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?So how is IBS caused?
***IBS is
caused by a failure of the nervous system
to correctly control the processes of the small
intestine***
Here is a little more, beginning with a
really simple explanation…
You have IBS because your small
intestine does not work properly. Now how do I know that
it is the small intestine? After all, many doctors say
that it is the large intestine (colon) that is at fault.
Well I have been researching IBS for many years, done lots
of tests and investigations and found out how all the
symptoms of IBS are caused. You cannot create IBS by a
postulating fault in the large intestine, but you can
create IBS with faults in the small intestine controllers.
I give you examples...
- Bloating... those with IBS-C and IBS-A get bloating
soon after eating breakfast. Now there are two types
of bloating. One type is severe and painful (with
cramping) in the upper-abdomen, the other is not so
bad and is in the mid-abdomen. The food has not had
time to get to the colon but it has had time to get to
the beginning of the small intestine, just after the
stomach. It is here that the problems occur and the
structure of the small intestine creates the two types
of bloating.
- Diarrhoea... those with IBS-A and IBS-D have loose
bowel motions (BMs) soon after arising in the morning.
Sometimes these can occur during the day as well.
These BMs often have raw bile salts and enzymes in
them. They burn and irritate the anus. Now the job of
the last part of the small intestine is to remove all
bile salts and enzymes before the food is discharged
into the colon. So what are they still doing there?
The last part of the small intestine is not doing its
job properly.
Now there is nothing
physically wrong with the small intestine. It seems
perfectly normal. This is one of the ways doctors diagnose
IBS. Everything looks OK but it does not work properly.
Your IBS is being caused by one or more of the FIVE nervous system
controllers that manage the intestine. The fault can be far away
in the brain or spinal cord, so the
doctors give up and tell you that you have IBS...
"It's IBS. Sorry mate, cannot do anything for you.
You have my sympathy".
Now sympathy is nice but it does not fix
IBS! In fact the fault in the nervous system cannot be fixed
(most of the time) and
because there are so many controllers, it gets complicated. Yes, there are lots
of types of IBS and lots of symptoms.
Now even though it cannot be fixed, you CAN learn to make friends with IBS. You do this
by letting only the foods that he likes pass your lips.
This is the language I call IBSperanto. When he is your
friend, then he becomes very useful indeed.
If that was enough then read IBSperanto
and/or proceed to the Easy IBS Diet and eat
it.
IBS will immediately cease bashing you and instead
start to help you.
There will be no more pain, no more
gurgling, constipation or diarrhoea.
Now the Easy IBS Diet is not a particularly healthy one
(although it is much better than your current diet), so
for those of you who are motivated and want the best
health outcome,
there is the IBS Paleo Diet.
On this one you will sing!
OK... Now if you would like to know
even more about IBS,
then here
is a brief attempt to explain the scientific stuff...
The small intestine is the part of your digestion that
joins the stomach to the large intestine. It is the engine
of your digestion. It digests all your food and absorbs
the nutrients, so when it stops working correctly, you get
very unhappy. It has three parts…
in order, the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. Food is
processed in batches, and each part has a
brain controller to manage the movement of food soup. There
is a fourth brain controller for managing the addition of
digestive chemicals. These are bile salts from the gall
bladder and enzymes from the pancreas.
Here is a
diagram showing the four brain controllers and the
digestive system...
The enteric nervous system (the nerves
in the gut) has a backup role. It is the fifth controller. It takes over when any
brain controllers fail. It cannot do the job of the brain
and instead just moves food along. The speed at which it
moves food depends on what you have eaten. Cereals and
legumes cause high speeds, root veggies cause medium
speeds, above ground veggies and fruits cause low speeds,
nuts and animal foods cause very low speeds. Now normally
your small intestine moves at low speed. This means that
when you eat cereal,
legume and root vegetables, if the enteric nervous
system is in charge, then food goes too fast.
Now, the brain controllers often fail. IBS is a very
common digestive disorder. This failure can be due to a neurotransmitter deficiency, a toxic
insult to the walls of the small intestine, a failure to
develop the nervous system fully in infancy, or pressure
on the nerves in the neck area. There may be other causes.
When one or more of the brain controllers fail then the
enteric nervous system takes over the part(s) that have
failed.
Now when a brain controlled part, follows a
part controlled by the enteric nervous system, and you eat
cereal, bean and root veggie fibre, then the too fast speed
generated by the enteric nervous system, is sensed by the
brain controller and it blocks the intestine. It is
programmed to manage the speed of food so that it goes
slowly. This barrier causes constipation, bloating and
cramping.
Now if bloating occurs as a symptom then you have IBS-C
or IBS-A. There are actually six types of IBS-C and two
types of IBS-A. Here are three diagrams showing how some
of them are caused...
IBS-C (severe
bloating) | IBS-C (slight
bloating) | IBS-A
When the final part of the intestine is
controlled by the enteric nervous system, there is no
brain controlled part following. Now food soup containing
cereal, bean and root veggie fibre is moved fast into the colon. The food has
not been digested properly and can contain fats, raw bile
salts and raw enzymes. These cannot be tolerated in the colon
and it is evacuated poste haste, causing diarrhoea.
Now if diarrhoea occurs as a symptom then you have
either IBS-D or IBS-A. There are six types of IBS-D and
two types pf IBS-A. Here are two diagrams showing how some
of them are caused...
IBS-D | IBS-A
The control systems of the small
intestine are all automated. They are part of the
autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is
influenced by adrenal hormone levels. When these hormones
are high the autonomic nervous system is at a high level,
and when they are low the autonomic nervous system is at a low level.
There are natural daily fluctuations in
the levels of adrenal hormones. They are high in the
morning soon after arising, and cause the valve at the end
of the small intestine to open (the morning rush), and the
strength of any barrier is strong (bloating and cramping).
Overnight adrenal hormones drop to low levels, and the
autonomic nervous system is relaxed. This causes the valve
at the end of the intestine to close firmly and any
barrier to relax.
IBS causes stress. Stress is also caused
by modern lifestyles. Stress raises the level of adrenal
hormones, and the level of the autonomic nervous system.
This makes IBS worse.
There is no possibility of a cure for IBS (except when a
displaced neck vertebra is the cause), BUT you can remove
most or all of your symptoms by changing your diet. This
involves removing the offensive plant fibre causing your
IBS, and slowing down the part(s) controlled by the
enteric nervous system. You can also learn to influence
the autonomic nervous system, and reduce your symptoms by
doing Relaxation Therapies.
Now if that was not enough and you want
the FULL MONTY...
then click here... The Cause
of IBS for a 50 A5 page PDF file (450kB).
This is a complete scientific explanation, but written
simply so that most can understand it.
If you are of a scientific bent and
would like to read my paper
which is a concise and rigorous explanation of IBS then go
to the
Science Direct Database...
The small intestine and irritable
bowel syndrome: A batch process model.
Medical Hypotheses (2008), 71:781-787, Brian C. Dobson
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