How to Manage Irritable Bowel Syndrome

If you are feeling constantly gassy, or your stomach is bloated and you can’t lose your gut no matter how hard you’re exercising, if you have problems with excretion, such as suffering from constipation, diarrhea or both- you’re not alone. 

 

Gastrointestinal diseases which can cause the symptoms are very common, and one of the most prevalent in the developed world, with about 10-15% of people suffering from it, is irritable bowel syndrome (or IBS).

Because it is poorly understood and shares a lot of symptoms with other, more serious gastrointestinal diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, celiac, parasitic infections and even colon cancer, it would be best to rule out all other options before assuming you have IBS.  

 

What do we know about IBS?

The mechanism and causes of IBS are not fully understood, though it has been posited that infectious intestinal inflammation, genetics and psychological stress could all trigger IBS. It is twice as common in women, and onset is typically before the age of 45. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation, a feeling of fullness, a protruding gut, not feeling relieved after going to the bathroom, depression and anxiety. 

One thing to understand is that a distended gut in a person with IBS does not reflect fat. Typically, your abdomen will not feel flabby if a GI condition is a culprit- on the contrary, it will feel hard to the touch, and is often accompanied by a feeling of fullness which some describe as having an inflated balloon lodged in their abdomen. The most common explanation for this symptom is too much gas in the intestines.

While stress might trigger or exacerbate your intestinal troubles, the inverse is also true, and many people who have IBS also suffer from depression and anxiety. This correlation joins in a long list of riddles the medical world has yet to solve, but it could be due to constant pressure on the nervous system associated with the condition, the emotional hardship of dealing with this condition, or shame with regards to physical appearance, irregular excretions and gas. 

 

IBS is not a life-threatening condition by any stretch of the imagination, but it does affect life quality for the worse, and there is no known cure for it. That being said, there are several ways to manage it:

1. Medication

Some medicine and supplements have been shown to be effective in mitigating some of the symptoms of IBS. Laxatives work well for people whose IBS manifests in constipation, while antidiarrheals might relieve those who suffer from loose stool and diarrhea. 

 

Some antidepressants of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor family seem to have a positive effect on abdominal pain and other symptoms, independent of their effect on depression. 

 

Antispasmodic medicine may relieve cramps and diarrhea in people with IBS, as well as relax the muscles in the colon. 

 

Soluble fiber supplements, such as that of the psyllium plant, have been effective in both bulking up the stool of those who suffer from diarrhea and help with excretion in case of constipation. 

 

Several probiotics can also alleviate some symptoms of IBS. B. breve, B. longum and L. acidophilus are effective at reducing abdominal pain. B. breve, B. infantis, L. casei, and L. plantarum may help with abdominal distention. 

 

B. breve, B. infantis, L. casei, L. plantarum, B. longum, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus all improve flatulence.

2. Physical activity and stress relief

Exercise, and in particular, aerobic activities, are effective in reducing the symptoms of IBS. Recommended activities include swimming, jogging, walking and cycling. Additionally, yoga (and especially yoga that focuses on the lower abdomen) has been shown to help reduce stress and also help with IBS symptoms. 

 

Meditation is another way to relieve stress, alleviate IBS symptoms and improve quality of life for people with IBS.

 

3. Therapy

Healthy mind, healthy body. In this case, it’s at least partially true, as psychotherapy and other forms of talk therapy (even without prescribed antidepressants) appear to improve quality of life among people with IBS and reduce symptoms. 

 

The effect therapy has on one’s gastrointestinal health can be explained by the existence of the gut-brain axis, a two-way communication corridor between the nervous and gastrointestinal systems which informs both feelings of hunger and being sated, but can also affect gut flora in response to stress and trauma. Likewise, physical circumstances that affect gut flora (such as diet or disease) can have an adverse effect on your mental state.  

 

4. Changes in diet 

In many cases, IBS flares up in reaction to a “trigger food”. Such trigger foods contain carbohydrates known as FODMAPs, which are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, undergoing fermentation in the bowels. This causes a buildup of gas in the intestines which may cause bloating and flatulence. 

 

People with IBS may want to attempt to eliminate FODMAPs from their diet, and then slowly reintroduce them in order to find out which ones cause a flare-up. Giving up FODMAPs altogether is not advisable, as many of the foods that contain them, such as onions and legumes, provide valuable nutrients.
 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Debunked: 5 Obesity myths to let go of

According to numerous studies & reports, more than 1.9 billion adults are overweight and 650 million are obese globally. In India, over 135 million people are affected by obesity.  Obesity presents many medical and financial challenges for the individual, society and government. The problem of obesity can be solved by creating public awareness about obesity and its health consequences.

Misconceptions or myths about obesity can result in stigma and weight bias. Countering myths with facts and evidence has been proven to be an effective educational tool to increase individuals’ knowledge about a certain condition and to reduce stigma, and obesity is no exception.

