Do you often feel bloated or has abdominal pain become common?
Or you have noticed that you can no longer eat normal foods, you have an unusually large amount of gas, your stomach is loose or, on the contrary, your stomach is full.
If this happens frequently, you may have IBS or irritable bowel syndrome, colloquially known as irritable bowel syndrome.
In this article, we will talk about irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the FODMAP diet. What are the symptoms of IBS and can the FODMAP diet help relieve IBS.
What is IBS?
IBS is a widespread intestinal condition with symptoms that include:
In most cases, the condition fluctuates from day to day and sometimes gets better and worse. This can be caused by food and drink.
All this is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome and pain.
According to various estimates, up to a tenth of the population suffers from IBS. IBS is chronic in nature. Exacerbations come and go, lasting from a few hours to a few days or even months. IBS occurs twice as often in women as in men and occurs most often in 20-30 year olds.
Today, it has been discovered that IBS is a dysfunction of the brain-brain axis. If the nerve impulses and signals that divide tasks between the brain and the gut on a daily basis are disturbed, the digestive system can start signaling the brain about even the smallest irritant and start transporting the food in the intestines too quickly or too slowly, causing diarrhea or constipation, respectively.
IBS can be triggered by infection, physical and mental stress, trauma, as well as changes in the intestinal microflora. About 10% of people who get an intestinal infection develop IBS. Changes in the intestinal microflora, i.e. a change in the balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut, can also cause IBS symptoms. However, since the described symptoms may also indicate some other diseases related to the digestive system, it is worth having your health evaluated by a doctor in order to rule out other possibilities.
It is possible to keep IBS under control by changing your eating habits and food choices and by reviewing your lifestyle, but the approach must be individualized. Changing your diet can help reduce intestinal irritation and gas. Dealing with stress, sleep patterns and appropriate exercise balance the work of the nervous system. Probiotics and enzymes support the restoration and maintenance of normal digestive function and microflora.
The effect of food on IBS symptoms is well known. Irregular or too long time between meals or too large a portion can also trigger complaints. Additionally, an association between IBS and consumption of fizzy, caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, fatty and spicy foods has been observed.
Clinically, the effects of poorly digested and digestible carbohydrates on IBS symptoms have been studied the most. Reducing such foods in the menu helps control digestive problems in up to 75% of IBS patients. A diet that avoids these foods is called the Fodmap diet.
What does FODMAP mean?
It’s an acronym that stands for:
Fermentable
Oligosaccharides – oligosaccharides
Disaccharides – disaccharides
Monosaccharides – monosaccharides
Polyols – polyols
The FODMAP diet
A diet that avoids these foods is called the Fodmap diet and is also suitable for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and as a supportive diet for reducing the unpleasant symptoms of several other inflammatory bowel diseases.
The FODMAP diet limits foods that are high in hard-to-digest and fast-fermenting carbohydrates. As a result of this diet, gas, bloating, abdominal pain and stool are normalized.
Digestive enzymes are proteins that speed up the process of breaking down nutrients. Most of the necessary digestive enzymes are produced by the body itself and are obtained from food. If there are problems with the digestive system, it can be taken as food supplements. Digestive enzymes help break down hard-to-digest food in the intestines and thereby provide the body with the energy it needs to do its work. There are many different digestive enzymes available on the market, and it is important to use the right type of enzyme.
Digestive enzymes
FODMATE is an innovative enzyme blend designed for short-term use to support digestion and reduce stomach upsets such as constipation, diarrhoea, pain and bloating caused by high FODMAP foods.
FODMATE’s mixture of digestive enzymes helps to break down nutrients with a high FODMAP content, which is too difficult for the body to break down in the case of IBS. FODMATE enzymes often help to overcome digestive problems without having to start a complex FODMAP diet. FODMATE enzymes are also recommended to be consumed during a low FODMAP diet, thereby making the diet more effective. FODMATE enzymes support the continued consumption of nutrient- and antioxidant-rich plant foods that would otherwise be restricted on the FODMAP diet.
PROBIOTICS
Trillions of different bacteria live in the gut. It is more than there are cells in our body. Collectively, this collection of bacteria is called the microbiota, and is one of the main cornerstones of heat water. Microbiota bacteria feed on dietary fiber (which must be varied!) and are easily vulnerable to one-sided, animal-based, overly processed and toxic food.
Probiotic foods help maintain the microflora, thereby improving not only digestion but our overall health. This is how we traditionally get lactic acid bacteria from acidified foods, e.g. yogurt or acidified cucumber, cabbage and salad. However, if the digestion problem has become serious or long-term, for example as a result of an intestinal disease or a course of antibiotics, you can support your digestion with high-quality and effective probiotics.
MegaSporeBiotic probiotic
MegaSporeBiotic is the latest generation probiotic containing endospores of probiotic bacteria. Today, only the US manufacturer Microbiome Labs offers such a product. Spores are extremely durable and are able to pass through the digestive system without being destroyed there. In comparison, it can be said that ordinary probiotics containing lactic acid bacteria are almost completely destroyed when they come into contact with stomach acid, and for this a special capsule technology is needed so that the lactic acid bacteria reach the intestine at all. Another top manufacturer in our selection, Klaire Labs, uses this technology, offering lactic acid bacteria in a capsule that dissolves only after passing through the stomach. P.S. Klaire Labs products are only visible to logged-in customers.
In case of IBS, however, it is preferable to use the spore biotic MegaSporeBiotic, which is also resistant to antibiotics.
Ambrosia’s product range includes products carefully selected by the doctor. We offer products that are pure and effective in terms of ingredients and of the highest quality.