Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Many adults suffer from abdominal discomfort oftentimes accompanied by watery stools or constipation. This condition which is also known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (or IBS) seems to affect more men and women.
Signs and symptoms
Ideally, you should be able to pass well formed stools at regular times and on a daily basis. At other times, you may experience the following symptoms indicating that you are suffering from IBS:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Abdominal pain
- Stomach bloating
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Alternating diarrhea and constipation
- Depression or anxiety
- Fatigue
- Salt and sugar cravings
- Abdominal weight gain or weight loss
- Bad taste in the mouth
Causes
IBS is usually caused by the following:
- Allergic reaction to certain foods
- Parasite infestation or bacteria infection in the bowel
- Stress coming from life-changing events such as sexual abuse, divorce, financial problems, death, end of a relationship and overseas travel
Traditional Chinese medicine
On the other hand, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believes that liver qi stagnation causes gastrointestinal problems like IBS. “Qi” literally means “energy” and refers to the life force coming from the liver that is essential to your body’s overall health and well-being. In both TCM and Western medicine, stress is known to trigger IBS.
Aging and Stress – Not Perfect Partners
How many people do you know that unwind at the end of a stressful day by drinking alcohol? It might be a couple of scotches before dinner, a bottle of wine during dinner, or the ever-popular ‘night cap’ to help them get to sleep.
Alcohol in moderation is not a bad thing for most people, but when it is consumed to excess and used as a method for combating stress and inducing sleep, it is.
Life
Most of us, when we start out in our careers, are happy, healthy, optimistic and full of energy. But as the pressures of business, supporting families, mortgage commitments – life – take hold, many of us lose not just the joie de vivre, but our health suffers as well.
In the worst cases, people resort to prescription medications just to help them function on a day to day basis. Because this happens over time, quite often it’s not until we enter middle to old age, that the impacts on our minds and bodies become evident.
