Yoga for IBS symptom relief

Have you tried Yoga?

Regular exercise is a great way to utilise the stress hormones that keeping your stress level up. It also triggers the release of endorphins, which act as natural painkillers and antidepressants.

In 2008 researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK confirmed that regular exercise, in the form of brisk walking, swimming, T’ai chi or yoga, reduced bloating and constipation in IBS sufferers. Regular exercise stimulates gut contraction.

A study by gastroenterologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found yoga to be especially beneficial for IBS sufferers. Yoga not only exercises the body it also relaxes the mind which helps reduce our stress level. Our stress level has a direct impact on IBS being both a trigger for flare ups and influencing the severity of those flare-ups.

There are many different forms of yoga and its best to consult a qualified yoga instructor to find out which form is most appropriate for you. In the meantime check out this page which has nine Easy Yoga Poses for IBS Symptom Relief which you can try at home.

If you want to know more about how I can help you manage your Irritable Bowel Syndrome using hypnosis and other psychological techniques, please do get in touch today!

Sleep is vital to our overall health

The right quantity and quality of sleep is vital to our overall health. With regards to IBS poor sleep has been shown to have a direct effect on the severity of IBS symptoms the following morning. The internet is awash with tips for how to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep but here are the three key things I recommend, that will improve your sleep.

Sleep hygiene. This can be a toughie to implement if you’ve got into the habit of watching TV from bed or using your mobile phone into the bedroom. The advice is to only use your bedroom for sleep and sex.

Avoid blue light for at least an hour before bed. Another toughie if you’re in the habit of using your PC, notebook, e-reader, phone before bed. These devices emit bright light that decrease the production of melatonin. Melatonin plays a role in your natural sleep-wake cycle. Natural levels of melatonin in the blood are highest at night.

Wind down before you go to bed. Develop a regular routine in the evening that allows you to ‘put the day to rest.’ This could involve reading, meditating, listening to calming music, a soak in warm bath. If your mind is actively worrying spend 15 -20 minutes writing down all your worries before going to bed.

If you want to know more about how I can help you manage your Irritable Bowel Syndrome using hypnosis and other psychological techniques, please do get in touch today!

The Gut Brain and its role in IBS

The field of neuroscience has discovered that in addition to our head (cephalic) brain, we have complex and functional brains in both our heart and gut. Called the cardiac and enteric brains respectively, scientific evidence is emerging that these neural networks exhibit intelligence and wisdom.

These three brains are all part of one nervous system and are in constant communication, and interact, with each other for our optimal functioning. We also have complex neural networks that communicate with these three brains.

The gut- heart – head -communication cycle

Research suggests that IBS could be the manifestation of a problem within our gut- heart - head - communication cycle. Poorly coordinated signals between the head brain and the gut brain can cause our body to overreact to changes that normally occur in the digestive process, resulting in pain, diarrhoea or constipation.

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Do we really have 3 brains?

What constitutes a brain?

• Large numbers of neurons and ganglia, including sensory neurons and motor neurons

• Neural cells with inter-neurons; neurons interconnecting with other neurons

• Support cells and components such as glial cells, astrocytes, proteins, etc.

• Functional attributes: perceiving/assimilating information, processing information, memory storage and access

• Able to mediate complex reflexes via an intrinsic nervous system (i.e. it doesn't need the head brain to direct it, it functions even in the complete absence of the head brain)

• A chemical warehouse of neurotransmitters (those found in the head brain are also found in the gut and heart brains)

[Source: mBraining Chapter 1 – Neuroscience meets ancient wisdom by G Soosalu and M Oka (2012)]

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Each of our three brains has a particular role

Each brain has a particular role.

The head – our intellectual brain - thinking, problem solving, creative, rational, logical. We ‘think things through’ and ‘use our head.’

The heart – our emotional brain. We ‘follow our heart’s desires’. We are ‘true to our heart.’ We know when our ‘heart’s not in it,’ or that we have ‘a broken heart.’

The gut – our intuitive/instinctive brain. We ‘follow our gut’ and rely on our ‘gut instincts’. We ‘trust our gut.’ Often we are unable to ‘swallow’ or ‘digest the facts.’ We get ‘butterflies in the stomach.’

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Let’s take a closer look at the Gut Brain

The gut (enteric) brain was discovered just over 100 years ago, but is ancient in evolutionary terms and predates the head brain and central nervous system.

Back when evolution was at the stage of complexity of sea cucumbers and worms, organisms only had a neural processing system of an enteric brain. This intelligence was used to detect threats and food in the environment and move away from danger and towards food.

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The human gut brain contains over 500 million neurons located in the sheaths of tissue lining the oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, colon and bowel. It has the equivalent size and complexity of something like a cat's brain. It sends and receives nerve signals throughout the chest and torso and innervates organs as diverse as the pancreas, lungs, diaphragm and liver.

