How To Find The Best Probiotics For IBS

By Olivia Cross


Irritable bowel syndrome can be debilitating for sufferers who often experience a large reduction in their quality of life. Having chronic diarrhea for example, restricts a person's freedom and often means they miss work and important events because they just cannot leave the house. Research is pointing to the gut bacteria as the underlying cause so taking probiotics for IBS can be successful in restoring a normal life.

Getting diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome can be upsetting and confusing. It is not really a diagnosis, more a description of a set of symptoms and this can seem unhelpful. The main ones are constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas and cramps. They can be debilitating and cause you to have to stay home.

You are not alone, about twenty percent of Americans now have this diagnosis. This means that increasing funds are directed to research and in the last few years there have been a couple of reasons for hope. Allergies have been found to damage the gut and lead to IBS so you could try a food allergy test. It is also possible to check for allergies by cutting out different food groups one at a time and seeing what the results are.

The second area for hope is probiotic treatments. Our gut contains large numbers of bacteria which help digest our food. There are around five hundred different types so this is a complicated area of research. It would seem that if there are too many or too few of a certain one that all sorts of health problems can arise, IBS being on of them.

Taking probiotics is a way to re-balance for people who have too many bad bacteria. They are safe and do not have any side effects so it is a good place to start the search for a reduction in symptoms. There are many types of probiotic so it is important to take the most effective one for different types of IBS.

Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by symptoms. IBS-D is when diarrhea is the main symptom. The first probiotic to try in this case should be Saccharomyces Boulardii. This is also prescribed for people suffering from diarrhea as a result of other illnesses and has been found to be extremely effective in reducing symptoms.

When constipation is the overriding problem then there is a probiotic called Bifidobacterium Lactis to take. Many try this along with a fibre supplement and have decent results. Constipation is not only extremely uncomfortable it is injurious to long term health. Some IBS patients have alternating symptoms and find that constipation can quickly switch to diarrhea. In this case they should try both of the probiotics or a general daily dose.

Many people who suffer from Irritable bowel syndrome are not getting relief using probiotics. Unfortunately the same things do not work for everyone as there seem to be lots of different underlying causes to this illness. The important thing is to stay positive and not give up. If allergy testing and probiotics do not work then ask your doctor about a test for bacteria overgrowth. There are also digestive enzymes which you can take with food to help your digestive system cope with meals.




About the Author: