What is irritable bowel syndrome ? What are the symptoms?

If you have complaints such as abdominal pain, abdominal spasm, diarrhea, constipation, frequent toilet need, abdominal bloating and gas sensation, you may be facing irritable bowel syndrome.

Homemade yogurt is good for irritable bowel syndrome!

What is irritable bowel syndrome?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or colitis, "nervous colitis", "spastic colitis", "restless bowel disease"; It is a disease that causes abdominal pain, bloating and defecation changes without any underlying organic cause. Irritable bowel syndrome is seen all over the world regardless of climate, culture, eating habits, race or income level. The prevalence in the adult population according to the results of research carried out in different regions in Turkey is between 6-19 percent.

What kind of complaints does it make?

Abdominal pain, spasm in the abdomen, mucous defecation, diarrhea, constipation, frequent toilet need, inability to completely empty bowel movements, abdominal bloating and gas sensation causes loss of work and power in patients.

How is it treated?

Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome consists of informing the patient about IBS, dietary advice, psychosocial treatments and medication options. Since the disease is a chronic disease, long-term drug treatment is not sustainable by many people and diet / lifestyle changes attract more attention.

Which yogurt is good for irritable bowel syndrome?

It is homemade or organic yoghurt that we recommend for irritable bowel syndrome. According to food standards, yoghurts containing at least 1 million colony forming bacterial units per gram by definition are yoghurts with probiotic properties, which are measured by microbiological methods.

Traditionally made yoghurts at home usually have a much higher percentage of bacteria, which increases the value of yoghurt. The yogurt consumed for IBS should not be pasteurized, that is, its bacteria should not be destroyed by special methods.

In addition, no sweeteners, preservatives or solidifiers such as gluten should be added to give consistency and taste or to extend the shelf life. Undoubtedly, we assume that the milk from which yogurt is made comes from cows, sheep or goats that have not been fed with artificial feed and not treated with hormones and antibiotics.

Irritable bowel syndrome, does consuming yogurt cause harm?

Foods containing fermentable short-chain carbohydrates are thought to worsen irritable bowel syndrome. One of these foods is milk and dairy products. However, we do not know exactly how yogurt, a source of fermentable short-chain carbohydrates, actually works in response to claims that such carbohydrates worsen IBS.

In addition, it has been proven that some IBS patients are sensitive to lactose in milk. For this reason, we recommend IBS patients to remove milk from their diet.

On the other hand, we know that our patients with congenital insufficient lactase enzyme that provides lactose absorption do not worsen their complaints when they consume yogurt compared to milk consumption alone. In conclusion, we recommend that IBS patients with lactase deficiency consume yogurt carefully and cut the yogurt only if gas, bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea / constipation symptoms worsen.

Consume 2 cups of homemade yogurt a day

As a result, it should be kept in mind that yogurt, our traditional food that we can produce at home simply and cheaply, is a natural probiotic. We recommend that IBS patients consume 2 glasses of home yogurt a day, at least based on the data we have, so we can say that they are likely to relieve their complaints.