IBS.
Friday 19th January 2007
Why are your intestines so important for health ? Well for a start they contain 80%of your immune system. So if your intestines aren't functioning efficiently your immune system won't be.
Consider the small intestine, which lies between the stomach and the colon. In the adult it is about 6 m (20 ft) long. Its primary function is to digest and absorb nutrients. It makes up more than 70% of the length and 90% of the surface area of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In the wall of the small intestine are the Peyers Patches which form a very important part of the bodys immune system. We are only begining to understand the role that this aspect of the immune system plays in health and disease. There is a complex interplay of bacterial populations, both beneficial and harmful, in our intestinal biomass that have far reaching effects on nutrition,absorption, immunity and in the long run health.
A large number of patients with chronic health issues seen at my clinic will have a problem in their intestinal system. Often they are diagnosed as having IBS ,Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and given some dietary advice and advised to get on with it. For a group of patients ongoing issues with IBS can wear down other systems leading to chroinc ill health.
It is now possible to identify bacteria and parasites that may cause and are triggers for IBS and furthermore it is possible to treat these. There are interesting antibiotics such as Rifixamin which has been designed specifically to treat IBS. This antibiotic is not absorbed into the bloodstream and remains in the intestine where it knocks out pathogenic bacteria.This can be a very helpful treatment for a group of IBS patients.