If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chances are your gut is in need of healthy probiotics.  Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is essential for anyone dealing with digestive disorders such as IBS and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).  This essentially means that the good bacteria should outnumber the pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and fungus that are present in the gut.

Unfortunately, due to poor diet and other poor lifestyle choices, most of the general population does not have a balanced microbiome.  As a result, conditions such as IBS have become extremely common and has essentially become accepted as “normal.”

Those who suffer from this condition are told there is no cure and that they need to avoid foods that can trigger symptoms.  Also, many will try medication in desperation for a cure of their digestive aliments.  However, most of time these medications can come with a whole list of unwanted symptoms in the body.

With that said, there is hope for those with digestive disorders such as IBS.  In fact, research has shown that the supplementation of probiotics can help improve conditions of Irritable Bowel Syndrome significantly (1).  However, before we get into the best forms of probiotics to be consuming, let’s quickly discuss why IBS occurs in the first place.

Why you Suffer from IBS

If you suffer from IBS, or any other type of digestive disorder, it’s typically due to chronic intestinal inflammation.  This intestinal inflammation is what makes the intestines extremely irritable and spastic.  Despite what many health experts may say, IBS is not caused by an unexplainable digestive disorder.  In fact, the two main reasons an individual suffers from IBS is because:

• Chronic intestinal inflammation
• Fungal Overgrowth’s

Chronic intestinal inflammation is typically a direct result of years of poor eating habits.  In fact, there are various so called “health foods” which can contribute significantly to intestinal inflammation.  Many of these foods are part of the plant kingdom and contain high amounts of anti-nutrients such as lectins, phytates, oxalates, and tannins. 

We’ve covered all these problematic foods before, so if you have not done so already, be sure to go to our Homepage for full details.

Furthermore, fungal overgrowth’s such as candida can play an extremely significant role in the development of IBS.  This is because candida can burrow itself into the intestinal lining which creates immense amounts of inflammation.  Also, this pathogenic fungus can release over 70 different toxic byproducts, all of which can have a negative impact on gut health. 

For more information on candida, head over to our IBS and Candida Post for further details.

Should you Take Probiotics for IBS?

Many looking for alternative solutions in order to solve their IBS typically come to the conclusion that probiotics could be extremely helpful.  In fact, as mentioned before, research has already shown that probiotics can help improve symptoms of an IBS condition significantly.  In particular, probiotics can help reduce intestinal inflammation which is typically in patients with IBS.

However, when choosing a probiotic, it’s extremely important that you are getting a quality product.  We personally think probiotics can be useful for severe cases of digestive disorders, however, we do not agree with long term use.  This is because long term use of probiotics could lead to imbalances in the gut bacteria. 

Consequently, this could have a negative impact on the function of our immune system which is highly dependent on the health and integrity of our gut (2).

It’s important to understand that there are more than 1,000 bacterial species that are present in the human gut.  Typically, probiotic supplements contain 50 to 100 different strains and lack in diversity which is needed for a healthy gut microbiome.  If your going to use probiotics, we highly recommend you choose a soil based probiotic supplement.  Soil based probiotics (SBO) are diverse and can have beneficial effects in those with digestive disorders.

Fermented Foods

A step up from supplemental probiotics would be fermented foods.  Fermented foods were a staple in our ancestors diets; and for good reason.  It’s been estimated that fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, contain over 6 billion live microorganisms!  These live microorganisms (probiotics) can help repopulate the good bacteria and can improve symptoms in those with IBS.

It should be noted that both vegetable and animal foods were typically consumed in a fermented form by our ancestors.  Good vegetable ferments would include miso, chi cha, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles and natto.  Whereas good animal ferments would include kefir, raw aged cheese, and yogurt.  It’s best to find a fermented food that your body can tolerate and works well with your digestive system.

It’s important not to consume a particular fermented food if you react poorly to it.  Many with digestive disorders such as IBS may struggle with certain types of ferments due dysbiosis in the gut.  However, overtime, by following a correct IBS diet eating plan, the health and integrity of the gut can improve dramatically.

Histamine, IBS, Allergies

Here is where things can get a little complicated; those with IBS typically suffer from a histamine intolerance.  This means that any foods that contain high amounts of histamine, the individual will react poorly to.  Unfortunately, many healthy foods such as fermented foods are extremely high in histamine.

Furthermore, many probiotic supplements contain microorganisms that produce histamine.  As a result, it’s not uncommon for those with IBS to react poorly to probiotics.  If this is the case, a proper diet such as the one outlined on our Diet Protocol Page can be followed to help try and correct the gut.

Interestingly, many with histamine intolerance often develop several different food allergies later in life.  Many of these foods they ate without issue until one day they seemed to react negatively to them.  As time goes on, those with histamine issues will find that more and more foods irritate them until just about every food item causes some form of irritation. 

It should be mentioned that it’s well known that candida overgrowth can cause the release of histamine in the body through mast cells (3).  Typically, those with fungal overgrowth’s, such as most IBS patients, will have an overabundance of histamine in the body.  Consequently, the body then becomes overly sensitive to histamine and will often react poorly to histamine containing foods.

Low Histamine Probiotics

If you suffer from histamine intolerance and are unable to get the gut boosting benefits of fermented foods, taking a low histamine probiotic supplements for a short period can be helpful.  There are various probiotic supplements on the market that are designed specifically to contain low histamine producing microorganisms.  Many find that taking low histamine probiotics for a short time can help shift the gut microbiome in a positive direction.

In our opinion, the best probiotic supplement on the market is Ancient Nutrition Soil Based (SBO) Supplement.  This probiotic is formulated to contain beneficial soil based microorganisms that tend to be neutral or even histamine degrading.  This can be extremely useful for those with an overload of histamine in the body and who are extremely sensitive to this compound.

With that said, the best way to usher in real changes is through diet.  Again, following the diet outlined on our Diet Protocol Page can be beneficial for those with IBS and candida overgrowth.  Once the gut is re-balanced, inflammation reduced, and the growth of fungal overgrowth’s are inhibited, individuals are usually able to tolerate high histamine foods without issue.

Correct IBS with Gut Friendly Recipes

For those new to eating a gut friendly and IBS friendly diet, we highly recommend you give our Intestinal Health Cookbook a try.  Our cookbook contains over 20 different mouthwatering recipes; all of which were designed in order to help reduce intestinal inflammation.  For some, this cookbook is a real game changer as it helps them stick the diet more truly.

Also, consuming a variety of different foods is extremely important when starting a new diet.  Don’t fall into the trap of consuming the same foods over and over again.  This typically creates boredom and often results in eating foods that aren’t so intestinal friendly.  Luckily, our Intestinal Health Cookbook contains a variety of ingredients that can help spice up your diet!

Lastly, if you are not doing so already, its highly recommended that you begin to cook all your own meals at home.  Constantly eating out raises the risk of consuming IBS irritating foods and can dramatically slow down the healing process.