Perfect Bowel

The BBC website has an article on bowel disease and IBS today. It very interestingly  identifies people who push themselves to keep working and following their busy routine are more likely to get progressively worse. In today’s world how many of us push ourselves to keep to a busy work and social schedule? We tell ourselves that if we do a bit more that it will be better in the long run. I guess this article highlights that we need to stop and listen to our bodies more.  Why do we continue to push ourselves when we are running on empty? We wouldn’t do this to our car, it would be straight to the petrol station and refuelled.  We wouldn’t think of letting it skip lunch – it might stop working on the motorway and then what would happen?  Just imagine your body is that car, you’re pushing it to it’s last drop of petrol, the oils gone and it could do with a service – would you be surprised if a problem popped up? Our bodies deserve as much care and attention, if not more than our cars, but how many of us actually give it any thought?  Do we wait for a health problem to crop up before we stop and take stock of how we are really doing?  “

Women are more prone to IBS Perfectionists are more prone to developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) after an infection, a study has suggested.University of Southampton researchers asked 620 people with gastroenteritis about stress and their illness. Those who pushed themselves or were particularly anxious about symptoms were more likely to develop IBS. Experts said the study, published in Gut, may explain why only some people develop IBS after a gut infection. These are people who have high expectations of always doing the right thing Dr Rona Moss-Morris About 5% of the UK population have IBS. Up to one in 10 people develop it after a having a bacterial gut infection, having previously been healthy. Such infections cause inflammation and ulceration in the bowel and can cause severe vomiting and rectal bleeding. ‘Not hypochondriacs’ In this study, each person was checked three and six months after their initial bout of bacterial gastroenteritis to see if they had developed IBS symptoms such as diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain and bloating.” For more info: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6387675.stm   ” According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, all digestive disturbances are likely to involve the Spleen or Stomach meridian in some way. Zen Shiatsu diagnosis is more likely to point to the meridian of the actual digestive organ affected, for example the Large or Small Intestine or Gall Bladder.It may also manifest as overuse of the brain” (Shiatsu theory and Practice, Carola Beresford-Cooke,p.188). Meridians to work could include Spleen, Stomach, Gall bladder and maybe Liver 13. Alternatively you could do a Hara diagnosis and go with the flow.