Irritable Bowel Syndrome Questions and Answers

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a disorder with symptoms of pain and abnormal bowel habits that occur repeatedly. This chronic intestinal condition can be helped using nutrition due to the body's reaction to different types of foods. The various macronutrients that are in various foods also have a direct influence on IBS.

Fat in the Diet

One of the main stimulants in the gastrointestinal system is dietary fat. This can cause an extended release of larger amounts of the hormone cholecystokinin when a high fat-content meal is eaten. This brings on some symptoms of IBS. The people who are most sensitive to high-fat foods tend to react with symptoms of diarrhea and not constipation.

Sugar in Food

Larger amounts of sugar in foods will shorten the amount of time it takes the food to go through the gastrointestinal tract. It also increases the bile acid concentration in feces by supporting the fermentation of bacteria in the colon. The risks of irritating the bowels are increased when these abnormalities occur in the colon. The hydrogen breath test has shown that sorbitol and fructose may cause malabsorption of nutrients in some parts of the alimentary canal. Patients in one study who were fructose-intolerant experienced a good reduction of their IBS symptoms when their diet remained free of fructose. Sucrose brings on milder symptoms of IBS, although it does not provoke malabsorption. There are also commonly occurring patterns of malabsorption due to ingesting combined sugars. Therefore it is often recommended to reduce consumption of the sugars that cause these problems.