With the irritable symptoms of colon syndrome (IBS) such as cramps and toilet running, you may not know the related problems that do not cause obvious discomfort. For example, food goes through your intestine before you can absorb the necessary nutrients.
Nutrient malabsorption
The most common SCI symptom is abdominal pain, according to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFGD). You are also likely to have diarrhea or constipation, often passing unpredictably from one to the other and from the back.
When you suffer from diarrhea, food moves too quickly through your digestive tract. When you have constipation, it moves too slowly. “The two disrupt the average time to treat nutrients,” explains Nikeke Sonpal, MD, gastroenterologist and deputy assistant professor of clinical medicine in the basic department of biomedical sciences at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York.
When your body does not treat its food properly, you could miss very important nutrients, including iron and vitamin B12. Without these two in particular, you could become anemic, according to the American College of Hematology. Anemia can cause fatigue because your blood does not carry enough oxygen to your cells.
Find out more: Demystify the link between IBS and fatigue
Correct malabsorption
“Your doctor can test your blood to check all the gap in nutrients,” explains Dr. Sonpal. If deficiencies are found, your doctor may prescribe supplements, either pills or, in more serious cases, injections, to compensate for them. However, he says, “the simplest thing to do is to avoid all the foods that trigger a push from your IBS.”
You also want to eat smaller meals rich in nutrients that your body needs, make sure you have enough fiber in your diet and to identify and practice stress reduction techniques that work for you, according to IFGD. Depending on the severity and the type of SCI that you have (dominant or dominant diarrhea of constipation), your doctor could also recommend medication, explains Mayo Clinic.
Find out more: 10 strange signs, you don’t get enough nutrients
Help from a low Fodmaps diet?
Another way to relieve SCI’s symptoms and delude a malabsorption problem is to identify triggers by eliminating FODMAP food from your diet, explains Kelly Krikhely, RD, CDN, clinical nutrition coordinator at Mount Sinai hospital in New York.
FODMAP is the acronym of oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols – short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols which are badly absorbed in the small intestine, explains the IFGD. Because the FODMAP are poorly absorbed, they quickly close in the large intestine and fermentation can cause gas and bloating.
According to Stanford Health, certain common FODMAP foods are:
- Fructose, found in certain fruits, honey and corn syrup with high fructose content
- Lactose, sugar in milk
- Fructans (inulin), found in wheat, onion and garlic
- Galactans, found in beans, lenses and legumes
- Polyols, found in artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and maltitol and in fruits with pits, such as avocado, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums
Most FODMAP naturally occur in food. (Some, like artificial sweeteners, are used as additives.) As a rule, these foods do not cause symptoms “, but consumed in sufficiently high doses, they can cause symptoms in those that are sensitive,” explains Krikhely. “Everyone with the SCI will not react to food containing lactose, but this can be problematic for some people. The same goes for all Fodmap food – it is very individualized, specific to each person.”
Some people try a low Fodmap diet to see if it softens the symptoms. But afterwards, we are complex and better administered with the help of a recorded dietitian, says Krikhely. “During the elimination period, there is a long list of foods that must be avoided, which makes it difficult to meet all your nutritional needs,” she said. It could make you become malnourished.
“This is why it is very important that this diet is not maintained indefinitely,” says Krikhely. “This is a short -term tool that can help identify the foods that you cannot tolerate.” IFGD recommends 6 to 8 weeks maximum for the elimination phase. Then add these foods slowly to your diet, says Stanford Health.
