A common bowel condition suffered by millions of Brits may not actually exist, new research suggests.

Experts warn that 13 million Brits with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) may be having the cause of the problem ignored.

Although symptoms include excess gas, bloating and severe diarrhoea, researchers found that it may not be one condition but a whole range of them.

Experts at the British College of Nutrition and Health reviewed 220 studies and categorised the causes into lifestyle – such as poor sleep – dietary factors and imbalances in gut bacteria.

Lead author Ben Brown, said IBS was an “umbrella diagnosis based on symptoms” but added “it’s not usually one thing”.

He said: “Unfortunately what often happens is they get given that label and told ‘there’s not much we can do about it’.

That’s not addressing the problem.”

Source: Read Full Article