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
Low FODMAP diet; symptom relief at the expense of the microbiome?
While scanning the journals recently, I came across a review by Peter Gibson making the case for the low FODMAP diet as a first line treatment for IBS. He … Continue reading
Between the Mind and the Gut.
‘All prejudices can be traced back to the intestine’. Friedrich Nietzsche Man has long acknowledged the close connection that exists between the mind and the gut. Our ‘gut feelings’ and … Continue reading
Nothing in, nothing out: but is there more to constipation?
Doctors tend not to consider IBS a serious condition; that would be a mistake. Although most people seem to cope with the occasional inconvenience of it and live a normal … Continue reading
No, it’s not all in your head, but at least you can do something about that.
If IBS is all is your head, can somebody tell me how dietary fibre cures depression? … Continue reading
Probiotics and Brain Fog
A few weeks ago, on a warm midsummer evening, Dr Derek Holdsworth and I listened with a mixture of awe and interest as our one time research fellow, Professor Satish … Continue reading
Can similar changes in the microbiome lead to both IBS and colon cancer?
I subscribe to ‘The Conversation’ and usually scan through its contents every morning. This post by Bradley Meehan, PhD researcher in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, University … Continue reading
The Low FODMAP diet. Ten years on.
In medicine, every new treatment tends to go through a cycle. First there is the breakthrough, the honeymoon phase, where it is miraculous, the answer to everything. Then comes the … Continue reading
SIBO. Is it a major cause of IBS?
When I was training to be a gastroenterologist way back then, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) was a rare diagnosis, most often found in patients with blind loop syndrome. This … Continue reading
IBS: let’s change the model.
The practice of medicine still operates on a model that was developed early in the last century. First establish the diagnosis, then identify the cause and finally apply the treatment. … Continue reading
The Sensitive Gut 