Irritable bowel syndrome is a common disorder that affects the large intestine and afflicts a significant portion of the population. Specifically, 15-20% of Greeks, especially young people and women. Symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation, or both.

In mild cases, many people try to reduce the symptoms by choosing a balanced diet and learning to manage stress better. In the event that the symptoms are more serious, they are treated with medication and counseling by the doctor.

Unfortunately, there is no blood test that can prove that we have irritable bowel syndrome. If the symptoms do not go away, it would be a good idea to visit your doctor, as they may indicate more serious conditions, such as colon cancer. The most serious symptoms are the following:

• Weight loss
• Diarrhea at night
• Bleeding from the rectum
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Uncontrollable vomiting
• Difficulty swallowing
• Intense pain that is not relieved by gas or bowel movements

As far as your diet is concerned you should keep a diary of what foods you eat and what they cause you, as there are foods that aggravate symptoms and should be avoided. Some of them are the following:

• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Apples/pears
• Carbonated
• Lentils
• Fried
• Artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol, maltitol or xylitol
• Beans
• Cauliflower
• Soy
• Lactose
• Bananas
• Carrots

Irritable bowel syndrome may not be a condition that can pose great risks to the health of the sufferer, but it can make them suffer mentally or physically. For this reason, specialized medical monitoring is deemed necessary for its treatment.

Finally, a good suggestion for symptom relief is Power Health’s Probiozen Med which is a medical technology product that contains a mixture of 9 billion probiotics per capsule and is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome.