eating right
Rx oatmeal:
Adding soluble
fiber and reducing
stress are two good
ways to improve
your digestion.
New, natural approaches to treat a tender tummy. BY SANDRA GORDON
HAT HAS NO DISCERNIBLE CAUSE AND When something irritates or inflames the nerves of the
involves no underlying disease, yet bowel, the muscles of the bowel contract irregularly,
affects 15 to 20 percent of Americans causing diarrhea and/or constipation and abdominal
(the majority of whom are female) pain from pockets of gas that accumulate in the
and is the second leading cause of intestines, Alschuler explains. Common IBS triggers
worker absenteeism? Irritable bowel include certain foods or large meals, hormonal fluctua-
syndrome (IBS). This common but mysterious mind- tions associated with menstruation, inadequate exercise,
body malady has physical symptoms—typically, recur- a bout of bacterial stomach upset and/or chronic stress—
rent bouts of diarrhea and/or constipation, perhaps along perceived or unconscious. Like depression and anxiety,
with crampy abdominal pain, gas and bloating—but both of which can be associated with bowel problems,
doesn't show up on X rays or blood tests, so patients with IB S is an illnes s of both the mind and the body. "What
the condition appear to be healthy. A frequent scenario: really confuses people is that they get this expression in
"A patient tells her doctor she has IBS symptoms. He their bodies that they may not feel in their minds, so they
says he can't find anything wrong and dismisses her," wonder, 'What's happeningto me?'" says William B. Salt
says Stephen J. Bickston, M.D., associate professor of II, M.D., a gastroenterologist in Columbus, Ohio, and
medicine at the Digestive Health Center at the University author of Irritable Bowel Syndrome e[ The Mind-Body-
of Virginia in Charlottesville. Brain-Gut Connection.
What is known is that "IBS is primarily a disorder of While IB S doesn't cause colon cancer or other gas-
peristalsis—the way the muscles of the bowel contract," trointestinal disorders, it can be disabling, keeping its
says Lise Alschuler, N.D., medical director of the Bastyr sufferers from, say, going out to eat, taking long car rides
Center for Natural Health at Bastyr University in Seattle. or giving presentations at work for fear of needing to run
34 NEW A C E ' S B O D Y & S O U L
eating right
If you are going to eat your to the restroom. Fortunately, this embar-
rassing chronic condition can be con-
lipstick all day... trolled. According to James Scala, Ph.D.,
author of 25 Natural Ways to Relieve
you'll want to make sure Irritable Bowel Syndrome, researchers now
commonly see IBS as a problem related
it's good for you. to dietary fiber, food sensitivity, psycho-
logical issues "or some combination of all
Your lipstick should be good enough to eat, three." Following is a look at the emotion-
because that's what you're doing with it all day. al and nutritional triggers—and treat-
Most lipsticks contain a chemical soup of
irritants and suspected carcinogens you ments—for this condition.
would never think of ingesting.
SEE YOUR DOCTOR. If you think you have
Ecco Bella lipsticks with natural plant oils, IBS, your first step should be to visit a
vitamin E. and mineral colors are creamy doctor—whether a conventional medical
smooth and nutrient rich. They add color doctor or a naturopathic physician—for
and protect like a lip balm. Feed your lips well.
an accurate diagnosis, because some of
the symptoms of IBS can also be symp-
E C C O toms of more serious diseases. Your doc-
BELLA
H O L I S T I C
tor may order a series of blood tests, a
stool examination and/or a sigmoidos-
R E M E D I E S copy, a test that examines the last third of
For a store near you. 1 877-696-2220
the large intestine with a flexible viewing
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tube called a sigmoidoscope. If all of the
results are negative, you're likely to be
diagnosed with IBS if you meet what's
called the Rome criteria, a symptom-
based system for diagnosing the disorder.
How can you expect to have ENERGY At its core: "You have abdominal discom-
when you are fullof TOXINS? fort and disordered bowel habits—it can
be constipation or diarrhea or both—
^Constipation ?,/ without a discernible structural or bio-
chemical cause," says Bickston.
Fatigue? AllergiesZ^P
DISSECT YOUR DIET. IBS patients often have
Sonne's #7 Detoxifica more than one trigger, but food is fre-
and #9 Intestinal Cleanser quently the common denominator. If
make a powerful team that you're going the naturopathic route, first
works to physically bind you're likely to be put on an elimination
and eliminate poisons and diet: Certain foods—milk or wheat, for
toxins from the body. example—are taken away, depending on
your symptoms, then added back to your
Select from the first and finest natural, ivbole food diet in a prescribed way while watching
supplements and detoxification products.
for reactions. If you're going to a conven-
SONNE'S IS AVAILABLE THROUGH FINfl tional physician, such as a gastroenterolo-
HEALTH FOOD STORES AND PHARMACIES gist, you're likely to be advised to keep a
food and symptom diary for a few weeks
f&oo€lsr ffnc.
to track what you eat, the severity of any
Since 1946 abdominal pain and the type and number
of your bowel movements. (What's con-
(800) 544-8 sidered abnormal in terms of bowel
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36 NEW A G E ' S B O D Y & S O U L