Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Herbs For Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Question:
Does anybody know of any herbs that help with irritable bowel syndrome?

Answer:
Diet changes are the key. Healing herbs will not work without diet changes. During the acute stage--go on a mono diet for 2 days with apples and apple juice. Then, eat a low fat, mild diet with plenty of soluble fiber, but low roughage. Foods should be mildly cooked, never fried, with few spices or salts. Include fresh fruits, fruit fiber from prunes, apples and raisins, green salads with olive oil and lemon dressing, whole grain cereals--oatmeal and brown rice-- and steamed vegetables. Drink a glass of mixed vegetable juice once a day for the first 2 weeks. Eat  cultured foods--yogurt and kefir--for friendly intestinal flora. Drink fresh carrot juice 3 times a week. Keep your body well hydrated. Drink distilled water. Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Avoid coffee and all caffeine containing foods: nuts, seeds, dairy foods and citrus fruits while healing. Spicy food is also an irritant. Drink aloe vera juice. Evening primrose oil, 500mg twice a day for a couple of days, then maybe one a day, a couple of times a week.  Don't know if it would clear a serious, acute attack, but it's great for low key, chronic kind.  Oh yeah -- you can't be using cortisone or aspirin, or the effects are blocked. I've seen plenty of irritable bowel syndrome, and I've seen several cases of Giardia, and they were not similar. The irritable bowel syndrome people had intermittent flare-ups of mixed symptoms which could include some diarrhea, pain, and occasionally blood in the stool. The cases of Giardia were unremitting, severe diarrhea that just went on and on until the person was severely dehydrated. I would expect if Giardia was to blame for the IBS I've seen, that it would have to be a pretty weak form of Giardia. That’s just based on personal observation- it may not be the whole story, of course