What is a good modality to explore if I’ve been suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms.

Wonderful, and very common, question! There are many ways to support IBS and the best way will look different for everyone based on their personal situation. I feel that a often over-looked, yet highly impactful, factor is HOW you are eating. Are you scarfing your food down? Eating in a distracted way? Not paying attention to hunger and satiety cues. These are harder to tackle than a simple diet switch but when practiced regularly, they can lay a beautiful foundation to find long-term relief.
Some simple strategies to begin to incorporate:
-pause for a few deep/slow breaths before eating
-put away the distractions (phone, TV, reading material...)
-put your fork down between bites and savor the flavors
-pay attention to the flavors, textures
-take note of how your stomach feels as it begins to fill with food.
These are just for starters. Choose 1 or 2 that land for you and begin to practice. It takes time but again, it is a necessary foundation to build in order to find long term success.

There are many causes for irritable bowel - food sensitivities and an imbalance of gut bacteria are the most common causes. Gentle adjustments in food, removing triggers and adding soothing meals can often stop the acute IBS. After removing the main triggers we can use supplements and food to strengthen digestion, normalize bowel movements and heal the gut lining.

Basically, it's all about fueling your body with whole, clean, nutritious foods, drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water, adding good bacteria with probiotics and prebiotics to feed the probiotics, and healing your gut. Avoid foods that are toxic. Toxins create inflammation and inflammation breeds dis-ease.

As a former sufferer of IBS, I can tell you that the two things that made the biggest difference for me were going on an elimination diet to figure out which foods contributed to my IBS and restoring my gut health through probiotics and digestive enzymes. Basically, you have to kill off the bad bacteria and start restoring the good.

Working on your diet and finding foods and/or supplements that are good for your gut health can drastically help with IBS. Our diet is the foundation of everything, so making sure that the foods you're eating aren't irritating your stomach or intestines is really important. It's also key to eat foods that help to maintain healthy gut bacteria and promote healing of your gut. Working with a coach/nutritionist on this, along with some trial and error, can help to deal with the root causes of the symptoms.

Hypnosis, Hypnosis, Hypnosis. I've worked with a few clients who've had IBS and have had nigh miraculous results. No pills nor potions, just the power of your mind. I'd be happy to set up a free consultation. Go to my website MaxOtazuHypnoTherapy.com or call/text me at (805) 954-9521.

Traditional Herbal therapy may be the answer that you've been looking for!

IBS is an autoimmune disease of the GI tract and you must employ a treatment modality that will help to restore GI function as well as help with inflammation that is caused by autoimmune disorders.

It is important to treat not only the symptom of IBS, but also any underlying imbalances that may have contributed to the IBS (and that may contribute to more disorders in the body).

Herbal medicine, such as traditional Chinese formulas, help to detoxify the tissues of the body to help rid the body of toxic material, while also nourishing the body at the deepest level.

By balancing and harmonizing the body, healing can occur.

Hope this helps! All the best!

Homeopathy! Naturopathic Doctor here, and think I saw a comment mention working with one- figure I'd reiterate it :)

Anywho, in addition to lifestyle, I've had great success with homeopathy/energy medicine. That said, it helps, but not always the panacea- a plan & emphasis on modality/ lifestyle suggestions will look different for everyone because how *you* got here is different than any one else.

I also find that symptoms are trying to bring awareness to something in our life, so while sometimes a modality can help, other times if we can correlate it with a certain thought/instance, then we can really begin the healing process on a whole other level.

Let me know if this helps, and happy to hop on a brief complimentary call as well!

What kind of water do you drink? All waters are not equal in our current reality. The body is made up of 75% water (more as children).
We have seen amazing results with bowel conditions when people switch to Electrolysed Reduced Water (ERW), which is returned to its original state as nature intended.
This restructured antioxidant-rich water is now a baseline standard in the top medical system of the world (Japan) and has been used in hospitals and health centers there successfully for over 47 years, supporting the body to heal its bowels/digestive system and so much more. If you're curious to receive some free education, I'm here for you. Your elimination organ is so important, and it is speaking to you now about your whole being. Change your water, change your life!
After addressing the 75%, then we can deal with the 25%: your diet. Removing animal products and enjoying a vast array of plant foods, combined properly, contributes hugely to healing the entire body especially the guts. Check out the documentaries Forks Over Knives, and The Gamechangers, for science on human health and food.

Bioenergetics, stress management therapies such as yoga and meditation, and gut health diagnosis by a good naturopath, functional medicine doc, or functional diagnostic nutritionist.

Hi Mari,
I recommend combining modalities, those that address calming the nervous system from "outer" stress and anxiety, such as breathwork, focused imagery, abdominal massage, meditation, craniosacral therapy, and gentle yoga, with those that address "inner" stress such as nutrition therapy, which looks at food choices/allergies, mold toxicity, elimination diets, and more.

Our digestive health is influenced by our nervous system, hormones, digestive organ functioning (ie - stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder), our microbiome, our food and whether it is meeting our needs, our attitudes toward food, and our bowel habits. Working with a provider who can get to know you, your habits, needs, the demands on your body and life and work from a whole-person perspective will be the most effective process. This doesn't necessarily mean we have to run every test. As I get to know a patient and get their history, I am generally narrowing down what I think will be the most informative tests to run and the most efficient strategies, from lifestyle patterns, to food, to possible digestive support, herbs or if necessary, treatment to remove pathogens from the gut while restoring healthy function.

Food sensitivity testing and balancing gut flora.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be a result of a few things but it mainly starts with your gut health. If our microbiome is not healthy than all other areas of our body are going to be effected. Here is an example. Did you know that over 80% of your seratonin (those feel good receptors) are actually produced in your gut? So what happens it if we aren't feeding the gut the things it needs/wants, it's going to sound an alarm to your brain and give off the impression that you are not happy basically. Therefore causing things like anxiety, depression, irritable bowel being a result as well. There is of course a lot more science and detail behind this but in a nutshell, this is most likely what is going on. I would recommend really digging into the meals you eat. Do you eat a lot of sugar/processed food? Gluten has a very strong influence on a lot of how your body reacts. It can cause mood disorders even. So start there. Maybe journal for awhile each day and when moments tend to trigger you. I used to suffer from this. Every time I would get nervous, stressed, I would be in the bathroom. It wasn't until I started to actually feed my body more nutritious foods and learned to manage my stress, did this become a thing of the past. Feel free to let me know your thoughts or if anything comes up for you.

Hi Mari. This is a condition I also suffered from for many years. Key to addressing it is reducing the stress in your life and slowing down. Reducing the stress means different things to different people but is likely a combination of eliminating some stressors and learning how to manage stressors you can or do not want to eliminate. In addition to coaching, meditation and other mindfulness practices, including mindful movement and breathwork, are wonderful modalities to help you do so. Let me know if you would like further information.

Hello, Mari -

IBS is often associated with chronic stress, which causes inflammation in the body. This can be heightened when we clench our lower belly. Hypnotherapy is proven to be effective in restoring harmony between the social and physical parts of our mind, releasing internal tension to allow normal bowel operation. I can provide references to scientific studies regarding the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for IBS.