20 Facts about IBS, IBD, and SIBO Compiled

List of 20 Facts about IBS, IBD, and SIBO

In the past we have written about the differences between IBS, IBD, and SIBO. Here is a list of facts about IBS, IBD, and SIBO, compiled from our other articles and research. We hope this list will help you to quickly understand more about these conditions.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

• SIBO, is likely be the “primary cause of IBS.”
• Many factors can be contributing to IBS, such as intestinal permeability, allergies, lactose or gluten intolerance, hormonal problems, stress, other abnormal bacteria, yeasts, or parasites, or problems from past gastrointestinal infections.
• A proper test can determine the cause of your IBS.
• Correct treatment leads to a cessation of abdominal boating, constipation, diarrhea, pain, acid reflux, nausea, and other signs and symptoms of IBS.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

• While the conventional approach to Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is often necessary, naturopathic and integrative care approaches can be extremely successful in reducing reliance on medications and surgeries, and in actually healing your gut.
• According to The Center for Disease Control, IBD is one of the five most prevalent gastrointestinal disease burdens in the United States. IBD is a chronic, life-long illness that affects over 1.4 million people in the United States alone, requiring a lifetime of care costing over $1.7 billion in healthcare dollars. Because there appears to be no cure, people suffering from chronic symptoms find that the little things in life become day-to-day survival.
• Persons with IBD are often worried about body image or the impact their illness has on job and relationships. Some of the symptoms experienced with IBD are gas, bloating, chronic constipation, debilitating diarrhea, pain, cramping, urgency, blood loss, and extreme weight loss.
• Symptoms are often suffered in silence because these symptoms are private in nature. This can create further illness and isolation.
• Food issues are constant given the damage the disease rages on the intestinal tract. The course of this disease often leads to significant food restrictions affecting every aspect of a person’s life and daily routine. Rituals around eating and celebrations that exist in many cultures often become forever changed, evolving from living to eat, to eating to live.
• Given many people’s love for, and emotional relationship to food, this becomes an extremely difficult lifestyle change to embrace. Role changes within a family and even the fear of relapse during times of remission can bring on depression and a lack of joy in living for this population.
• The conventional treatment of IBD involves the drug management and surgical intervention. In the best of cases it can induces a welcome remission of symptoms.
• Naturopathic, alternative and complementary treatment can involve dietary change, support of adrenal function, treatment of microbial imbalances, treatment of nutritional deficiencies, stress reduction, and other methods that can induce a remission or service as a complement to conventional medical care.

Learn more about IBD Evaluation, Treatment, and Results here

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) is a condition in which bacteria normally residing in the colon (also known as the large intestine) are misplaced in the small intestine where they multiply and produce gasses that can result in extreme discomfort and a variety of health problems. According to many researchers and clinicians, SIBO is one of the principal causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
• There are five major symptoms of SIBO: Abdominal bloating or distension (often with pain or discomfort), Diarrhea, Constipation, Excessive Gas or belching, Acid Reflux or heartburn
• Recent studies indicate that more than 50% of patients diagnosed with IBS may actually have SIBO, with one study suggesting up to 84%.
• SIBO is a condition in which large numbers of bacteria that normally reside in the colon multiply in the small intestine and produce gases that wreak havoc, causing extreme discomfort.
• Left untreated, the bacteria of SIBO can damage the lining of the small intestine, eventually leading to intestinal permeability, also known as Leaky Gut Syndrome. When the gut is “leaky,” the blood then carries harmful substances throughout the body, which explains why there are often symptoms in locations other than the digestive system, (such as the skin, lungs, and brain, causing brain fog, memory issues, headaches, etc.).
• Other conditions can also be associated with, or be a risk factor for SIBO. These include: celiac disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypothyroidism, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, autism, interstitial cystitis, diabetes, fibromyalgia, GERD, cirrhosis, Restless Leg Syndrome, Lyme disease, lupus (SLE), other autoimmune diseases, a past head trauma or abdominal surgeries, chronic stress, lactose intolerance, pancreatic insufficiency, bowel obstruction, nerve damage, and many more.
• SIBO is best diagnosed with the Lactulose Breath Test which detects gasses created by the overgrown intestinal bacteria and distinguishes between two groups of organisms, those producing the hydrogen and producing methane. The breath test can help us customize treatment and estimate the time required to begin seeing results.
• SIBO treatment does need a significant change in how you eat, either following a SIBO or SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet)

What did you learn from these facts about IBS, IBD, and SIBO? If you wish to learn more or are seeking medical consultation regarding these conditions then contact us here.