Finding The Most Effective Probiotics For IBS

By Olivia Cross


Irritable bowel syndrome can be debilitating for sufferers who often experience a large reduction in their quality of life. Having chronic diarrhea for example, restricts a person's freedom and often means they miss work and important events because they just cannot leave the house. Research is pointing to the gut bacteria as the underlying cause so taking probiotics for IBS can be successful in restoring a normal life.

Getting a diagnosis of IBS does not really tell us what is wrong, it is more like a description of a set of symptoms. These include but are not limited to constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas headaches and cramps. Many thousands of people have now been diagnosed.

You are not alone, about twenty percent of Americans now have this diagnosis. This means that increasing funds are directed to research and in the last few years there have been a couple of reasons for hope. Allergies have been found to damage the gut and lead to IBS so you could try a food allergy test. It is also possible to check for allergies by cutting out different food groups one at a time and seeing what the results are.

The second area for hope is probiotic treatments. Our gut contains large numbers of bacteria which help digest our food. There are around five hundred different types so this is a complicated area of research. It would seem that if there are too many or too few of a certain one that all sorts of health problems can arise, IBS being on of them.

If you decide to try probiotics then you may need to experiment with different strains of bacteria. Fortunately these are natural products and so do not have side effects and it is safe to try different ones. Make sure to take a reputable brand as not all probiotics are created equally.

The best place to start is by trying the most effective one for the type of IBS that you have. IBS-D is when you suffer from chronic diarrhea and this is the most prevalent symptom. In this case you should try taking a probiotic called Saccharomyces Boulardii. It has been found to have excellent results in treating many kinds of diarrhea and is prescribed in hospitals.

When constipation is the overriding problem then there is a probiotic called Bifidobacterium Lactis to take. Many try this along with a fibre supplement and have decent results. Constipation is not only extremely uncomfortable it is injurious to long term health. Some IBS patients have alternating symptoms and find that constipation can quickly switch to diarrhea. In this case they should try both of the probiotics or a general daily dose.

Probiotic treatments are now helping many patients. They are safe and natural so it is fine to experiment with different ones until the most effective is found. A diagnosis of IBS used to mean that people were resigned to a drop in their quality of life but fortunately this is no longer the case. If these do not help then try allergy tests, digestive enzymes or rifaximin which cures an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut.




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