FW: Gut Feeling (article about gut issues)

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From: HSI - [mailto:HSIResearch@...]

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

October 27, 2004

Dear Reader,

The next time you're at the store or in a theater or any crowded place,

look

around you and consider this: About one out of every five people may be

having abdominal pain.

More specifically, about 20 percent of the population experiences

irritable

bowel syndrome (IBS), with irritating symptoms such as diarrhea,

constipation, gas and bloating.

Hopefully you aren't one of those one-in-five. But if you are (or know

someone who is), then you'll be interested to know that a long-time

researcher of IBS believes that the last symptom on that list - bloating

-

may be the key to understanding one of the primary causes of IBS, which

could lead to more effective treatment.

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Uncomfortable expanding

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Without knowing anything else about it, when you see the term " bacterial

overgrowth, " you know that something not very good is afoot.

Henry C. Lin, M.D., is a gastrointestinal specialist and an associate

professor of medicine at the University of Southern California. For well

over a decade, Dr. Lin has devoted his research efforts to finding a

single

factor that might tie together the symptoms of IBS.

He now believes that bacterial overgrowth may be that factor. And the

key is

bloating.

Over the years, Dr. Lin noted that almost all of the IBS patients he

treated

reported post-meal bloating. This prompted him to focus his research on

gas

caused by gut bacteria that ferments food in the intestinal tract.

Bacteria

perform useful functions in the large intestine, but Dr. Lin suspected

that

the bacteria might be migrating to the small intestine, triggering gas,

bloating and flu- like symptoms that often accompany IBS.

After a breath-test study indicated that a large majority of IBS

patients

experienced small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), an antibiotic

trial helped confirm the results. In that trial, IBS patients received

either an antibiotic or placebo. About 75 percent of the subjects who

successfully eliminated SIBO with antibiotics reported a significant

improvement in IBS symptoms.

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Good guys vs. bad guys

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The use of antibiotics in Dr. Lin's study may have been helpful in

demonstrating how bacteria play an important role in prompting IBS

symptoms,

but that doesn't necessarily mean that the best course of treatment is

antibiotics (which are already over- prescribed, making some of them

ineffective against certain bacteria).

I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., to take a look at Dr.

Lin's study. He told me he wasn't aware of the theory that connected

bacteria to IBS, but found it to be reasonable. In an e- mail he wrote:

" I

do feel there's something to the research; I just hope it doesn't mean a

quickie, antibiotic-related 'cure' is coming.

Antibiotics, of course, might help to immediately lower the 'bad guy'

bacteria count, and therefore help a person feel better, while

simultaneously killing 'good guys' and causing more trouble down the

road. "

In several e-Alerts, Dr. Spreen has written about the necessity of

probiotic

organisms. In a healthy individual, these beneficial bacteria inhabit

the

digestive tract in massive numbers, crowding out harmful bacteria,

aiding

digestion, and supporting immune function. This healthy " gut flora "

produces

valuable nutrients (including certain B vitamins and omega-3 fatty

acids),

digestive enzymes like lactase, and immune chemicals that fight harmful

bacteria and even cancer cells.

But this critical ecosystem is fragile and easily disturbed. For

instance,

poor nutrition, steroid drugs, chemotherapy and some types of

antibiotics

can completely kill off the beneficial bacteria in the gut. And when the

number or activity level of your good bacteria drops too low, it opens

the

door for harmful bacteria to proliferate, allowing the opportunity for

diseases such as IBS to develop.

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Striking the balance

------------------------------------------------------------

I asked Dr. Spreen if Dr. Lin's research might indicate that probiotic

supplements would be a good treatment for IBS, and he replied, " I

absolutely

would be giving probiotics for such a problem, along with any agents

that

might assist strengthening the intestinal wall, such as FOS

(fructo-oligo-saccharides), which helps the 'good' bugs to reestablish,

aloe

juice, which has a long history of calming bowel problems, essential

fatty

acids, and digestive enzymes (which are usually underproduced in such

situations). "

Just one question: Fructo-oligo-WHAT? This was a new one to me. But a

little

research revealed that FOS is simply a natural fruit and vegetable fiber

that promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Meanwhile, sufficient amounts of intestinal flora can be maintained

through

dietary sources such as cultured products (yogurt and kefir), and

lignans

(flaxseed, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, millet and

buckwheat).

But while the digestive tract can be " re-colonized " by introducing

enough

good bacteria to overpower the bad bacteria, dietary sources alone can't

provide organisms in the vast numbers required to correct a serious

imbalance. For this, a high-potency probiotic nutritional supplement is

necessary.

But one word of caution: Bacterial imbalances in the intestine should

not be

taken lightly. So talk to your doctor or a health care professional

before

using a probiotic supplement to address IBS or any other chronic

digestive

problems.

**************************************************************

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To Your Good Health,

Health Sciences Institute

**************************************************************

Sources:

" Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth: A Framework for Understanding

Irritable Bowel Syndrome " Journal of the American Medical Association,

Vol.

292, No. 7, 8/18/04, jama.ama-assn.org " Bacteria May Be the Cause of

IBS "

Di Rado, University of Southern California press release,

8/25/04,

usc.edu

Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com, L.L.C.

The e-Alert may not be posted on commercial sites without written

permission.

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OK,,,here are the links for PubMed and JAMA:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & li

st_u

ids=15316000 & dopt=Abstract> & db=PubMed & list_uids=15316000 & dopt=Abstract

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/292/7/852?view=abstractfp=

852 &

vol=292 & lookupType=volpage