Just as a garden needs weeding and pruning, your intestines need regular maintenance, especially if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Here are 10 tips you can follow to help you attain a healthy bowel and encourage normal gut flora.
If you suffer from IBS here are 10 things you can do to help yourself:
1. Take it easy. Try at mealtimes to be as calm and stress-free as possible. Eat slowly and chew food thoroughly to improve digestion.
2. Fibre. Get enough of this by eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and some grains. Fibre can help both constipation and diarrhoea by regulating the contractions in the gut that move the food along.
3. Avoid wind causers. Pass on the wind forming foods such as beans, cabbage, and fizzy drinks.
4. Cut the sugar. Sugars can ferment in the intestines and produce wind and they feed poor gut flora.
5. Accept no substitutes. Sorbitol and Xylitol used as sweeteners can aggravate IBS
6. Avoid irritants. Fatty foods, coffee (including decaffeinated), alcohol, spicy food can induce intestinal spasm resulting in cramps and diarrhoea.
7. Acidophilus. One of the most helpful supplements for IBS is Lactobacillus acidophilus. This beneficial bacterium has been shown to suppress the overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria, yeasts and parasites. For best results obtain a product that guarantees at least 2.5 billion live organisms per gram and take 1,000 to 4,000 milligrams per day. (For more individual help some bacteria are better than others for specific symptoms, please chat to your chiropractor about this).
8. Digestive enzymes. These assist in the breakdown of food. Look for tablets containing a mixed source such as papain, bromelain, lipase, amylase, protease and cellulose.
9. Drink peppermint or chamomile tea frequently. These act as a sedative and are anti-inflammatory relieving spasm and wind, soothing the intestinal tract.
10. Drink two litres of fluid a day to help everything move more easily through the intestines.
If you do think you may have dysbiosis or IBS for a tailored programme to suit your problem it is always best to consult an experienced practictioner working in this field.
If you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Melanie at Cliffs Chiropractor Southend. You can contact us at Cliffs Chiropractor Southend on 01702 430430.