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Antioxidants:
In IBS, oxidative damage is a major key factor in the disease process when balanced antioxidant levels are not found in the mucosa within the intestine.
Studies have shown that antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium, can reduce the symptoms associated with IBS.
- Probiotics: With more than 400 microorganism species in the human gastrointestinal tract, their balance is very important to intestinal health.
Various studies have demonstrated that probiotic bacteria can support a healthy digestive tract and even help eliminate gastrointestinal dysfunction (digestive disorders).
Also, an optimal balance of flora (beneficial microorganisms) in the intestine can help produce a decreased transit time.
Probiotics can be purchased in pill form, by eating natural, unprocessed, unsweetened yogurt or by taking a teaspoon or so of acidophilus each day. Acidophilus can be purchased online or from your local health food store.
It is also beneficial to women who have taken antibiotics and who find that a week or two after completing the full antibiotic prescription, they find themselves with a vaginal yeast infection due to the antibiotics having killed the "good" bacteria in their body, along with the "bad".
- Selenium: Selenium is a strong antioxidant which is necessary for calcium and vitamin C metabolism and the conversion of blood sugar into energy.
It also reduces blood platelet aggregation, (where platelets begin to stick together, or clump, which can hinder blood flow) and promotes cardiovascular health.
Selenium deficiency is commonly found in people who have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).
It is important to note, though, that selenium is a mineral. Our bodies need minerals, but in very small maintenance amounts, so, rather than purchasing selenium supplements, eating natural foods which are high in selenium is a much safer method to insure that we do not overload our system.
Brazil nuts are a rich, natural source of selenium, however due to the fact that they are so high in selenium, eating too many may result in selenium toxicity.
Other natural sources of foods that aid digestion which are high in selenium include cereals (corn, wheat, and rice, oats), nuts (brazil nuts and walnuts), legumes (soybeans), animal products such as beef, turkey, chicken, eggs and cheese, and seafood, such as tuna.
- Fiber: Dietary fiber is essential to good health and is found in many plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains.
Foods such as vegetable skins, grain brans (with hulls), and fruit pulp have insoluble fiber which adds bulk to stools and speeds the movement of food through the digestive tract. The more quickly this bulk moves through the intestines helps prevent constipation.
Soluble fiber is found in fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, grains, dried beans, and dark chocolate. Soluble fiber helps to lower cholesterol and prevent such diseases as colon cancer, diabetes and digestive disorders.
Omega-3 fatty acids are well-known anti-inflammatory foods. Foods with high quantities of Omega-3 fatty acids are found mainly in cold-water fish such as halibut, herring, salmon, sardines and trout.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease by reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines.
They may also reduce the dosage of corticosteroid drugs needed to cause a remission, but always check with your doctor before beginning any regimen such as this.
- Vitamin K: Vitamin K regulates blood clotting. People who have a Vitamin K deficiency bruise or bleed easily.
Patients with ulcerative colitis are frequently deficient in vitamin K. One study showed that 31 percent of patients who had chronic gastrointestinal disease (digestive disorders) had a vitamin K deficiency, and all of them had either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
Foods high in Vitamin K are dark green, leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, asparagus, parsley and others.
It is unnecessary to take Vitamin K supplements because if you add dark, leafy greens to your diet, (rather than the pale green lettuce we find in most salads) you should already have the necessary levels of Vitamin K in your system.
Many digestive disorders can be vastly improved with inexpensive, natural foods.
