Common IBS Triggers

Living with IBS involves navigating a frustrating landscape of lifestyle choices that can significantly impact digestive health. Many widespread habits, which are often done without a second thought, can actually be causing intense flare-ups in your IBS. From lifestyle habits to dietary decisions, the factors influencing IBS symptoms are diverse and often interconnected. This simple guide explores how certain overlooked lifestyle elements can disrupt the delicate balance of the gut microbiome, exacerbating symptoms in unexpected ways.

Here are some of the most common and often overlooked IBS triggers:

Drinking

Apart from a hangover, drinking will have lasting side effects on your belly. Think about alcohol as an anti-bellie. It wreaks havoc on your microbiome by harming your symbiotic gut flora. An up and coming body of evidence is beginning to link alcohol with dysbiosis, which is marked by an imbalance of the bacterial composition of your gut. Pragmatically, this will often affect IBS patients the most, and many people across the range of IBS diagnoses find that alcohol consumption often worsens their symptoms the following day. Alcohol is also considered a laxative, and can often overwhelm your digestive tract during consumption. These issues become all the more relevant among chronic drinkers. At bellie, we aren’t opposed to having a good time, but be sure to factor in your gut when you are deciding when and how much to drink!

Smoking

Smoking cigarettes can have profound effects on those suffering from IBS, exacerbating an already sensitive digestive system. Much like alcohol, smoking is notorious for disrupting the delicate balance of your gut microbiome, leading to increased symptoms. The nicotine and other chemicals in cigarettes stimulate the gut, often speeding up the digestive process in ways that can lead to discomfort and irregularity. This increased gut motility can result in diarrhea, a common complaint among IBS sufferers, especially those with IBS-D. Smoking also affects the nervous system, which plays a crucial role in regulating gut function, and can lead to heightened stress and anxiety—both known triggers for IBS flare-ups. Furthermore, smoking decreases blood flow to the intestines, impairing nutrient absorption and weakening the gut lining. While smoking might provide a temporary sense of relaxation, it ultimately contributes to a vicious cycle of symptom aggravation and digestive distress. Smoking might seem like a viable option to calm down from IBS-related stress, but when it comes to soothing an upset stomach, you might consider looking to digestive teas instead of tobacco.

Sugars... there is no way around it, Stevia too

In the quest for a guilt-free sweet fix, many have turned to stevia, hailed as a natural sugar substitute. But for those with IBS, this choice might not be as sweet as it seems. Recent research suggests that stevia can disrupt the intricate ecosystem of your gut microbiome, a critical player in digestive health. While it doesn’t directly kill bacteria, stevia has been shown to interfere with quorum sensing, the communication system used by gut bacteria to regulate their functions. This disruption can lead to an imbalance in the gut flora, a common issue for those of us with IBS.

Further studies have highlighted that components of stevia, such as stevioside and steviol, may act as competitive inhibitors, blocking natural bacterial communication and potentially leading to dysbiosis. Additionally, stevia might influence the brain’s reward system, altering dopamine signaling pathways that affect appetite and food-seeking behavior. If we are being honest, we don’t think it tastes so great either.

Read our entire article on stevia here.

Eating too quickly

Habitually wolfing down your food can wreak havoc on the digestive system. When you wolf down your meal, your body struggles to keep up, leading to a host of problems that can exacerbate IBS symptoms.

Eating quickly means less time for chewing, which is the first crucial step in the digestive process. Chewing breaks down food into manageable pieces and mixes it with saliva, which contains enzymes that kick start digestion. Skipping this step forces your stomach and intestines to work harder, often leading to bloating, gas, discomfort and other digestive issues.

Rapid eating also bypasses your body's natural hunger and fullness cues. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you're full, so eating quickly can lead to overeating before your brain catches up. This can trigger worsened IBS symptoms, as an overloaded digestive system struggles to process the extra food.

Too much caffeine or carbonated drinks

For folks with IBS, caffeine can be a double-edged sword. While the stimulating effects of caffeine might kickstart your day, they can also shift your digestive system into overdrive. Caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant, increasing gut motility and potentially triggering IBS symptoms like diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. On top

of that, the acidity in coffee can be very uncomfortable for people with sensitive stomachs.

Carbonated beverages add another layer of complexity. The carbonation can introduce excess gas into the digestive system, leading to bloating and discomfort. The high sugar content in many carbonated drinks can also exacerbate symptoms by feeding bad gut bacteria and causing an imbalance in the microbiome. Additionally, the combination of caffeine and sugar can lead to spikes and crashes in energy levels, which might indirectly affect gut health by influencing stress and anxiety levels, both of which are known, but often ignored, IBS triggers.

Forgetting about nature

In our busy world of quick fixes and processed foods, it's easy to forget the natural wisdom our bodies have relied on for millennia. You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to your body. Your digestive system thrives on real, nourishing foods that foster balance. Feeding the good bacteria inside you is essential. Nature gave us the tools to do this, starting with the first thing we ever drink: prebiotic HMOs! Our beneficial microbiome has been growing with us ever since. Embrace natural foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fermented products to keep your digestive system on track. By returning to nature’s offerings, you can boost your gut microbiome and journey towards IBS relief!

Savin, Z., Kivity, S., Yonath, H. et al. Smoking and the intestinal microbiome. Arch Microbiol 200, 677–684 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-018-1506-2

Engen PA, Green SJ, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A. The Gastrointestinal Microbiome: Alcohol Effects on the Composition of Intestinal Microbiota. Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):223-36. PMID: 26695747; PMCID: PMC4590619.

Reilly, Laura. “Beating the bloat - have you considered stress?” AM Dietetics. 2023. https://www.amdietetics.com/articles/beating-the-bloat-have-you-considered-stress