Ask anyone with chronic abdominal pain and a plethora of symptoms that all focus around our digestive system, if they would consider IBS a the minor issue that the media and medical system make it out to be, and they’d probably scratch your eyes out.
WHAT IS A SYNDROME?
According to Merriam-Webster, it is a group of signs or symptoms; that is all – not a disease, not a diagnosis per se. It is a collection of signs and symptom sets, so it can be thoughts, emotions, feelings, outward appearance, sensory reactions and yes, even visible/obvious symptoms; but can be part of many disease states, and is not necessarily a disease in and of itself. Usually given to states that cannot be tested for or diagnosed.
SO WHAT IS IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME?
IBS – as a GP friend once happily told me – is a collection of symptoms that basically mean abdominal pain that is unexplained. Wow, what a very simple explanation – the truth is, there is much, much more to it – and medicine is failing millions, if not billions of sufferers around the world. And yet, I would consider IBS is a friend – because without these symptoms, you would not even realise there is anything amiss. The truth here is that your body has most likely been trying to tell you since you were born but it wasn’t until the pain and other symptoms got to the point they would no longer be ignored, that you took yourself off to the doctor and were told that you have IBS.
While it can be part of many genetic or pathological diseases such as Crohn’s or Coeliac disease, it can be just the body’s pre-warning system – one that is usually ignored until symptoms develop into another diagnosis such as bowel cancer or diverticulitis.
EARLY WARNING SIGNS AND WHEN TO TAKE ACTION
Most people will go home happy in the knowledge they finally have a diagnosis; and are happy to go on, take a pill for the pain and do nothing else. At least until the symptoms worsen to the point that their digestive system is literally dying. Then your doctor may well tell you that you have ulcers or cancer or need a colostomy bag. Yes, it really is that bad. See why IBS is your friend? It’s time to take action.
Let’s follow the timeline of your IBS. During gestation, most women find it okay to eat for two. That old wive’s tale is just that; she is not eating for two. In fact, the growing baby only needs nutrients, not food. The bulk of that food will sit on the mother's hips & sadly stay there. But that is another story entirely. The growing baby only needs a good balance of nutrients; that is why expectant mothers who take wholefood supplements and plant based diets eventually give birth to healthier babies than those who do not.
‘BUT THERE WAS NO WARNING….’
Everything the mother puts into and onto her body will affect the baby in some way. Giving in to ridiculous cravings are not only damaging her but also the new cells growing at a rapid rate; are you feeding good cells or unhealthy cells? Add DNA to that – aka hereditary, and the new life arrives with an imprint of health. Or ill health. The new baby will already have all the cells it will needs for full body function, including digestive lining, plus precursors to enzymes and hormones. This is where the future of the new person’s health is already founded.
After birth, depending on the diet, the perfectly formed gastric lining comes under assault. Iridologically, you will see the picture clearly from birth. I love to look into irises of newborns! Is there an acid ring around the bowel area? Are there already pockets showing inherited disorders and weaknesses? Believe it or not, toxins already show up – based on what was consumed during pregnancy (and including the biological father's own habits), and what the umbilical tube and then liver/kidneys could not excrete.
The most perfect food is mother’s milk, but if the mother eats rubbish, that new baby is already suffering. colic is just one of the few obvious symptoms something is already wrong. Poor immunity is never medically linked to the bowel; the truth is, that is exactly the source of all future illness, including chronic and terminal.
Infant formula will keep the child alive but it will not offer anything by way of all the micronutrients, enzymes or factors that mother’s milk does, that the child needs. If a child is born by caesarian section, natural bacterial/probiotic processes will not occur. One of the most vital aspects is transfer of the original beneficial bacteria during the birth process, which in turn sets about an entire lifelong chain of reactions.
Through life, if that child is not given the right foods and is allowed to live on what has become the normal standard western diet, immune function will weaken – eventually forcing the individual to succumb to a huge array of what is now accepted as part of early aging. Yet, if the original pregnant mother lived on truly healthy food, then the baby was at first breastfed, and then prevented from the assault of sugars, processed grains, dairy, meat and additives, the entire quality of life and vitality would be a polar opposite.
BUT I CAN JUST TAKE AN ANTACID OR NEXIUM AND IT WILL BE OKAY…
My pet peeve right now is the flogging of NEXIUM for indigestion. If you have indigestion change your diet. Your body is screaming that you are harming yourself. Even more unbelievable is that Nexium is being marketed for babies!
Do you have a clue what is in Nexium or even care what the side effects are? Like all other indigestion type medications, it’s nothing more than a string of unpronounceable ingredients, including -
Crushed bug bodies
Talc (known to cause adhesions)
Acrylic
Polysorbate 80 (linked to brain, kidney and uterine damage)
Aluminium
- and a real gutful of what amounts to a poison cocktail with a little adulterated magnesium thrown in for good measure (ironically, taking Mg alone is a very good thing for indigestion, cramping or any other sort of pain ).
