The Mysterious Gut

You just feel a gnawing pain in your belly, and your bowel movement seems to go crazy. That is a medical condition that physicians still cannot explain how and why.

IRRITABLE bowel syndrome (IBS) is the hallmark of a tension-filled, all-rushing lifestyle in today’s increasingly urbanized society. Abdominal pain or discomfort and a change in bowel habit are mainstays. By its name alone—being a syndrome, that is—much of it has not been understood yet. In fact, there has been no known structural or anatomical explanation accounting for its symptoms and “disease” manifestations.

IBS therefore remains a mystery. Its exact cause remains unknown to-date. That explains why its management centers on treating or alleviating its symptoms.

A study in 2008 concluded that certain groups of food and medicine are more effective than placebo in treating IBS. These are fibers, antispasmodics and peppermint oil.

A traditional treatment of IBS takes the form of... [READ MORE]

This article appears in Sunstar Cebu newspaper on 01 August 2012.

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