I have been a holistic gastroenterologist for over 3 decades, and my line of work involves providing people with IBS support.Basically I am in the business of preventing people from having bowel surgery.

This has brought me into contact with many clients who ask a lot of questions out of curiosity about their condition. There were some queries that kept recurring.

So, I decided to come up with a collection of questions that are frequently asked as far as my IBS support practice is concerned.

Q: Can IBS be classified as an Auto-Immune Disease?

A: Inflammatory Bowel Disease can certainly not be classified as an auto-immune disease because it is definitely not a disease at all. When one looks at it critically, you will note that the immune system does not attack the colon in IBS, Colitis, Ulcerative Colitis, or Crohn’s disease. On the contrary, your immune system does its job by trying to help you. That’s why it is involved-why snuff it out-no wonder people don’t get better.

A good example is if I cut my finger. The immune system will take charge of the situation and it works by a means referred to as “compliment.” This is an old-school term that explains how the immune system goes about doing its work. The immune system usually becomes active locally and it acts by preventing the finger from getting infected. As much as it is active in this process, I cannot blame my immune system for my cut finger. The same concept can be applied to the colon. In as much as the immune system becomes active, it cannot be held responsible for damaging the colon lining. On the contrary, it tries to act to prevent infection while at the same time trying to facilitate the healing process. Yet we still prescribe some drugs to help suppress the immune system.

Q. Can IBS be caused by NSAIDS?

A. One can easily get NSAIDS or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs over the counter. There are some, like aspirin and ibuprofen, which do not need a prescription. These are not known to cause IBS directly. They may cause stomach upsets due to their acidity but they are not responsible for conditions like IBD. However, they may worsen an already existing situation, especially when antibiotics were used at some point BEFORE the NSAIS’s were used. Because of this, the NSAID may be able to penetrate the porous mucosal lining and end up irritating the wall of the GI tract.

Q. Is IBD hereditary?

This is not exactly the case. There may be some genetic tendencies for some body systems to develop a weakness towards a particular disease. As far as the gastro-intestinal problems are concerned, people do not get IBD without there being other factors that can possibly trigger an underlying “genetic” issue. It does not require genetic tendencies to develop IBD. What does “run in the family” really mean? What really runs in the family are people who frequently use antibiotics. This “environmental”factor is the real cause of IBD’s such as crohn’s (not a ) “disease.”

Q. Some of my doctors are recommending the use of colonics or increasing my fiber. Is that an idea worth taking up?

A. This is not recommended because it will only worsen the situation. Considering the colon lining is already inflamed, it is not a good idea to worsen this by sticking stuff up there or dragging roughage over it. It is, however, a good idea to eat a diet that is low in fiber-temporarily-until you get it fixed- and yes–any IBD can be permanently cured.

Q. Why is it hard for some Naturopaths to fix leaky gut syndrome?

A. Naturopaths are paths are good at treating most general problems. Problems that affect the colon are very complex and thus require Naturopaths who specialize in them. Unfortunately, most of them shy away from this condition. I have been dealing with this for 30 plus years to the point of developing my own Gastro-enterology method.

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