Read 45 times since Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is not said to affect about one in six people. For many sufferers the symptoms are mild and so they never feel the need to see a doctor, however for others it can have a massive impact to your daily living.
You may be familiar with the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), loose bowels, constipation or stomach pains. Again these can range from being mild in nature to being quite severe in that it has a big impact on your day to day life. The more extreme symptoms include abdominal cramps, bloating, and urgent diarrhoea and you can imagine how difficult it and be to deal with this each day.
For doctors it is difficult to find reasons behind irritable bowel syndrome however it is widely agreed that issues with stress/anxiety and your diet play a massive part. For this reason treatment for IBS usually focuses on changes in diet and lifestyle, avoiding foods that trigger symptoms, and managing stress. Individuals with IBS need to feel actively involved in their treatment; taking control and feeling empowered are really vital as IBS can seem like such an unpredictable condition. Some foods will nearly always cause symptoms while others don't, and it can be incredibly frustrating trying to pin down what you can and can't eat without suffering an attack.
One area that more people are exploring is the effect of food intolerance and IBS. Food intolerance is a non-allergic reaction to a type of food or food groups that is triggered due to the body having difficulties breaking down foods. This can bring about a variety of symptoms, one common one being IBS.
Identifying whether you have food intolerance can be a life changer as you can then make the necessary dietary changes that can help reduce symptoms. But how do you know if you have food intolerance?
The most popular method is now through food intolerance testing. Tests are predominantly home test kits which determine if you have food intolerance by measuring food-specific IgG antibodies which help to identify food groups that your body may be reacting to. Once a sample is taken it is sent off to a laboratory to see if you do in fact have food intolerance.
Other tests can also determine which food groups you are intolerant to, however these come at an extra cost and so it's advisable to take the former test to see if you have food intolerance first. Once results come back you can then begin to make dietary changes that will help you to reduce problematic symptoms like IBS. However it is important that you consult the help of a nutritionist or doctor before any dietary modification is carried out. Dr. Gillian Hart is a Scientific Director for YorkTest Laboratories who specialise in food intolerance testing which can help those suffering from food intolerance symptoms to identify problematic foods. For more information visit YorkTest.com or call 0800 074 6185.
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