Three Simple Steps to Curing IBS... without Drugs

Imagine having a condition with symptoms so severe that you can't leave the house. It's a very real problem for the 60 million people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). They're plagued by uncomfortable and often disabling symptoms like bloating, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, and pain.

What causes IBS?

The surface area of your small intestine is the same as a tennis court. It's also the site of about 60 percent of your immune system.

The small intestine (which is normally sterile) is just one cell layer away from a toxic sewer: the bacteria in your gut. If that 1-cell lining breaks down... from stress, too many antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs, intestinal infections, a low-fiber, high-sugar diet, alcohol... then the conditions that cause IBS are in place.

About that toxic sewer...

It's made up of billions of bacteria. (You've got about 3 pounds of it in your gut.) Of all Some is good and necessary... some is bad... and some is VERY bad.

If the bad bacteria takes over... or if they move into areas that they shouldn't, like the small intestine, then they can start fermenting the food you digest, particularly sugar or starchy foods.

This is called "small bowel bacterial overgrowth". And it's one of the two major causes of IBS.

The major symptom it causes is bloating, or a feeling of fullness after meals.

Which is caused by the over-production of gas by the bacteria as they break down your food.

This can be diagnosed by a breath test, which measures gas production by the bacteria, or by a urine test which measures the byproducts of the bacteria after they are absorbed into your system.

Bacterial overgrowth can be treated.

A major paper... published in the "Annals of Internal Medicine" showed that using a non-absorbed antibiotic... called "Rifaximin" clears out the overgrowth of bacteria... which results in a dramatic improvement in bloating and overall symptoms.

The other major cause of IBS is food sensitivities.

Another landmark paper, which was recently published in the prestigious British medical journal "GUT," found that eliminating foods identified through delayed food allergy testing (IgG antibodies) resulted in dramatic improvements in IBS symptoms.

Another article, an editorial in the "American Journal of Gastroenterology," stated clearly that we must respect and recognize the role of food allergies and inflammation in IBS.

IBS can also be caused by the lack of digestive enzymes, parasites, zinc or magnesium deficiency. And this is precisely why it is important that you personalize your treatment... based on your unique circumstances.

3 Simple Steps To Curing IBS Without Drugs

1. Get tested for IgG food allergies (see http://www.immunolabs.com for more information on this testing) and eliminate the foods that test positive for 12 weeks. Or do it on your own. If you can't afford the test, then just eliminate the most common food allergies for 12 weeks -- that's dairy, gluten, yeast, eggs, corn, soy, and peanuts. And then reintroduce them to see if they cause the symptoms to reappear.
2. Get rid of the unwanted visitors in your small bowel. Ask your doctor to prescribe rifaximin (Xifaxin) and take two 200-mg tablets 3 times a day for 7 to 10 days.
3. Repopulate your digestive tract with good bacteria. Take one packet of VSL3 (http://www.vsl3.com) twice a day for 1 to 2 months, which has over 450 billion organisms per packet. Also take one to two packets of Florastor (http://www.florastor.com) twice a day for 2 months, a special probiotic that helps further normalize gut function.

Suggested Reading "Digestive Wellness" by Elizabeth Lipski