AKWise
IBS Insights

It’s those people, who are able to keep a positive mindset that tend to be healthier than those, whose outlook is more often pessimistic. In IBS, symptoms tend to be less severe if you are able to cope with the symptoms and think about them less negatively. What is your general mindset like? Do you…

Fiber is a nutrient that most people with IBS or frequent gut issues can get a bit wary about. It seems that eating more fiber, while it’s supposed to be good for you, feels bad! More bloating, more diarrhea, perhaps feeling backed up more… and certainly more gas.  I remember talking to someone with IBS,…

Spending hundreds on a stool test promising 'personalized' answers? Before you click 'buy,' let's talk about what that expensive report actually tells you. Your gut microbes play a very important role in the health of the whole body and the gut. If you want to be healthy and live long, it is vital that you take good…

Ever wonder why your poop looks different one day than the other? You probably know what constipation and diarrhea are, but what if the color changes, or your poop looks slimy? Your poop can tell you a lot about your gut health, and in some cases also about your overall health, which is why it’s…

I’ve been aware of the multiple risks surrounding elimination diets in general and those that are linked to the most popular “IBS diet”, the low FODMAP diet (which is why I don’t particularly endorse them). I’ve written a couple of blog posts about it in the past and you can read them here and here.…

The gluten-free diet has become a booming trend in the recent decade. Many people follow it for perceived health benefits, like reduced inflammation. A gluten-free diet is desperately needed in the treatment of celiac disease, but what about IBS? What about health in general? Despite being trendy, is gluten-free diet a must do for good…

While incompletely understood, the gut microbiota seems to play an important role in IBS. This, even though an IBS-specific gut microbial signature has not been found. In other words, you can’t tell by looking at someone’s gut microbe test results that they have IBS, but it seems clear that some kind of imbalance in the…

For a long time, depression has been thought to be a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Only recently experts have begun to realize that another factor is at play – the gut-brain axis.  So far, I’ve focused on the gut-brain axis from the digestive symptoms and IBS point of view, here for example.…

If you have IBS, doesn’t matter which subtype you have, you have undoubtedly been thinking about the foods that you shouldn’t be eating. The ones that might cause or worsen your IBS symptoms.  Because food is the thing that you put into your stomach and intestines and for this reason it must be playing the…

You've probably noticed that I often talk about stress and the gut-brain axis. It's a recurring theme here on the blog and on my social media, and even though I’m risking sounding like a broken record, it's for good reason. Through these discussions, many of you have shared a common experience: feeling significantly more bloated…

If you thought the answer is “the low FODMAP diet”, you wouldn’t be the only one. Sadly, it’s not as simple as you might expect.  As a dietitian, I’ve taken care of a lot of different kinds of people with all kinds of health problems. Everyone is an individual and diet must always be individualized,…

I was at a networking lunch where the lady next to me, after hearing that I specialize in IBS and gut health, started talking to me about her experience on using Ozempic. You’ve heard of Ozempic, right? With the help of this drug, she lost 25 kg (55 lbs) in a year, but as a…

The low FODMAP diet has been a first line treatment for IBS for some time now. It makes sense, as there are studies showing that about 2/3 of people with IBS get at least some relief from symptoms (constipation, diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain) while on the diet. But here’s the truth: food doesn’t really actually…

In my extensive research on IBS, I’ve come across all kinds of information and claims on the topic. The cause of IBS seems especially debated, some doctors agreeing with me in that stress can cause IBS, while others believing stress has nothing to do with it. The title of this post is an argument made…

Recently there’s been a bit of a buzz about antihistamines as a treatment of IBS. Let’s find out why! Histamine is a small protein, a biogenic amine that the body makes and uses in many processes. It influences acid secretion in the stomach, it takes part in allergic reactions and in controlling body temperature (to…

Could the answer to IBS lie in the ancient practice of meditation? IBS is a world-wide problem and the most common gastrointestinal disorder. For a long time, irritable bowel syndrome has just been thought of as a functional problem: there’s nothing measurably, or visibly wrong with the intestines, so labeling IBS as a functional problem…

The low FODMAP diet is a relatively well researched diet for IBS. Studies show that the low FODMAP diet can ease symptoms in about 2/3 of cases in varying degrees (1). But that’s just it – this diet is not a true treatment for IBS as it can only manage symptoms and not the cause…

I’ve recently noticed a diet that is trending – the carnivore diet – not just among people in general, but also among people with IBS. Being a dietitian makes me very interested in all diets, but I must say this one makes me very curious. From my educational background this diet seems to be completely…

To truly manage IBS, you need to fix the way your brain and your gut talk to each other. When talking about irritable bowel syndrome and IBS symptoms (abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation), the discussion is not complete without considering the gut-brain axis. Especially since IBS experts are now calling the syndrome a disorder of…

If you are wondering the answer to this question, you are not alone. There are millions of people out there experiencing gut symptoms and wondering if they should be worried about them. The most common IBS symptoms are: The way IBS is diagnosed, in order for your symptoms to “qualify” as IBS, abdominal pain must…

I had the pleasure of being hosted in an educational webinar to my fellow dietitians in Finland this past week. The topic was the connection between stress and irritable bowel syndrome. I had the opportunity to speak to over 50 of my peers about this subject that important and yet, significantly overlooked.  Many studies show…

Earlier this month National Geographic published an article headlined “Why women are more likely to have IBS”. I love that big publications such as National Geographic are paying attention to irritable bowel syndrome, as it is so common, and as there is so much misleading information out there. Big publications could help bust some of…

Have you noticed that your gut functions differently depending on where you are in your cycle? That every time you are about to have your period, your gut gets messed up, or your already loose stools become worse? You are not imagining it – female hormones do affect the gut, especially through pain sensitivity, how…

Most people don’t feel great after eating a large amount of sugar in one form or the other, I know I’ve been there many times! On top of feeling off or crashing from blood sugar swings, some may even get a stomachache, diarrhea or become bloated - your typical IBS symptoms. We know that carbohydrates,…

Did you know that irritable bowel syndrome is now being classified as a disorder of gut-brain interaction? This is a big deal, because this classification also suggests a way to reverse IBS – by fixing this disordered gut-brain interaction!  But let’s back up a little – what is gut-brain interaction anyway? Well, simply put, our…