitol (sugar alcohol) are the sweet compounds found in every fruit. Some people have difficulty digesting them and therefore have symptoms of bloating.

A lot of lifestyle factors can affect how our guts work. "I'll start by looking at your sleep routine," says Dr. Smale.

"Many people sleep badly, which has a huge impact on the functioning of your intestines. It's great that I say you just need to sleep eight hours a night, because it's really difficult.

"It's hard to get enough sleep for a number of reasons, such as busy lives or because when we go to bed, we do not always have the best sleep hygiene or bedtime routine, which means that the quality of our sleep is not always so good. .

"Your gut and your stress levels are inextricably linked," says Dr. Smale. "

"In fact, the intestine is the organ with the largest number of nerve cells in the body, even more so than the brain, and we know that the intestine contains the largest amount of serotonin that is the neurotransmitter we badociate with mood and happiness.

So you can imagine that if your guts go bad, these feelings will influence your emotions and vice versa.

"That's why we see a lot of depression, anxiety and mood problems in people with intestinal disorders – but we rarely know what happened first, mood problems or problems intestines that make each other. "

So, how can we improve our bedtime routine?

It often seems that people who sleep poorly are those who end up with intestinal dysbiosis or intestinal imbalance. It follows that, by watching over our sleep, we could improve our intestinal bacteria.

"First, try to go to bed every night at a similar time," Dr. Smale suggests. "It is clear that it is not always possible, but aim to lie as close as possible to normal time."

We can not overemphasize the effects of managing your stress level because they can have a significant impact on the quality of your sleep.

"It's important to get enough sleep, just like yoga and relaxation to cope with the pressures of life. Hypnotherapy can also really help treat bowel problems, "says Dr. Smale.

You can search for a hypnotherapist specializing in bowel problems – talk to your doctor, the list of waiting to get on the NHS can be long, but you can find a private practitioner to the British Society for Clinical Hypnosis.

"This includes avoiding your cell phone, social media, your iPad at bedtime – if you can," says Dr. Smale.

According to Travelodge research, 70% of Internet users send a last tweet at night, while 20% of us browse our newsfeed in bed for up to 16 minutes, which affects our sleep habits. . only 6 hours and 21 minutes per night, or 1 hour 39 minutes before the recommended eight hours.

It's not great for our power of concentration but perhaps not for the health of the gut, as research has shown that a good night's sleep benefits our intestinal bacteria.

This is not a surprise, but exercise is an important thing to include in your everyday lifestyle. Exercise has been repeatedly shown to relieve bowel symptoms, flatulence, bloating and constipation.

"According to NICE (National Institute for Excellence in Health and Care) guidelines, we should all do 150 minutes of exercise or exercise once a week. It's an exercise that makes us breathless every week, "says Dr. Smale.

"Exercises that make you run out of steam, such as jogging or brisk walking, performed for half an hour at the intensity several times a week, contribute to both bowel function and heart rate," says Dr. Smale.

This exercise can include swimming, rollerblading or gymnastics. Any other form of exercise that speeds up your heart rate.

"Exercise is good for IBS for a number of reasons, first of all, it has effects on motility and bowel function. Plus, the more exercise you do, the better you will sleep, which will have positive effects on how our brain and guts communicate with each other.

"Exercise also helps to establish these normal patterns and functions for both our brain and our guts."

It seems obvious that it is not really healthy for those of us who sit at a desk all day. Unfortunately, this is also bad news for our intestinal health.

Displacements encourage peristalsis, an original word to help food and waste move faster in the intestine.

We need to move for our intestinal bacteria to grow because the movement triggers the short-chain fatty acids that keep the intestinal lining healthy.

Try to get up from your desk and move once an hour. Walk around the office or go up and down the stairs several times. So, people will not think that you have gone walking around in circles.

You may be running a hundred miles to the hour and unfortunately most of us have jobs that require nothing less but try as much as you can to relax because too much stress can be bad news for your instinct.

It turns out that IBS could also be made worse by your mental health. In a 2014 article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, the authors said: "More and more clinical and experimental evidence has shown that IBS is a combination of irritable bowel and irritable brain."

Stress is considered a key cause of IBS symptoms, suggesting that anything that goes on in your mind could have a direct impact on your bowel health, which, again, is related to the brain-bowel connection.

Try to relieve your stress with yoga or meditation. Taking 20-30 minutes of your day to practice yoga will greatly help your stress level.

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