How Gut Imbalances Can Lead to IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a very real problem for the 60 million people — that’s 20 percent of Americans. Imagine a tennis court. That is the surface area of your small intestine, where food is absorbed. Your small intestine is also the site of about 60 percent of your immune system. And this sophisticated gut-immune system is just one-cell layer away from a toxic sewer — all of the bacteria and undigested food particles in your gut.

If that lining breaks down — from stress, too many antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or Advil, steroids, intestinal infections, a low-fiber, high-sugar diet, alcohol, and more – your immune system will be exposed to foreign particles from food and bacteria and other microbes.  This will trigger and activate immune response, allergy, and will irritate your second brain (the enteric nervous system) creating havoc that leads to an irritable bowel, an irritable brain, and other system wide problems including allergy, arthritis, autoimmunity, mood disorders, and more.

The microbial ecosystem in the gut must be healthy for you to be healthy.  When your gut bacteria are out of balance — when you have too many pathogenic bacteria and not enough healthy bacteria — it makes you sick.  You’ve got about 3 pounds of bacteria — 500 species — in your gut. In fact, there is more bacterial DNA in your body than there is human DNA! Among all that gut bacteria, there are good guys, bad guys, and VERY bad guys.





If the bad guys take over — or if they move into areas that they shouldn’t (like the small intestine which is normally sterile) — they can start fermenting the food you digest, particularly sugar or starchy foods.

This is called small bowel bacterial overgrowth, and it’s a major cause of IBS.

The major symptom it causes is bloating, or a feeling of fullness after meals. What causes this bloating? The overproduction of gas by the bacteria as they have lunch on your lunch!

Small bowel bacterial overgrowth can be diagnosed by a breath test, which measures gas production by the bacteria, or by a urine test that measures the byproducts of the bacteria after they are absorbed into your system.

Bacterial overgrowth is a real syndrome and was recently described in a review paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The condition can be treated. In fact, a major paper was recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that showed using a non-absorbed antibiotic called rifaximin for 10 days resulted in a dramatic improvement in bloating and overall symptoms of IBS by clearing out the overgrowth of bacteria. This medication is now under FDA review for approval as a new treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.

That’s great news for many IBS patients. But, unfortunately, not all patients with the same diagnosis are created equal. There’s more than one factor that leads to IBS. Another major cause of IBS is food sensitivities. Not true allergies, but low-grade reactions to foods that drive so many chronic symptoms including IBS.

A landmark paper, was recently published in the prestigious British medical journal Gut that found eliminating foods identified through delayed food allergy testing (IgG antibodies) resulted in dramatic improvements in IBS symptoms. Another article, an editorial in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, stated clearly that we must respect and recognize the role of food allergies and inflammation in IBS.

So the research tells us that these are the two main causes of irritable bowel — food allergies and overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine — but there may be others, including a lack of digestive enzymes, parasites living in the gut, zinc or magnesium deficiency, heavy metal toxicity, and more.

And this is precisely why it is so critically important to personalize treatment based on the unique circumstances that exist for each person who suffers from IBS — the solution is most certainly not one-size-fits-all. But solutions can be found if we look carefully at the underlying causes and treat them.

Guidelines of a Heart Healthy Diet

The first step in a heart-healthier lifestyle is a heart-healthy diet.  Here are some guidelines to help you plan and personalize your diet:

1.  Calories count.

Being overweight is one of the primary  risk factors for heart disease, so be sure your calorie intake is appropriate to achieve and/or maintain a healthy weight.

2. Eat plenty of fiber.

A high fiber diet will help you control your weight (by controlling your appetite) and also can help you maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Twenty-five grams of fiber per day is the recommended minimum. Ideally, aim for 35-40 grams of fiber per day.

3. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables contain fiber (see #2) but also are rich in antioxidant nutrients that help protect your heart.  Eat at least five servings of colorful vegetables (such as carrots, berries, peppers, and broccoli) to get a minimum of 100% of the daily recommended amounts  of vitamin A, C, K.

4. Emphasize healthy fats.

A heart-healthy diet doesn't necessarily need to be a low-fat diet. A diet rich in monounsaturated fats can help lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and other risk factors. Monounsaturated fats are  olive oil, avocadoes, and nuts such as almonds.  Use these as your primary sources of fat.

5. Watch your sodium

A diet high in sodium can lead to high blood pressure. The USDA recommends limiting your sodium intake to 2300mg per day--but most Americans eat about twice that much. Those with high blood pressure are advised to reduce sodium to 1500mg a day. See also: Tips for reducing sodium.

6. Limit your intake of sweets and refined carbohydrates

Foods that are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates (which includes many low-fat foods!) can create sharp spikes in blood sugar and ultimately increase your risk of both heart disease and diabetes. Choose whole grain foods whenever possible and consume sweets occasionally or not at all.  For a naturally sweet treat, enjoy fresh fruit. (See #3.)

Pool Workouts: Beat The Summer Heat

The summer heat is in full effect, so take off all your clothes, put on a bikini or swimming trunks and jump in the pool. Sure, it's summer... sun, high temps and lots of sweating are expected. But just because this week's heat wave is causing a mass exodus indoors, doesn't mean you're bound to the treadmill or even a gym for your workouts!

While air conditioning is great, extreme heat requires extreme cool down measures like a refreshing dip in the pool. Even if you're not a swimmer, you can still get a full-body workout with these water exercises from Mark Hendricks, Group Fitness Manager at Greenwich Equinox in New York City. Plus, working out in the pool is so much fun, you'll forget all about the scorching temps. Just don't forget your sunblock!

So grab a noodle (floaties if necessary) and jump in!

50 Years of Much Improved Heart Disease

Heart attack rates have decreased in the U.S. during the last decade.  Furthermore, death rates from heart disease and stroke have been decreasing steadily over the last 50 years in the U.S.; coronary heart disease death rates are down by 50%.

Heart disease remains the No.1 cause of death in the U.S.  The most common heart condition leading to death is coronary heart disease, which is caused by atherosclerosis of the main arteries feeding blood to the heart muscle.  A common term for that condition is hardening-of-the-arteries.  The process starts in childhood.  Decades ago, autopsy studies of young men (18 to 20-year-olds who died in military battles) revealed significant degrees of atherosclerosis had already developed in many of them.  Coroners found arterial plaque build-up visible to the naked eye.

Flipping the coin back to the positive side . . . .

Autopsy data from 2001 document a reduced prevalence of heart atherosclerosis in young and middle-aged U.S. adults over the last half of the 20th century.  And the incidence of coronary heart disease decreased in the U.S. from 1971 to 1998 (the latest reliable data), when adjusted for age. 
[Sure, we have more heart disease now compared to 1950 since the population then was 152 million, and now it's 309 million.  That's why the data has to be adjusted for age.]

Why Has Heart Disease Been Getting Better?

Undoubtedly many factors are at play.  Top possibilities are reduced rates of smoking, better detection and treatments for high blood pressure, better care for heart attacks and heart failure, open heart bypass operations, balloon angioplasty, intensive care units, heart specialty centers, statin drugs, and good ol' aspirin, .






What About the Future?

In view of the obesity epidemic that started 40 years ago, some experts are predicting that the our generation will be the first in American history to have a shorter life expectancy than the previous.  That's because obesity is linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.  ed

It is predicted that advances in medical science, technology, and healthcare will overcome the adverse effects of overweight and obesity, if citizens can afford it.

Why not reduce your chances of becoming a cardiac statistic by exercising regularly, keeping your weight and blood pressures at healthy levels, and not smoking?