I HAVE TRIED TO FIND OUT SOME CAUSES OF IBSAlthough IBS is the most common diagnosis given by gastroenterologists (gut doctors), the causes of the illness aren't clear. Much research shows that IBS patients have a colon that is much more sensitive to stimuli than healthy subjects. These stimuli could be foods and drinks or emotional stimuli like stress and anxiety. Some research has also shown that the immune system may be involved somehow. This could be an indication that the bacteria in the gut play a part, whether the immune system is having an abnormal response to the normal bacteria or whether dysbiosis or a specific bacterial infection is present.Factors that may have a role in IBS include:1) Neurological Dysfunction2) Stress3) Food Sensitivities/Intolerances4) Gut Dysbiosis5) Leaky Gut Syndrome Neurological Dysfunction In IBS:What is unique about perception of visceral events in the GI tract?There are several features which are unique to the perception of sensory stimuli arising from the gastrointestinal tract and which differ from those coming from the rest of the body. These differences may explain many of the symptom characteristics present in FBD patients.Even though the events within the GI tract such as the composition of food, the concentration of acid, or the strength of contractions are continuously monitored by sensory nerve fibers, only a small fraction of this sensory information ever reaches consciousness. The majority of sensory signals play a role in reflex regulation of the digestive process and presumably in the very basic regulation of states like hunger or well being. The only sensory signals which are consciously perceived are those which result in a beneficial behavioral response, such as: the sensation of being "full" following a big meal so that we stop eating, the sensation of rectal fullness and urgency preceding a bowel movement, and the sensation of gas which will result in an attempt to expel the gas from the upper or lower GI tract.The brain has developed mechanisms, which prevent the conscious perception of all visceral information that is not essential for the individual to respond to. However, in patients with FBD, this inhibitory mechanism appears to be compromised. For example, people with IBS commonly experience a persistent sensation of excessive gas, even though carefully designed studies have failed to demonstrate alterations in the gas content of the bowel which correlate with symptoms of bloating. A sensation of incomplete evacuation will make a person try to go to the bathroom many times during the day, even though the rectum is virtually empty. Persons with functional heartburn experience a burning sensation in the esophagus, without abnormal amounts of refluxed acid, and persons with dyspepsia will experience a constant sensation of gastric fullness even though their stomachs are nearly empty.An additional problem for FBD patients is that they have no sensory "back-up" system to verify if the perceived gut sensations are appropriate. For example, if I have a sensation that my face feels swollen, I can look in the mirror, touch my face, feel the temperature, etc. If these checks fail to confirm my sensory experience, I will likely not be concerned about the sensation in my face and forget about it. In contrast, if my belly feels full of food, gas, or stool, I have no way of verifying if this sensation actually is due to an excessive amount of food, gas, or stool. Even more so, if I experience belly pain, I have no way of verifying what may be responsible for the pain or any way of determining if it is a life threatening problem or a simple spasm. This sole reliance on our visceral sensory apparatus (without being able to use our other senses for verification) makes us highly vulnerable to even small alterations in its sensitivity and reliability. Furthermore, the system is prone to generate symptom-related anxiety and fears: if there is no easy way to verify if a particular sensation is a warning signal or an innocuous event, worries and fears about this sensation are likely to develop, in particular in an individual prone to anxiety.Source Site FOR ABOVE INFORMATION and also more info regarding this is here:http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/VisceralSensations.html---------------------------------------------------------------------------------What is GUT DYSBIOSIS?The state of a disordered microbial ecology that causes disease. It may exist in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract or vaginal cavity. In dysbiosis, normally harmless bacteria, yeasts, and protozoa trigger disease by altering the nutrition or immune responses of their host.Recognition that intestinal flora have a major impact on human health first developed with the birth of microbiology in the late nineteenth century. It is generally accepted that our relationship with indigenous gut flora is "Eu-symbiotic," meaning a state of living together that is beneficial. Metchinkoff popularized the idea of "Dys-symbiosis, or Dysbiosis," a state of living with intestinal flora thathas harmful effects. He postulated that toxic amines produced by bacterial putrefaction of food were the cause of degenerative diseases, and that ingestion of fermented foods containing