Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Probiotics, synthetic fibers, fillers, and artificial colors...

Because they think that bad intestinal flora is the underlying cause of IBS. There has been a theory about this for many, many years...the problem is that not a single study has verified it (and many studies have proven otherwise). The idea that probiotics, which are helpful gut flora, can help IBS symptoms is sound. You do need a good colony of gut flora (and you naturally have this). Antibiotics can wipe out good gut flora as they indiscriminately kill off all types of bacteria - which is why people so often have abdominal side effects from antibiotics. Your body will naturally re-establish good gut flora after a course of anti-biotics, but taking probiotics can help this. Probiotics are also great for inflammatory bowel diseases.

So, the idea that probiotics can help IBS symptoms is true, because probiotics can help reduce gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation as a general rule. They'd be comparable to things like soluble fiber supplements and peppermint tea. Helpful for symptoms, but they're not a cure, as they don't do a darn thing to change the enteric nervous system of the gut (which is what's going awry in IBS).

So far, the only thing which may possibly, permanently, change the gut's nervous system and "cure" IBS is gut-directed hypnotherapy. It's a possibility, not a proven fact.

You can get better probiotics from other sources than this over-hyped brand, and you can get them without the ugly additives. You could also just eat soy yogurt with live cultures.

- H

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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