Irritable bowel syndrome was hardly a new concept in the 1990s, but that’s when it became a standardized definitive gastrointestinal diagnosis.

I first heard of it in 1998, talking with a group of women, including a prominent community leader who had just been diagnosed with IBS.

She was infuriated. After testing that found no other causes of her GI distress, her doctor told her that her irregular bowel movements were IBS and therefore, “all in her head.”

IBS has long been synonymous with people who have extreme stress, anxiety, or clinical depression—leaving a great deal of Americans untreated for what’s now known to involve real pain, inflammation, and damage to their GI tract.

Thankfully, researchers’ understanding of IBS has evolved. Today, updated clinical guidelines suggest that nearly 80 percent of IBS patients may have Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)—an overgrowth of microbes in the small intestine—which is treatable.

Better yet, testing has become precise enough to measure the specific type of overgrowth, which is important because there are three types that each respond best to a different antibiotic treatment.

Diet can play an important role, and herbals can also be used to eradicate microbial overgrowths.

It’s also important to acknowledge the role of stress. Since medical treatments alone only offer a permanent fix for about one-third of patients, managing psychological factors can be a potent strategy for preventing the overgrowth from occurring or recurring.

Read on to learn more about the link between SIBO and IBS and how an integrative approach can be protective against microbial overgrowth.

May peace, joy, and health be upon you,

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