Lactobacilli could prolong life by decreasing gut putrefaction(1). Although Metchnikoff's ideas have been largely ignored in the United States, they have influenced four generations of European physicians. The notion that dysbiotic relationships with gut microflora may influence the development of inflammatory diseases and cancer has received considerable experimental support over the past two decades, but the mechanisms involved are far more diverse than Metchnikoff imagined.Source Site:http://www.ei-resource.org/Articles/candida-art03.asp---------------------------------------------------------------------------what is GUT PERMEABILITY ?The property of something that can be pervaded by a liquid ( as by osmosis or diffusion)-------------------------------------------------------------------What is LEAKY GUT SYNDROME?The purpose of the gastro-intestinal tract, or gut, is multi-fold. Basically, it:i) Digests foods,ii) Absorbs small food particles to be converted into energy.iii) Carries nutrients like vitamins and minerals attached to carrier proteins across the gut lining into the bloodstream.iv) Contains a major part of the chemical detoxification system of the body, andv) Contains immunoglobulins or antibodies that act as the first line of defence against infection.The leaky gut (or LGS) is a poorly recognised but extremely common problem. It is rarely tested for. Essentially, it represents a hyperpermeable intestinal lining. In other words, large spaces develop between the cells of the gut wall, and bacteria, toxins and food leak in.The official definition is an increase in permeability of the intestinal mucosa to luminal macromolecules, antigens and toxins associated with inflammatory degenerative and/or atrophic mucosal damage.If the gut is not healthy, neither is the rest of the body. It is the point of fuel and nutrient entry. If healing is at a standstill look at the gut to see if this is the block. Chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia and escalating food allergies are among the many problems caused by the leaky gut.If gas, bloating, abdominal pain, indigestion, alternating constipation and diarrhoea are symptoms, irritable bowel syndrome may not be all that's going on.The Mucosal BarrierThe barrier posed by the intestinal mucosa is, even in normal subjects, an incomplete one. Small quantities of molecules of different sizes and characteristics cross the intact epithelium by both active and passive mechanisms. The route by which such transfer occurs is, at least in part, dependent on molecular size. Molecules up to about 5000 Daltons in size cross the epithelial membrane of the microvilli. Larger molecules may utilise an intercellular pathway or depend on being taken up by endocytosis entering the cell at the base of the microvilli.How Does The Gut Become Leaky?Once the gut lining becomes inflamed or damaged, this disrupts the functioning of the system. The spaces open up and allow large food antigens, for example, to be absorbed into the body. Normally the body sees only tiny food antigens. When it sees these new, larger ones, they are foreign to the body's defence system. So the attack results in the production of antibodies against once harmless, innocuous foods.The 7 stages of the 'inflamed’ gut.1 . When the gut is inflamed, it does not absorb nutrients and foods properly and so fatigue and bloating can occur.2. As mentioned previously, when large food particles are absorbed there is the creation of food allergies and new symptoms with target organs, such as arthritis or fibromyalgia.3. When the gut is inflamed the carrier proteins are damaged so nutrient deficiencies occur which can also cause any symptom, like magnesium deficiency induced muscle spasm or copper deficiency induced high cholesterol.4. Likewise when the detox pathways that line the gut are compromised, chemical sensitivity can arise. Furthermore the leakage of toxins overburdens the liver so that the body is less able to handle everyday chemicals.5. When the gut lining is inflamed the protective coating of lgA (immunoglobulin A) is adversely affected and the body is not able to ward off protozoa, bacteria, viruses and yeast’s like candida.5. When the gut lining is inflamed the protective coating of lgA (immunoglobulin A) is adversely affected and the body is not able to ward off protozoa, bacteria, viruses and yeast’s like candida.6. When the intestinal lining is inflamed, bacteria and yeast’s are able to translocate. This means that they are able to pass from the gut lumen or cavity, into the bloodstream and set up infection anywhere else in the body.7. The worst symptom is the formation of antibodies. Sometimes these leak across and look similar to antigens on our own tissues. Consequently, when an antibody is made to attack it, it also attacks our tissue. This is probably how autoimmune disease s tart. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroiditis and many others are members of this ever-growing category of ‘incurable’ diseases.Source Site:http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/autism/gut.htmIBS Health Advice from CNN:http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00106.htmlIBS Discussed in detail here:http://www.medicinenet.com/irritable_bowel...ome/article.htm