Of the 500 million neurons in the gut, more than 100 million are located in the small intestine, roughly the same number as in our spinal cord. Once you add in the nerve cells in the oesophagus, stomach and large intestine and the total number of nerve cells exceeds those in the spinal cord.

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The enteric nervous system is also a vast chemical factory within which is found every one of the classes of neurotransmitter found in the head brain. Neurotransmitters are the signals brain cells use to communicate with each other and with the cells under their control. Major neurotransmitters found in the enteric brain include serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, norepinehrine and nitric oxide. Interestingly, over 95 percent of the serotonin used throughout the body and brain is made in the gut. Brain peptides and endorphins have also been found in the gut.

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Research has shown that more than 80 percent of our immune cells are located in the gut, and the gut brain is intimately involved in managing immune function. Some people with IBS have an increased number of immune-system cells in their intestines. This immune-system response is associated with pain and diarrhea.

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The gut is also a large source of benzodiazepines, which are psychoactive chemicals used in popular drugs such as Valium and Xanax. It's been found that in times of massive acute stress, the gut produces sufficient benzodiazepines to calm and sedate the head brain, downregulating the cognitive and emotional stress response. Our gut literally hijacks the head brain. This is why when in danger we are limited to ‘black and white’/’all or nothing’ thinking and, can 'choke' with emotion.

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The gut brain can learn!

There is evidence that the gut brain exhibits plasticity and can learn, form memories, take on new behaviours and grow new neurons, just like our head brain can.

Research performed by gastroenterologist Dr Yuri Saito Loftus from the Mayo Clinic, indicates that the gut brain learns from traumatic experiences such as the death of a loved one, divorce, natural disasters, accidents and physical or mental abuse. These traumatic experiences can cause changes in the nerves and muscles that control sensation and motility of the bowel.

Dr. Jackie D Wood, a professor at Ohio State University, and leading expert on the enteric nervous system (ENS) who named the ENS ‘The brain-in-the-gut,’ says there’s a growing body of evidence that suggests that autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis may involve the gut brain.

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Gut Directed Hypnotherapy

The focus of gut directed hypnotherapy is communicating with all three brains that control our mind body system. A key element of the Hypno4IBS programme is to identify and systematically de-traumatise past trauma, effectively changing the way the traumatic memories are encoded in the brain(s) and to positively affect the workings of the ENS.

If you want to know more about how I can help you manage your Irritable Bowel Syndrome using hypnosis and other psychological techniques, please do get in touch today!

Handy, helpful herbs to soothe your IBS symptoms

In IBS A Self-help guide to feeling better, Wendy Green has a chapter on helpful herbs you can find in your kitchen cupboard to soothe your IBS symptoms. Wendy lists eleven herbs and I had a look in my pantry to see of how many were sitting on my shelves. Here are the ones I found:

Apple Cider Vinegar

We keep this on the pantry shelf for use salad dressings and sauces. The vinegar has a number of other uses too. A teaspoonful in a glass of water before eating is a traditional remedy for digestive problems. The acetic acid and enzymes in the vinegar are thought to aid food digestion and the absorption of minerals such as calcium. The pectin from the apples may help constipation.

Black Pepper

I put black pepper on pretty much every meal. Until I read Wendy’s book I didn’t know that black pepper has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat stomach disorders as it aids digestion and reduces bloating. The active ingredient appears to be piperine.

Cardamom

I love making curries so have a container full of spices including cardamom pods. Cardamom is an anti-flatulent and aids digestion. It’s believed to relieve wind by easing intestinal spasms and promoting the digestion of fats by stimulating the production of bile. The whole pods can be chewed or added to plain rice before boiling.

Fennel

In the same container that holds our cardamom there are fennel seeds. This plant and its seeds have traditionally been used to ease stomach cramps and wind. The active ingredient is believed to be Terpenoids which have a wind relieving effect. Fennel also stimulates the production of bile and bile helps break down fats in food. The recommended dose is 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of seeds per day. You can chew the seeds or pop them in boiling water and leave them to brew for 10 to 15 minutes, then strain and drink. The plant can be eaten raw, finely sliced in salads, stir-fried and roasted.

Coriander

We like to buy bunches of fresh coriander from the local fruit and veg market. The herb has grown as a medicinal herb by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Indians and Greeks. Some nutritional therapists recommend it for the relief of wind and tummy cramps. You can use the chopped leaves in curries or other savoury dishes. You can also add the leaves to boiling water and leave to brew for five minutes before drinking.

Ginger

Another herb that has been used medicinally for thousands of years. It helps stimulate digestion and tone the muscles in the digestive tract to help food pass through the system more easily, causing less irritation to the intestinal walls. The recommended daily dose is usually 50 – 150mg. I add ginger to my morning fruit smoothie.

So before you go out and buy supplements it may be worth trying some of these herbs which may already be sitting on the shelves in your pantry.

If you want to know more about how I can help you manage your Irritable Bowel Syndrome using hypnosis and other psychological techniques, please do get in touch today!