Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an internal disorder that causes discomfort mainly in the abdominal region. Common discomforts include pain in your stomach and abdominal region, gas, diarrhea, or even constipation among the noticeable symptoms. IBS is a common syndrome that affects 200,000 people in the country every year and can be treated, but not cured. Probiotics for IBS help with treatment, but cannot necessarily provide a convenient cure.

Treatment for IBS can certainly reduce the discomfort and symptoms, but cannot be completely cured as this condition is chronic and lasts for years together. Among the common discomforts experienced, the main areas that are affected include the abdominal and gastrointestinal areas, which induce other side effects like anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, or symptoms related to defecation.

There are no known or specific causes that indicate IBS, but diagnoses after a number of tests are conducted to rule out possible symptoms or signs of any food allergy, medication side effects, stomach infections, enzyme deficiencies, etc. Probiotics for IBS undergo many clinical trials before the products are launched in the market. The potency and dosage of probiotics for IBS will be different for different forms of symptoms and their severity.

Common treatments for IBS include home remedies as well as taking medications. Simple lifestyle changes like reducing caffeine intake, adding more fiber to your diet, drinking plenty of water, getting in good exercise on a daily basis, limiting the intake of dairy or dairy-based products, controlling your diet most importantly are all healthy ways to ensure the discomforts can be reduced along with doctor’s prescription.

But leaning towards a more probiotic approach is advisable if normal medications are not cutting it, or are causing more discomfort with certain side effects. Probiotics are the healthy bacteria which can be consumed to control the levels of microbiomes in your large intestine. Probiotics help balance the bacteria levels among almost a 1000 different species of bacteria within the intestine.

Popular probiotics for IBS

IBS-D
This particular type of probiotic is specifically made to treat the frequent bouts of diarrhea. A yeast-based microorganism is the only yeast that can be beneficial for your bodily functions, as opposed to yeast which is used for baking and other purposes. A popular probiotic for diarrhea symptoms caused by IBS includes Saccharomyces Boulardii which when translated means “for bowel calm” with over 5 billion healthy microorganisms for every capsule. Of course, the dosage will again differ according to the prescription by your doctor.

IBS-C
IBS-C probiotics for IBS mainly includes health bacteria that is used to treat severe conditions or symptoms of constipation. These probiotics mainly contain a well-researched strain of healthy bacteria that help tackle discomforts for constipation. These probiotics strain of bacteria is naturally high in fiber owing to a prebiotic called Fructooligosaccharides. Optibac products manufacture these kinds of probiotics for IBS, mainly featuring Bifidobacteria and fiber, which is a natural supplement.

VSL#3
A more known type of probiotic in the medical industry, which is mainly engineered to ease discomforts in patients suffering from symptoms like ulcerative colitis or ileal pouch. Clinical trials have rendered this probiotic for IBS a good name in the market owing to its strong and consistent record for treating similar symptoms in both adults and children. VSL#3 is a high dose and high potency probiotic with combinations of multiple strains.

Jarrow formulas
A probiotic developed by this company that has been clinically proven to show significant improvements to control and ease discomforts related to abdominal pain, bloating and even your stool frequency. This probiotic for IBS is also available across major online retailers worldwide.

IBS-A
As the name suggests, this probiotic for IBS has mainly been manufactured for easing discomforts f alternating digestive problems between constipation and diarrhea. Alternating digestive problems will mainly have you going to and refraining from using the loo on an untimely basis, the sad part being you will have no control over your own bowels. Although Optibac’s products are mainly manufactured out of the country, mostly in the UK, these probiotics can be made to order and shipped anywhere.

Enzyme-rich probiotics
Bloating of the stomach can be one of the severe symptoms of IBS, which is why enzyme rich probiotics for IBS prove their worth. These enzymes aid in the process of digesting starch and lactose, which has been proved to be very effective to control stomach bloating and reduces the related discomfort.

There are many other probiotics for IBS available in the market that help in relieving discomforts caused by many of the symptoms of the syndrome. It is, however, advisable to check and consult with your doctor to see which course of probiotic treatment will prove beneficial for you. The duration of the course of the treatment is also set by your doctor to not disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in your large intestine.