Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Ibs Digestive

Question:
It seems quite odd to me that Caltrate plus (or other Calcium/Magnesium supplement) produces greatly beneficial effects for mainly IBS-D but also IBS-C. My IBS-D can be completely cured by such a supplement although I can't say I've noticed much improvement on the pain front. Why is does this work? Root Cause of IBS in the upper digestive system?

Answer:
My naturopath always told me to reduce acid foods such as tomato for example, and I've been better since. Also, the duodénum and stomach part seems to not be working normally when I have an IBS attack: I have problems burping and my stomach is over-active! I think that the acidity builds up and then reaches the intestines were our problems seem to be, but it's the end of a process that started much higher in the digestive system. Since IBS appears to be a disorder of the regulation of the gut (the nerves that sense things, signal that it's time to contract now, regulate the usual movement, or talk to the brain about what is going on), what my guess is.... is that when an offending food item enters the system (and for me it was eating anything solid, as the expansion of the stomach sends a signal for what is downstream to move things along, and my colon seemed to think that meant squeeze as hard as possible, NOW!!)  Something senses that it is there and starts screaming bloody murder and all hell breaks loose, instead of the normal reaction. Excessive bile acids in the lower GI tract cause diarrhea.  This is quite often seen in people who have had gall bladder removal, the regulation of bile into the small intestine is disrupted, and in some people (especially if they eat fatty foods, which tell the liver to make more bile) they tend to suffer from diarrhea, a lot.  It is also a big problem for people who have had certain portions of the small intestine removed (most of the bile that isn't used for dealing with fatty foods is reabsorbed by a particular region of the small intestine to keep it from getting into the colon and causing trouble) Since they are now have excessive bile entering the colon, they suffer from diarrhea that is usually controllable by taking a bile acid binding compound.