Doctors of holistic medicine have known this for years as there has been many studies published beforehand. The conventional medical doctor in the study acts like he finally put the science behind it…lol a good study nonetheless and a simple remedy you can try at home. Click here to learn more about my digestive health service.
How Peppermint Helps to Relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome
A new paper from scientists at the University of Adelaide, Australia, explains how peppermint, long used as a natural remedy, actually acts to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The paper was published in the journal Pain.
University of Adelaide researchers have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve, which affects up to 20% of the population.
A team of researchers from the University’s Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory described how peppermint activates an “anti-pain” channel in the colon, soothing inflammatory pain in the gastrointestinal tract.
Peppermint has been commonly prescribed by naturopaths for many years, there has been no clinical evidence until now to demonstrate why it is so effective in relieving pain, said Dr Stuart Brierley. “Our research shows that peppermint acts through a specific anti-pain channel called TRPM8 to reduce pain sensing fibers, particularly those activated by mustard and chili. This is potentially the first step in determining a new type of mainstream clinical treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).”
IBS, a gastrointestinal disorder, affects about 20% of Australians and costs millions of dollars each year in lost productivity, work absenteeism and health care. It causes abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation.
“This is a debilitating condition and affects many people on a daily basis, particularly women who are twice as likely to experience Irritable Bowel Syndrome,” Dr Brierley says.
“Some people find their symptoms appear after consuming fatty and spicy foods, coffee and alcohol, but it is more complex than that. There appears to be a definite link between IBS and a former bout of gastroenteritis, which leaves nerve pain fibers in a heightened state, altering mechanisms in the gut wall and resulting in ongoing pain.”
According to Dr Brierley, recent floods in Queensland and Victoria could result in a spike of gastroenteritis cases in Australia due to contaminated water supplies. Case studies in Europe and Canada showed that those who contracted gastroenteritis from contaminated water supplies often experienced IBS symptoms that persisted for at least eight years.
IBS can be triggered by food poisoning, stress, a reaction to antibiotics, gastroenteritis and food intolerance, and in some cases is genetic. Symptoms often fade and then recur over a lifetime, but there is no cure.
Dr Brierley is one of 25 researchers who work to find treatments for intestinal diseases at the University of Adelaide’s Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory.
Source: ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2011) —
I see a large percentage of people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome who come all throughout NJ New Jersey NY New York and Hudson, Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Union, Rockland, Orange Counties.