Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Why has IBS become so common in this country?

1. Changed sleep pattern: our digestive system needs to repair every night. Growth hormone secretion surges at 10pm, 12am and 2pm. If you go to bed at 2am everyday, your intestinal membrane loose the opportunity to recover from heavy-duty digestion during the day.
2. Having a big meal after 7pm causes indigestion, the undigested food become toxin leading to intestinal inflammation.
3. Cigarettes inflame the intestinal membrane.
4. Alcohol can cause inflammation in digestive and nervous system, leading to irregular bowl movement.
5. Caffeine can stimulate bowl movement. After you drink coffee, you may not get the symptoms right away, it does sensitize your digestive system.
6. Tea can slow down your bowel movement. If you drink coffee in the morning, then drink very strong tea in the afternoon, you really confuse your digestive system.
7. High sugar and inflammation: high sugar induces high insulin, which is connected with inflammation. You will not see those inflammation until your symptoms show up.
8. Medications: pain-killer, high blood pressure medication, sleeping pill and anti-depression  can cause constipation.
10. Too much spicy food: In Chinese medicine, spicy food produce internal heat, causing inflammation. With all the stress we have, almost everybody has blocked energy somewhere, which is linked with internal heat. That is why we should not eat too much spicy food to aggravate this condition.
11. Too much raw vegetables: most raw vegetables can not be digested well in our stomach and intestine even though many people claim that they contain more nutrients. If your body can not absorb the nutrients, they become toxin to your intestinal membrane.