Gut issues are one of the most common things I see in my clinic and they are one of my specialities to heal. Most doctors are known to label any non-descript gut issues as “Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)” when in actual fact they don’t know the exact causes or really how to heal it.
There is no drug to take as IBS is very much linked to your lifestyle and has been linked to stress, food intolerances/sensitivities or food passing through your gut too quickly or too slowly. IBS is also known to cause symptoms such as stomach cramps, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, flatulence that resolve and then return with some individuals having continuous symptoms.
When I work with clients to soothe IBS symptoms naturally, it is usually a combination of dietary and lifestyle adjustments, removing trigger foods and stress. But symptoms vary with individuals which is why working 1-1 with a nutritionist is always recommended for long-term healing.
Here are my top 6 ways to naturally help soothe IBS naturally.
Eliminating dairy and gluten
Dairy is becoming increasingly more triggering for digestive health. Often individuals cannot digest the proteins (such as casein or whey) or the sugars (lactose) found in milk causing intestinal discomfort. Over time, if continually consumed, this may cause damage to gut health. Gluten is another trigger.
Some people may not be coeliac but may have a condition known as Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity, which means that they are sensitive to gluten, resulting in IBS symptoms. So, if both of these triggering gluten and dairy factors are not removed from the diet, over time this creates inflammation in the digestive system causing what is known as a ‘leaky gut’ which can even cause more systemic symptoms such as headaches, brain fog, fatigue.
Doing an elimination diet and removing one at a time is a great way to soothe IBS naturally and tell if these are a problem for you. But, of course, always listen to your body – if you feel bloated and crampy then you will know that these foods could be a trigger so try eliminating one by one and notice if symptoms improve.
Eliminating FODMAP foods
FODMAPS stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. These are a group of sugars (known as short chain carbohydrates) that are not completely digested or absorbed by our intestines, and in some individuals can cause digestive discomfort. FODMAPs are found naturally in many foods such as asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, onion, garlic peas, legumes/pulses, dairy products, wheat/barley/rye-based products and many others.
However, some of these foods are very beneficial so I would always work with a nutritionist before eliminating them and it should always be short term until the gut is repaired and then a slow reintroduction.
Increasing fibre (slowly)
The NHS recommends 30g of fibre to be eaten a day as part of a healthy diet, but unfortunately most of the population don’t get anywhere near this amount. Fibre comes in 2 forms.
The insoluble form makes up plant cell walls and found in many veggies such as cabbage, broccoli and kale as well as legumes, nuts and seeds. Cellulose binds to other foods when eaten, passing through the digestive system mostly intact, moving things along like a giant toothbrush.
Soluble fibre is the other type e.g. inulin, slowing down digestion and helping you feel full for longer. It also helps prevent blood sugar spikes, balancing your blood sugars and because it isn’t digested or absorbed in the stomach, it helps increase the growth of beneficial gut bacteria in the colon improving gut health.
Inulin can be found in bananas, asparagus, garlic and onions. But watch out, inulins are also fructans which are prone to excess fermentation in our gut so whilst optimising fibre is essential for healthy guts, sometimes in an unhealthy low fibre diet, suddenly introducing 30g daily could trigger gut distress eg constipation and bloating.
The best way is to introduce fibre rich foods slowly over several weeks, not in large amounts daily to avoid discomfort.
On the other side of the coin, there are other natural things you can do to soothe IBS naturally including general lifestyle stress reduction techniques – the gut and brain are linked directly via the vagus nerve, what we eat can affect our mood and conversely our mood totally affects our gut health. Here are my top 3 tips to improve mental health and in turn keep your tummy happy.
Yoga
Any form of exercise alleviates stress by releasing endorphins and making you feel wonderful afterwards – even if you don’t feel like doing it initially, I guarantee afterwards you never regret it.
Yoga goes one step further and help to reduce tension in the mind as well as the body.
I am a huge ashtanga yoga fan as it is a dynamic practise that helps increase strength and flexibility as well as being spiritual and mind relaxing. And anything that relaxes the mind can help relieve stress and therefore can then help reduce bowel discomfort by stimulating regular intestinal contractions.
Meditation
Incorporating daily relaxation techniques such as mindfulness meditation are essential ways to reduce stress and in turn soothe IBS naturally. Focusing on the breath alongside visualisation and progressive muscle work relaxation techniques that utilise positive imagery are great ways to leave you blissfully relaxed.
Yoga nidra is another form of deep guided meditation that has been proven in research to reduce depression, anxiety and insomnia symptoms and is so easy to do, you just lie down and listen to a relaxing voice guide you through the meditation.
Apps such as Calm and Headspace are both great tools to help you with guided 10 minutes meditations – all you need is 10minutes a day to make a difference. If I miss my meditation, I really notice it, it’s an essential part of my self-care routine.
Breathwork
Deep diaphragmatic/abdominal breathing as well as ancient Indian pranayama breathing techniques work very quickly to relax the mind leaving you blissfully at peace.
Breathwork has been known to really help release past traumas which can be linked energetically to discomfort in the digestive system and the liver too. The more relaxed and the more we can let go of past emotional disturbances using these techniques the better our overall health and especially our gut health.
If you found Six ways to soothe IBS naturally useful and want to read more content by Mays Al-Ali visit our Health channel.
About the Author / Mays Al-Ali
Mays Al-Ali is a registered nutritionist, nutritional therapist & naturopath and certified yoga, breathwork and meditation teacher. She is the founder of the Healthy Mays clinic working with clients to help them achieve their health goals such as gut health, hormone & histamine balancing, weight loss & disordered eating, liver cleansing, stress, anxiety, insomnia and so much more. She loves hosting transformational wellness nutrition and yoga retreats and has 2 coming up in Ibiza in 2023. All details found on www.healthymays.com. She also posts lots of free content on her @healthymays Instagram channel. Do follow her for more tips.