For the record, what are just a few of the known side effects of Nexium? Remember, this is taken to address the symptoms of indigestion; check out the digestive side effects. And don’t forget, you can check this out on the manufacturer’s website, as can your doctor or pharmacist. Note, this is not the full list that is available if you know where to look. All because you cannot possibly eat healthy…
Dizziness, confusion (can anyone say Alzheimers?)
Fast or uneven heart rate (but don’t worry, it’s not related to indigestion)
Jerking muscle movements and jittery feeling (legal high)
Diarrhea that is watery or bloody (better go and get that bowel cancer screening)
Muscle cramps, muscle weakness or limp feeling
Cough or choking feeling
Seizure (convulsions)
Headache, drowsiness
Nausea, stomach pain, gas, constipation
Dry mouth
Gout symptoms
Abdomen enlarged
Allergic reaction
Back pain and chest pain, substernal chest pain
Oedema
Hot flushes
Fatigue, fever, flu-like disorder (chronic fatigue? Don’t worry, they’ve got a flu vaccine…)
Hypertension & tachycardia
Goitre
Earache, tinnitus
Anaemia
Lymphadenopathy
Epistaxis
Leukocytosis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia (blood cell disorders)
Hepatic function abnormal
Diabetic symptoms – glycosuria, hyperuricemia, hyponatremia, increased alkaline phosphatase, thirst, vitamin B12 deficiency, weight increase, weight decrease
Musculoskeletal: arthralgia, arthritis aggravated, arthropathy, cramps, fibromyalgia syndrome, hernia, polymyalgia rheumatica
Nervous System/Psychiatric: anorexia, apathy, appetite increased, confusion, depression aggravated, dizziness, hypertonia, nervousness, hypoesthesia, impotence, insomnia, migraine, migraine aggravated, paresthesia, sleep disorder, somnolence, tremor, vertigo, visual field defect
Reproductive: dysmenorrhea, menstrual disorder, vaginitis;
Respiratory: asthma aggravated, coughing, dyspnea, larynx edema, pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis;
Skin and Appendages: acne, angioedema, dermatitis, pruritus, pruritus ani, rash, rash erythematous, rash maculo-papular, skin inflammation, sweating increased, urticaria;
Special Senses: otitis media, parosmia, taste loss, taste perversion;
Urogenital: abnormal urine, albuminuria, cystitis, dysuria, fungal infection, hematuria, micturition frequency, moniliasis, genital moniliasis, polyuria;
Visual: conjunctivitis, vision abnormal.
OTHER DIGESTIVE SYMPTOMS CAUSED BY NEXIUM
Dyspepsia
Dysphagia
Dysplasia GI
Epigastric pain
Eructation (burping)
Oesophageal disorder
Frequent stools
Gastroenteritis, GI haemorrhage
Pharynx disorder
Rectal disorder
Serum gastrin increased
Tongue disorder
Tongue oedema
Ulcerative stomatitis
Vomiting
… hang on….
SEVERE interactions with heart medication and sedatives…. (yet many take Nexium to counteract effects of other meds)
‘MY DOCTOR TOLD ME I HAVE TO LIVE ON THIS BLAND DIET…’
This is where medicine steps in to ensure that pattern remains – milky white, sugary and meaty diets, drugs with side effects, surgery which only results in part function of the entire system, chronicity in bowel habits and associated disease – all linked back to that poor bowel that never stood a chance. One vital to remember here is that doctors are not trained in nutrition and many medical dieticians are also trained from the same books as medical students – funded and published by food and pharmaceutical industry rather than natural health experts.
How does a human being, designed to eat raw, healthy food, become so unwell that they cannot tolerate the very food that will heal them? Yet this is exactly what happens with food sensitivities and allergies. As a baby, they were already acidic. Medications will never correct that; just mask it. By the time the individual has reached that terrible, deficient health state, the digestive lining is so damaged that even the most basic function is not possible.
SO HOW DO WE CORRECT IT?
If you have abdominal pain, indigestion, either chronic diarrhoea or constipation that are unexplained; and if food aggravates all of these symptoms, you will fall under the banner of IBS – irritable bowel ‘syndrome’ – which is a collection of seemingly unrelated symptoms. They ARE related and it is all down to our diet and lifestyle.
If you are tired of the pain, bloating and discomfort, I’d say you have little to lose. But much to gain. See my posts on the diet – please! It’s not a suggestion, it’s a demand IF you want to get better. You have been warned by your body; this is not a 50% half hearted stab at something. If you want full health you will put in everything you have to get well. Or you should.
You are welcome to take my online assessment if you want your entire health picture assessed – far more comprehensive than any other consult or protocol and will deal with your entire body holistically. Just like your IBS didn’t just happen overnight or by one fluke cause, your healing will not happen with one magic medicine that simply masks the symptoms.
Heal your gut. Heal your body at a cellular level. An Edenic level.
First thing in the morning, line the digestive tract with a fine film – it prevents irritation, inflammation and pain like nothing else can – Order here
Probiotics and soothing herbs – Order here
Alkalising minerals – Order here
Homeopathic soothing remedy - Order here
Your symptoms did not just happen. It may take a little more effort to unwind the long process which landed you here.