Below are some of the common myths around Obesity

Myth 1: Obesity is a result of poor lifestyle choices

Fact: Obesity is a complex chronic disease with multiple contributing factors such as genetic variables as well as medical conditions. There is still a common belief that obesity is a lifestyle choice and that people become obese because they eat too much or exercise too little. This is not entirely true! Some people are merely susceptible to gaining weight owing to their genetic disadvantages. Obesity demands a personalised treatment model involving medical therapies and lifestyle interventions, just like other chronic diseases. The interdisciplinary team should consist of health care professionals, (including dietitians and physicians) working together to deliver optimal treatment.

Myth 2: Exercising will fix Obesity

Fact: Exercise has many health benefits; however, weight loss isn’t really one of them. Exercise only helps helps in losing 3% to 5% of weight. Exercise is important for maintaining weight once you shed a few kilos. Some forms of strenuous exercise can even be dangerous for obese patients, particularly if started all of a sudden. For some obese people, exercise isn’t suitable until they lose a certain amount of weight.

Myth 3: Obesity is always hereditary

Fact: When it comes to obesity, genetic factors play an important role. However, it doesn’t mean that inheriting some traits makes one obese. Obesity rarely shows a clear inheritance pattern when it occurs in families. It seems that in most cases, obesity is multifactorial, which is the result of complex interactions among many genes and environmental factors.

Myth 4: Obesity does not affect health

Fact: Obesity has an adverse effect on almost every part of the body and can hamper a person’s quality of life. Obese people are at increased risk for many serious illnesses and health conditions when compared to people with healthy and normal weight. These conditions include type 2 diabetes mellitus, arthropathy, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, cerebral vasculopathy, sleep apnea syndrome, etc. 

Myth 5: Eating less will solve the problem of Obesity

Fact: One of the main reasons for obesity is consuming more calories than the body requires, over an extended period of time. The most common steps taken towards controlling obesity are lowering calorie intake, increasing physical activity or both. Though diet and exercise are important aspects, several other factors also play crucial role in obesity. These factors are inadequate sleep, psychological stress, chronic pain, endocrine (hormone) disruptors, and the use of certain medications. It is unfortunate that people often forget about these when thinking of obesity.

Obesity is a complex disease and we still have a lot to learn about it. Due to these gaps in knowledge, people lean towards ideas that simply aren’t correct. Unravelling the facts about obesity from the fiction will help understand and manage the disease better. It is advisable to seek expert opinion from your doctor to address obesity at an early stage.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Urological cancer patients at five times higher suicide risk

Patients with prostate, bladder or kidney cancers are five times more likely to commit suicide, a survey led by an Indian-origin scientists has found.

The analysis also showed that cancer patients are about three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population. 

The proportion of attempted suicides which result in a completed or successful suicide was higher in cancer patients, with a higher proportion still in patients with urological cancers.

Severe psychological stress is one of the main side-effects of both a diagnosis of cancer and cancer treatment, with depression affecting between 5 and 25 per cent of cancer patients: many are also affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.(PTSD).

Previous research has shown that the vast majority of cancer patients who have symptoms of depression often go untreated.

The study shows a substantial increase in suicide attempts and successful suicides in cancer patients.

It is the largest study looking at suicide in cancer patients. The research team examined the records from the database, from the period 2001 to 2011. They linked this with cause of death statistics.

This is also the first time that a major study has examined suicidal intent in cancer patients - which they defined as the ratio of successful suicides to the rate of attempted suicides.

They found that this rate was far higher (1 to 7) in patients with prostate cancer than in the general population (1 to 25), which may show a greater determination to commit suicide in cancer patients.
"This is important as we know that people who attempt suicide are at higher risk of subsequently being successful in completing a suicide," said the researchers.

"We have shown this 'intent' to commit to be far higher in our cancer population, thus confirming a real need to address psychological issues early on in the management of these patients," said one of the team member.

Previous research has shown that a vast majority of cancer patients who have symptoms of depression go untreated.

The study also showed significant differences between the time to a successful suicide, which means that some cancer patients are more vulnerable in certain periods.

The researchers identified a total of 980,761 (493,234 males and 487,094 female) cancer patients which meant that 13.4 million-person years were included in the final data analysis. The team identified 162 suicides and 1,222 suicide attempts.

In the general population, the suicide rate is 10 per 100,000 people. The team found that the all-cancer suicide rate was 30 per 100,000 people.

In the urological cancers the figures are 36 per 100,000 people in kidney cancer, 48 suicides per 100,000 in bladder cancer, and 52 per 100,000 people in prostate cancer.

In the general population, there is an average of 25 suicide attempts for each successful suicide. In kidney cancer this ratio is 1 suicide for every 10 attempts.

In bladder and prostate cancer, this ratio drops to one suicide for every 7 attempts.

The time taken to commit suicide also varies substantially. Median time to suicide is 175 days from diagnosis for kidney cancer, 846 days for prostate cancer, and 1037 days for bladder cancer.

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