IBS and the after-dinner-peppermint
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IBS and the After-Dinner- Peppermint
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common disorders that
physicians see.
IBS is characterized by abdominal pain or cramping and changes in bowel
function. - including bloating, gas, diarrhea and constipation -- problems that
most people don't like to discuss.
Many people have occasional symptoms of IBS but you are more likely to have IBS
if you are young and female, beginning at the age of around 20. Overall 2 to 3-
times as many woman as men have this condition. Up to one in five American
adults has IBS. The disorder accounts for more than one of every ten doctor
visits.
For most people the signs and symptoms of irritable bowel disease are mild;
fortunately, unlike more serious intestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis
and Crohn's disease. IBS doesn't cause inflammation or changes in bowel tissue
or increase the risk of colorectal cancer. For many years IBS was considered a
psychological rather than a physical problem.
In many cases, you can control IBS by managing diet, lifestyle and stress.
No one knows exactly what causes IBS. The walls of the intestines are lined with
layers of muscle that contract and relax as they move food from your stomach
through your intestinal tract to the rectum. Normally, these muscles contract
and relax in a coordinated rhythm. But if you have IBS, the contractions are
stronger and last longer than normal. Food is forced through your intestines
more quickly, causing gas, bloating and diarrhea. In some cases, however, the
opposite occurs. Food passage slows and stool becomes hard and dry and
constipation sets in.
Peppermint with it's active ingredient menthol is a natural antispasmodic that
relaxes smooth muscle - the same muscle that lines the walls of the intestines.
Most likely as a result of its muscle relaxing effect peppermint is also
considered a carminative - aids in relief of that bloated feeling by aiding in
the expulsion of intestinal gas.
Peppermint would most likely be an excellent choice as an After-Dinner-Mint to
permit you to enjoy your meal and avoid the discomfort of symptoms of IBS. The
After-Dinner-Mint custom dates back to ancient Rome, and Pliny, the first
century Roman historian and scientist, who included mint in his Natural History
in 77 A.D.
Why not try a relatively safe After-Dinner-Peppermint to possibly help you avoid
any of the uncomfortable symptoms of IBS ?
Most likely the After-Dinner-Peppermint should work fine. If not, peppermint
also comes as an enteric coated capsule that allows the oil to bypass digestion
in the stomach where the acid environment would otherwise destroy some of
peppermint's activity so it can be delivered to the intestine to the site where
the pain and cramping are located.
There are other medications that can be used to treat the symptoms of irritable
bowel syndrome; they tend to be much more expensive and address certain aspects
of the syndrome (diarrhea predominant, constipation predominant, or mixed
medication) and some of these are associated with unpleasant side effects that
may even mimic IBS itself.
