THE GUT-BRAIN CONNECTION IN IBS by Lesley Herrmann NC, BCHNTM owner and founder of Awakened Taste Nutrition
It is estimated that about 11 per cent of the population worldwide are affected by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (Canavan et al, 2014). In 2005, The Canadian Society of Intestinal Research estimated that up to 22 per cent of the Western population was affected by this condition (Care, 2005). Although more women are diagnosed with IBS than men, it is believed by many practitioners that men experience symptoms of IBS just as often as women, but are less likely to report them to their doctor or seek medical help (Mercola, 2016). IBS is a diagnosis that is given when symptoms of chronic diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, and abdominal pain persist after structural abnormalities, infection, metabolic disturbances and other GI disorders are ruled out.