What natural remedies help bowel trouble?
HELEN Spath and her team at Tullivers Health Store, in York, write a regular column to advise on the spectrum of health issues and how to treat them with natural remedies. Q: I’ve recently been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Sydrome (IBS). Are there are natural alternatives which might help? A: It is estimated one in six people in the UK are affected by IBS. Symptoms can very greatly, but tend to include discomfort in the abdomen, bloatedness, constipation, diarrhoea, excessive wind and/or indigestion. Pinpointing a cause can be tricky as there are several contributing factors thought to make the condition worse. Stress certainly seems to have its part to play, while specific foods – usually tea, coffee or fatty foods – are triggers for other people. Antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (Ibuprofen, for example) can also make symptoms worse. As I’m sure you will have been told, there is no simple solution to IBS but, depending on your individual symptoms, there are
