The underlying root causes of IBS have high relapse rates, too. As just one example, those with SIBO have a 50% chance of relapsing in just a few months, and that rate increases as time goes on. That is why it is so important to maintain our daily gut health to decrease the risk of reoccurrence.

Recurrence can cause further damage to the gut from both a structural and microbiota composition perspective. That is then a risk factor for additional issues and more symptoms down the line. It can become a self-fulfilling cycle.

The constant gas build-up that is common when IBS flares up can cause abnormal stretching of the intestines leading to microscopic damage to the gut lining, loosen tight junctions, and compromise the mucus lining in the gut. IBS flares can also let unfavourable populations of bacteria start to dominate. Keeping a “lid on things” gives your gut time to repair, restore and rebalance itself while developing immunity. Remember, 70% of the immune system is in the gut.

Why do symptoms come back, and what can be done about it?

• A lagging migrating motor complex

The MMC is the sweeping motion that sweeps through your intestines roughly every 90 minutes. Think of it like the house cleaner for the gut that keeps bacteria levels in check and moves food along.

Many things can cause the migrating motor complex not to function as well as it should. That can include illnesses, food poisoning (that could have happened long ago), a history of antibiotics, certain medications, abdominal surgery, hormones, eating patterns and stress. Your migrating motor complex relies on multiple other systems in the gut to function optimally, too.

Supporting your migrating motor complex daily can go a long way in keeping the gut balanced and happy.

The FixBIOME system contains ingredients that support the MMC, helping those sweeping motions happen as they should. This motion also helps keep bacterial levels in check in the small intestine and ensures all the good bacteria are making it down to the large gut, which is important for overall gut function.

• Motility issues

Gut motility can slow due to various factors, from lifestyle, medications, stress, history of eating disorders/restrictive diets, or imbalances in the microbiome, just to name a few.

Gut motility affects your bowel movements, so if you have a history of constipation or diarrhoea, supporting the movement of your gut is something to consider.

Some underlying causes of IBS affect the muscles and nerves of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract and can cause you to have dysmotility.

Dysmotility is when your GI tract doesn’t move food through your digestive system as it should, leading to IBS symptoms.

Proketic ingredients can act on the movements of the GI tract to help combat this. The FixBIOME system contains the most studied natural prokinetic ingredients that have been optimised in our proprietary manufacturing process and are designed to act on the gut.

• Structural damage to the gut

Structural damage to the gut is more common than you think. Even having experienced IBS, certain illnesses or a condition like SIBO can cause structural damage. Some common foods have now even been shown to damage the DNA and structural integrity of the gut.

Structural damage can happen in more than one way. It can be caused by stretching from the gut’s gas build-up (common with IBS), complex immune responses, surgeries, autoimmune conditions, history of disordered eating or illnesses, just to name a few. That can all cause microscopic damage or retardation of microvilli, which in turn affect the MMC and the health of the gut as a whole.

Focusing on restoring the structural integrity of the gut post-IBS can be a vital key in keeping symptoms away long-term.

• Poor gut mucus health

Your gut needs a healthy mucus lining to function optimally. The intestinal mucus is an essential mechanism for protecting the epithelium from bacteria by promoting their clearance and separating them from the epithelial cells, inhibiting gut inflammation and infection. Those with a history of IBS or gut issues are more likely to have a compromised gut mucus lining.

Certain ingredients have been found in studies to help improve the mucus lining. They are included in the FixBIOME system for daily support to assist the gut’s constant rebuilding process.

• Tight junction health

The tight junctions are the ‘draw bridge’ barrier between your gut and the rest of the body.

Your tight junctions function like a selective drawbridge that lets the good things through into the bloodstream (like nutrients, vitamins and minerals) and keeps the potentially harmful ones, like bi-products and waste from the digestive process, in to be filtered out as waste.

That is a simplistic view of what’s happening, but it should help illustrate the concept.

Tight junctions that aren’t functioning correctly can leave us feeling “icky” after we eat. Things that shouldn’t escape the gut do, leading to the activation of the immune system, which makes us feel unwell.
The system’s ingredients can help support and restore the tight junctions daily so your gut lets the good things out and keeps the waste in.

• Antibiotic use

Did you know studies have shown you can tell if someone took antibiotics for up to 3-5 years after the course? Antibiotics, although often necessary and very helpful, have effects on the microbiome that can take a long time to recover. Encouraging the growth of good bacteria unique to your microbiome is important to maintaining a healthy gut.

Everyone has a unique gut ecosystem, so the bacteria that fits into your ecosystem isn’t necessarily the same as the one that fits into the person next to you. For this reason, the FixBIOME system includes ingredients studies have shown to help promote the growth of the good bacteria in your unique gut without aimlessly introducing bacteria strains that might not suit your ecosystem (and could do more harm than good in some circumstances).

• Fueling intestinal cells

Your intestinal cells require energy to function. Glutamine is a fuel source for the cells lining the intestines; without it, these cells won’t work correctly.

A daily dose of high-quality l-glutamine can help your gut function as it should. The FixBIOME system optimises glutamine for the intestinal cells to provide day-to-day support.

• Stress

Remember to consider the impact of stress on the gut. Stress directly affects how our gut functions. Stress takes blood flow away from the gut and redirects it to other parts of the body, allowing food and bacteria not to move along as well as it should.

Sometimes, life gets stressful, and the brain-gut axis means our guts feel the effects of this, too.

Managing stress can go a long way in helping with IBS symptoms.