{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Thyroid Mystery Solved: Hashimoto's and Hypothyroidism Revealed","title":"023 The Case of bloating, gas, and irregular bowel movements","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1527,"description":"The Case:  Dana is 35 and has horrible digestion issues. She experienced bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, and inconsistent bowel movements. She was diagnosed with IBS and told it would be a life-long issue. All she could do was treat the symptoms with a battery of over the counter drugs. It’s estimated that 10 - 15% of the population suffers from IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. According to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders, it’s the most common GI issue and is more prevalent in women than in men.    The Investigation While Dana came to me with the IBS diagnosis in hand, we quickly determined that treating the symptoms (as is most often the recommendation from doctors) was not how she wanted to live her life.  I was convinced that if we could get to the root cause of this issue, we could rid her of the vicious cycle of medications she was on. We could finally put an end to her taking Immodium one day and fiber supplements the next.  What is IBS  IBS stands for irritable bowel syndrome and the term is quite literal. The symptoms can range greatly from patient to patient and may include any combination of gas, bloating, stomach pain, urgency, diarrhea, constipation. However, some may experience certain symptoms one day and then wake up the next day with the opposite symptoms. IBS tends to be a ‘catch-all’ diagnosis for doctors and often doctors will diagnose IBS when they can’t find any other cause for the symptoms.  Understanding the Digestive System Getting to the root cause of IBS symptoms is a matter of looking at the whole body and looking for where things are out of balance. To do that, we need to understand what’s happening in the digestive system. When we chew food, our saliva (which has enzymes in it) starts the digestive process.  The food makes its way to the stomach where it should encounter hydrochloric acid which further breaks down the food and also acts as an antiseptic, killing off pathogens or bacteria that may...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/9ZbRr0xzgu8-YRnig2AcyeY_Nu_m2EBquTr83LV8K2g/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ4NTg5LzE3MTE1/NjQxMDktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}