Is there an IBS Personality?
What happens in a persons life can make them ill, but while some seem to get ill at the slightest provocation; others cope with the most catastrophic events without any … Continue reading
Gut Feelings: Does both consciousness and emotion come from our gut?
For many years, it was thought that consciousness resided in the most recent part of the brain, the cerebral cortex, while everything below that in the brain stem was unconscious … Continue reading
The Psychobiotic Revolution: an inspiration for discovery.
Whenever a new book claims a new health revolution, I must admit I am a little sceptical. Nevertheless, the notion that the bugs in our intestines can influence our gut … Continue reading
Bugs, trauma and brain architecture: an association awaiting an explanation.
Ever since its characterisation some ten or more years ago, scientists have speculated that specific changes in the colonic microbiome could account for IBS, but until recently there have been … Continue reading
IBS: more than just a pain in the neck.
So why haven’t we thought of it before? Intrigued as to why joint hyper-mobility or Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) might be associated with migraine, IBS and a whole variety of … Continue reading
What’s next for IBS?
On Saturday afternoon at the King’s Hall, Ilkley, Professor Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of The Life Scientific on Radio 4, took us on a voyage into the future. ‘What scientific innovations … Continue reading
Migraine: does it also affect the bowels?
A Constellation of Symptoms It occasions unseemly and dreadful symptoms: nausea, bilious vomiting, collapse, gas in the stomach, eructations, vomiting, palpitations of the heart, vertigo, depression, despair. Sick headache is … Continue reading
The heart (and the gut) know their reasons, that reason cannot tell
Last night, it was so warm and humid, I left the window open, but by morning the temperature had dropped and shards of rain rattled against the skylight. Half an … Continue reading
All in the mind/all in the gut: it’s a false dichotomy.
Many of the posts in this blog tend to focus on trauma, stress and how what happens to us affects how the gut feels and misbehaves, but please don’t conclude … Continue reading
How other people can make us ill
We are sociable creatures. The way we relate to each other does not only determine our behaviour, it also affects our physiology and the way we perceive ourselves and the … Continue reading
The Sensitive Gut 