Up to 20 percent of Americans suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, and depending on the individual, the symptoms can be mild or pretty disruptive. But whether you or someone you know deals with IBS, no one wants to experience all the discomfort and pain of IBS. So, if you’d like to include some natural healing tips to your IBS treatment, keep reading for five soothing ideas that can heal IBS naturally.
IBS is an inflammatory condition, that comes with a specific set of intestinal symptoms, including cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea. For women, symptoms can worsen during menstruation. Not exactly what you need at that time of the month, right?
Madeleine Shaw, a nutrition coach, suffered with IBS for years, and she’s come up with helpful tips that helped her heal her own IBS naturally. Could they help you, too?
Add probiotics to your diet
Ideally, your gut has plenty of good bacteria. But IBS can throw this delicate microbiome out of balance. Taking probiotics can help to restore good bacteria to your gut and improve digestion.
Include digestive enzymes
When you take digestive enzymes, you help your stomach break down foods that it might have a hard time digesting on its own. This can help to make the rest of digestion much smoother and comfortable.
Stay hydrated
It’s safe to say that most of us don’t drink enough water. Shaw recommends drinking two liters of water per day. This helps to sooth the digestive track and also clear away nasty toxins.
Add bitter foods to your diet
To help stimulate your digestive system, try to include more bitter herbs and foods, like radicchio, rucola and dandelion root are all ingredients you can add to your next salad.
Avoid raw vegetables after lunch
But speaking of vegetables and salads, remember to consume raw veggies before dinner time. That’s because raw vegetables are difficult for the digestive system to break down, especially if it’s already compromised with something like IBS. So, for all other vegetables, try to steam, sauté or roast them to make it easier for your body to digest.
