IBS and Diarrhoea
A question, why does everyone seem to have IBS these days and what exactly is it?
IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, is an umbrella term that western medicine has given to gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, consitpation or alternating between the two when there is no explainable cause i.e. we have no idea whats causing this so lets just group them all together and slap the term IBS on it.
IBS is NOT to be confused with IBD, inflammatory bowel disease which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Most people self diagnose themselves with IBS - I literally hear it daily. Unfortunately this means western medicine has no known specific cause, nor successful treatment or cure, you’re just told to sort of figure out your triggers and then try avoid those things, oh and get counselling as theres often a mental health aspect to it… not really very helpful.
Luckily, TCM theory seems to understand and be able to treat IBS very well. Since we have spoke about constipation a lot already, today I’ll focus on diarrhoea (IBS-D). The short version is that loose stools are always related to a weak spleen (a.k.a “spleen qi deficiency”) This isn’t the same spleen we know of from biology GCSE, it’s an organ in TCM that is probably the most important; Its integral in making blood, making energy (qi) and controlling all digestion. So, no wonder when we get IBS we feel so drained and weak, it’s all related. Oh and another function of the spleen is to sort of ‘hold things up’ so prolapses and haemorrhoids are also due to a weak spleen.
The main rule is, the spleen hates dampness. What causes dampness?
Alcohol,
dairy,
sugar (think wine + sugary/citrus fruit and fruit juices),
gluten (think beer),
white carbs (bread, pasta, rice),
fried/oily foods,
bad oils (margarine, veg oils, trans fats like we spoke about already)
nuts and seeds (peanuts are the worst sorry peanut butter lovers)
in general, overly processed food.
This is why it seems that the west has so many cases of IBS, because these damp foods make up most of our diet, and most of us in this group also live in cold, damp London. Ever thought your bad stomach could be triggered by drinking beer or wine? or self diagnosed yourself as gluten intolerant? Think your hangovers are worse than others because you can’t stop going to the toilet? Now it’s starting to make sense. I’m yet to meet a person in London who isn’t at least a little bit ‘spleen qi deficient’.
So, how can we help strengthen the spleen, and treat IBS-D? Firstly, and I’ve spoken about this before, think:
WARMING foods and hot meals (or at least try and add one hot component to every meal), cooling foods weaken the spleen this INCLUDES WATER - don’t drink your water straight out the fridge try have it at room temp.
slow cooked food (ESPECIALLY FOR BREAKFAST - hence my obsession with soaked oats/porridge + bone broth).
think organic, seasonal, unrefined produce (the less processed the better)
ditch the sugary, processed DAMP, COLD and RAW foods. I hear so often people say, but raw is better right? NOT for people with IBS-D!
only small amounts of vinegar (if you eat a lot of pickles check they are not made in vinegar).
Specific spleen strengthening foods (which are also blood building foods) include:
nettle, beetroot, bone broth, camomile tea
properly cooked brown rice, oats, spelt,
carb rich veggies: squash, sweet potato, carrot, turnip, peas, pumpkin etc.
pungent veggies and spices: cinnamon, garlic, ginger, onions, leeks, fennel, black pepper
you’ll be happy to know (NOT in excess) that butter is fine to cook with (esp over veg oils)
By the way, if this diet sounds similar to the PCOS diet, thats because cysts are a build up of DAMP - so if thats you, also follow these restrictions! What else is damp? CANDIDA! The diet I gave for that is more restrictive than this, but the same rules apply!
Also, TCM and western medicine are both big believers in not overeating, mindful eating & chewing your food well. If you have a weak spleen (loose bowels, general weakness/fatigue) then the intermittent fasting and all the long breaks between meals we spoke about might not be the best for you, (late night eating still isn’t good for anyone) instead, go for smaller meals more often - essentially your digestive system right now sucks, don’t overwhelm it, and build it up slowly with only simple, hot cooked meals (nothing cold/cooling, damp or raw).
If you’re always cold (cold hands/feet) and you have more watery stools (maybe with some undigested food in) then your seriously spleen weak and you really need to start thinking about building up your digestive strength. In this case powdered ginger is better than fresh.
Oh and re the mental health part, in TCM a poorly functioning spleen results in poor mental function, and visa versa - stress and overwork (especially mentally taxing like studying for an exam) generally weakens the spleen. The spleen is actually part of the ‘Earth element’ and is the organ linked to anxiety (the overthinking type - repeatedly going over situations in circles which you cannot control). Equally, IBS that is exasperated by stress is said to be a ‘liver issue which in turn causes the spleen weakness’. So, if this if you, in addition to the above, keep your eyes peeled for any foods i mention that help the liver (coming up soon). But think about your liver - don’t provoke it with intoxicants (alcohol, cigarettes and poor quality fats and oils - again, no vegetable oils, margarine or trans-fats).