Managing and Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Health

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition that affects your large intestine. Some of the common symptoms of IBS are constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and stomach cramps.

The good news is that in most cases of IBS, the symptoms and signs are never serious, which means that with some home remedies, change in the diet and lifestyle, you can manage and treat IBS.

Read this article to know more about how to deal with IBS and natural ways of treating the signs and symptoms of IBS.

Acupuncture
For those who are not well acquainted with acupuncture, you must know that acupuncture is an ancient Chinese relaxation technique where the trigger points in your body are introduced to a right amount of pressure through very thin needles. Are you wondering how acupuncture works for IBS symptoms? It is found that IBS symptoms like stomach cramps and muscle spasm in your intestine get better with acupuncture. Another benefit of acupuncture is that it helps your tense muscles to relax, which calms you down, in turn keeping a check on your stress level.
Maintain a food journal
Just like you maintain a personal journal, if you suffer from IBS, then you can consider maintaining a food journal. How will this help? It is observed that in many people there are certain food items that trigger or aggravate a case of IBS. By maintaining a food journal, you can track down what you ate on the days when you suffer from IBS symptoms and narrow down your triggers.
Consciously plan your diet
With some positive changes in what food you feed your body, you can manage your IBS situation. The first thing to do is to stop indulging in sugary drinks, processed food items, and caffeine. These food items take more time to digest and they are bad for your stomach and gut health. Instead, include whole grain food items and green veggies in your meal plan.
Peppermint
It is said that peppermint gives you short term but instant relief from IBS symptoms. This is because of the antispasmodic nature of the peppermint, which helps in relieving spasm of the gut muscles.
Ginger
Ginger helps in soothing the inflammation of your gut and some believe that it even helps in making your stomach lining stronger. For some people, ginger also helps in escaping the wrath of nausea by giving instant relief.
Probiotics
Though it is not fully proven, some researchers and doctors believe that probiotics i.e. the good bacteria in your gut might also help in relieving some of the common symptoms of IBS like bloating, stomach pain and diarrhea. Include food rich in probiotics like yogurt or consider taking probiotic supplements to have a high probiotic count in your gut.
Work out regularly
Exercising regularly can be helpful in managing the IBS symptoms. It is best to consider indulging in low impact workouts like walking on the treadmill, brisk walks or doing yoga. Exercise helps in managing stress which in turn helps in keeping the IBS symptoms under control.