Lifestyle impact on Bloating and IBS

“Lifestyle” refers to the habits that can affect our health (physical or mental) and wellbeing. The different habits are quite often linked to each other. For example, smoking, drinking alcohol and eating 'comfort' foods are typical habits that people have for helping them cope with stress at work or home.

Not getting enough sleep may affect our appetite hormones, making it more difficult to control what we eat during the day, particularly when foods that are high in fat or sugar are available - excess of such foods can cause troublesome gut symptoms.

Although some lifestyle habits may help make things feel better for a brief period of time, the trade-off is that doing those habits over and over again can be harmful to our health e.g. increase the risk of heart disease, certain cancers. Diet, of course, can cause unpleasant gut symptoms (even if only on the odd occasion), but alcohol drinking and smoking can also upset gut function.

23.1 A “Starter” Diet that includes helpful Lifestyle changes
The Starter Diet is about doing gut-friendly habits and making better choices. It includes the basic habits on which our Diet Treatment Plans are built - these give instruction on specific foods to avoid (or eat) to try to get relief from gut symptoms that do not improve on the Starter Diet.

23.2 Physical activity impacts Bloating and IBS
We are designed to be physically active, and most people know that "office" or sedentary lifestyles can be harmful to long-term health. Physical activity includes structured exercise and incidental activities, such as walking up stairs, carrying shopping bags, working in the garden. Walking is probably the easiest and most convenient (and cheapest) way to get more physically active.

Brisk walking (i.e. to the point of feeling slightly warm, but still able to hold a conversation) is beneficial to heart health, but even walking at a leisurely pace burns calories (helping with weight management), so it is not necessary to work up a sweat to get benefit from walking. Physical activity is good for the mind and studies have shown that doing it in the outdoors may be even better for us.

A gentle walk in the park (e.g. at lunchtime, after work, weekends) or other green space can be a great opportunity to get some fresh air and calm the mind - and perhaps even have a 'light bulb' moment that points the way toward a solution to a problem on your mind. Make walking, even if there is no green space, a regular part of your life.

23.3 The role of Sleep in Bloating and IBS
Sleep is one of the pillars of good health. Although it still remains a bit of mystery, what is known is that it is an essential process that allows the body to carry out tasks that it may not be able to do during waking hours. Our immune function is impaired when we are sleep deprived, which means that we become more susceptible to infections, such as flu.

Regularly getting a good night's sleep can be frustratingly difficult for many of us. The Sleep pages on the BBC Human Body & Mind website is a helpful place to start if you want to improve the quality of your sleep. If insomnia is an issue www.sleepstation.org.uk and www.sleepio.com have helpful paid-for programmes

23.4 Alcohol and Smoking impacting Bloating and IBS
Time to get virtuous! It can help with the Bloating and IBS symptoms.

23.4.1 Alcohol: In moderation, alcohol drinking can be beneficial to heart health in men over 40-years-old and post-menopausal women. And having a drink with friends, family or colleagues can be a very enjoyable part of any occasion. Too much alcohol is harmful to health and can be damaging to all types of relationships. However, alcohol in even small amounts can cause indigestion or tummy pain for some of us.

www.drinkaware.co.uk is a helpful site for information on alcohol facts and figures, and making changes to drinking habits. The Starter Diet, which is about doing gut-friendly habits and making better choices, recommends limiting alcohol to one small glass (125ml) a day.

23.4.2 Smoking: Tobacco contains many compounds that are damaging to health - the most well-known tobacco toxin is nicotine. Also, tobacco smoke may be a cause of indigestion. If you have been thinking about quitting smoking why not have a chat with a nurse at your GP surgery to see how they can support you in this. You could also check, if in UK, for free local smoking cessation services on the NHS Choices website.

23.6 Managing stress in Bloating and IBS
Stress is a part of our lives, but too much can be harmful to health and well-being. It can adversely affect our daily living in so many ways e.g. damage relationships with others, contribute to high blood pressure, lead to poor eating habits (which might trigger IBS symptoms). Identifying the specific causes of stress is the first step towards learning how to better manage it.

Helpguide provides useful information on general management of stress and Mindtools is useful for stress management techniques in the workplace.

A very effective and simple approach to stress management is 'mindfulness'. There are a lot of books available, so worth having a look in your local bookshop or on Amazon.