There are several naturopathic approaches to dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and these tend to focus more on healing the internal problems rather than just managing the symptoms. Like most colon related illnesses, naturopathic specialists feel cleansing the colon should be one of the primary steps towards obtaining relief. Since the entire digestive system is run by nervous impulses to muscle receptors, it’s important to control stress.
Since many are of the opinion that stress plays a primary role in IBS flare ups, managing that stress is considered to be one of the best natural treatments for IBS. Doctors and natural practitioners alike feel it can be beneficial to learn breathing and calming exercises, practice meditation, and practice stress relieving activities such as yoga. Removing the cause of stress in your life is another recommendation, but for some that’s not overly easy to do.
What makes a healthy digestive system?
- Lymph flow
- blood flow
- Regular movement
- Good nutrition
- Adequate fiber
- Relaxed mind
Exercise is another important way to relieve colon problems, including IBS. Your colon contains many muscles, and by moving your body in various ways while exercising, you’re also moving those internal muscles too. Moving the colon around during exercise can also help if there are blockages causing problems.
Cleansing can be done with enemas, colonic flushing and irrigation, herbal laxatives, herbs which act as brooms to “scrub” the colon, and changes in dietary habits.
There are several herbs which can help balance the colon, aid it in healing, and help it to start functioning more normally. Here we’ll look at several.
Slippery Elm is an herb used to assist with diarrhea. It normalizes the stools and soothes, coats and heals the entire digestive tract. Slippery Elm should be taken with lots of water.
Alfalfa or Chlorophyll are colon scrubbing herbs, which can help immensely with constipation problems. These also neutralize gas in the stomach and colon.
Cascara Sagrada is one of the strongest herbal laxatives. It promotes activity in the bowel muscles, so this could cause a bit of cramping, but it’s not an irritant or a purgative.
Peppermint is an herb that works wonderfully for gas, bloating and stomach pains caused by indigestion. This herb will cause the gas to pass out of your body.
Garlic will also help expel gas from your system, and it has the added benefit of being able to help your colon rid itself of mucus and parasites which could be causing some of the IBS problems. Additionally garlic is an infection fighting herb, so if there are harmful bacteria in your colon causing the IBS, the garlic can help rid your body of them.
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Garlic is great! We use it on every occasion back in Russia, and it really helps. The only problem is odor, so to minimize this problem the whole family should eat garlic together, and they should do it in the evening
Misha
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Misha I say the same thing every time I eat something with garlic. If everyone has bad breath, it doesn’t matter
I find peppermint capsules helpful in calming stomach cramps and spasms caused by IBS. For me peppermint is at least as effective as the prescription antispasmodic I was previously prescribed.
Also when I first tried peppermint tea I was also really surprised by how nice it tasted.
Most don’t think of peppermint as an herb, but it is. Glad you found something that works for you.
@IBSJournal:
Hi everyone, i suffer from ibs, recently i found out that i have h pylori which they link to ibs i suggest get checked out also for sibo (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) i am finally on the road to recovery:)
Thanks for sharing such a great information.
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Such as the other commented, peppermint capsules really help. Also try some star anisette infusions.
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Thanks for the information. I can only really add that it is important to keep your digestive system ticking over to ensure you are expelling the toxins from your body on a regular basis. A good healthy diet and plenty of fluid (water only) goes along way to help sufferers.
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Colonic hydrotherapy is also a good way to help to maintain a healthy digestive system.
Natural relief is best for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It has no side effects and relief is permanent.
Nice tips – Saunf (I believe aniseed? ) and ajwain are used for stomach problems in Pakistan and India. Ajwain is also a mouth cleaner.
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Good list of herbs. From my knowledge, these are all beneficial for treating Irritable bowel syndrome. Garlic is a great herb for it, despite the bad breath that comes along with it. Peppermint tea is a delicious option, if you don’t want to have garlicy breath.
What about probiotics? I’ve always heard that they can help regulate IBS symptoms.
Slippery Elm is an herb used to assist with diarrhea. It normalizes the stools and soothes, coats and heals the entire digestive tract. Slippery Elm should be taken with lots of water.
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I use garlic often, and I do smell like garlic, but that’s okay. I just try not to eat too much when I know I’m going to be around a lot of people! I’ll have to try the peppermint.
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Very good and informative article…As you said, a diet rich in fiber is good…wheat which has insoluble fiber and fruits and vegetables which has soluble fiber helps to avoid colon problems.
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What I found your article offers the most is point on how natural healing plays a role in disorder relief. Great article.
My son is the perfect example of stress based IBS. I can always tell when he’s upset or anxious about something because he has to run to the bathroom all the time.
I really believe in the natural healing effects of herbs rather than some of the traditional medicines, however, it’s also important to look closely at the diet a person has as this, plus stress, can really irritate the bowels.
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