What's the difference between IBS & IBD?

Current estimates are that as many as 30 million people are afflicted with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). IBS is not a classified as a disease because while symptoms may be frequent, no damage occurs to the intestinal walls.

Many doctors use this term to describe a wide variety of bowel issues.  Many  diagnosed with IBS are left to mostly fend for themselves wondering just what causes them to experience such discomfort and what, if anything they can do to prevent further flair ups.

IBD (irritable bowel disease) is different from IBS because in IBD actual damage does occur.  The symptoms of both IBS and IBD are abdominal pain or discomfort, often reported as cramping, along with diarrhea, constipation, or both.

~ Read part I on bowel health… Are you living in constipation nation?

IBD is a general classification for bowel diseases such as Crohns and Colitis.

Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract, but ulcerative colitis affects only the colon. Additionally, while Crohn’s disease can affect all layers of the bowel wall, ulcerative colitis only affects the lining of the colon.

While both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are types of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), they should not be confused with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is a disorder that affects the muscle contractions of the colon. IBS is not characterized by intestinal inflammation.

Common denominator

What these bowel issues have in common are that any of these disorders can stem from bacterial overgrowth, poor immunity, food intolerance’s or reactions to classifications to foods a person cannot digest, heightened sensitivity to chemicals, problems with brain to GUT axis, genetics and impaired motility.

It’s not uncommon for most patients to never actually know what the cause of their problem stems from, and this certainly doesn’t make living with these conditions any easier.

....continue reading:

http://nourishholisticnutrition.com/whats-the-difference-between-ibs-ibd/

Anne Baker, CN, LE
www.nourisholisticnutrition.com

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autoimmune conditions, Bowel health, GUT, IBS/IBD/Crohn's, Special diets, yeast overgrowth