Having IBS is often described as torture. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is said to affect as many as 20% of Americans, too, at least for some portion of their lives.
As we’re about to show, IBS has proven to be a tough ailment to fully understand. One bit of conventional wisdom surrounding it that we’ll address is whether or not it’s caused by spicy foods.
Understanding IBS
One of the biggest challenges with diagnosing IBS and with others understanding it is that it encompasses all different types of symptoms and all different degrees of severity.
For many, it’s best understood as severe indigestion that occurs on a regular basis. Some of the most common symptoms include:
- Bloating
- Gas
- Abdominal Pain
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
These symptoms can be so harsh that people plan their days around where the nearest restroom will be, giving themselves more than enough time to leave the house in case an emergency all of a sudden flares up.
In order to meet the medical community’s standards for what counts as IBS, symptoms must:
- Be ongoing for at least six months
- Occur at least three times a month for the past three months
- Always be accompanied by abdominal pain or discomfort which has at least two of the following three traits:
- Correlates with a change in regularity of stool
- Correlates with a change in appearance of stool
- Goes away with defecation
What’s even more frustrating about this ailment is that no one knows for sure what causes it. This also makes it very difficult to describe IBS beyond the symptoms we just mentioned.
Common theories that may explain IBS include:
- A colon that is simply more sensitive than others
- A brain that is more acutely sense contractions in the gut
- An immune system that responds differently to stress and/or infections
- Hormonal changes (70% of those with IBS are women)
- Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is produced in the gut, may have an effect on digestive tract nerves. Too much may cause diarrhea while too little leads to constipation.
Despite the vague nature surrounding IBS, there is a consensus in the medical community that it is a real ailment and not simply all in one’s head, as some people have suggested.
In fact, in an effort to help explain IBS and comfort those who are worried it’s their own fault or something far worse, the American College of Gastroenterology has provided the following list of things IBS definitely isn’t:
- An anatomical or structural problem
- Cancer
- An identifiable chemical or physical disorder
- Something that will lead to other gastrointestinal diseases
At this point, if you haven’t been formally diagnosed with IBS, you should at least have some idea if it’s a possibility you have it.
With that, let’s now look at the possible relationship between IBS and spicy food.
The Problem with IBS and Spicy Food
There are a couple problems with the conventional wisdom that IBS and spicy food are somehow linked.
The first is that, as you just saw, it’s hard to truly define what IBS is, which makes it very difficult to begin talking about its causes.
Furthermore, spicy food contains a compound known as capsaicin. While this ingredient is behind the very kick so many people have come to love, it’s also been linked to serious health benefits. One of these benefits is helping with digestion.
Studies have shown that, over time, reoccurring exposure to peppers can actually numb your body’s ability to feel pain.
Capsaicin may also keep stomach irritants in check one they’re in your system. If anything, the evidence seems to suggest that adding capsaicin to your diet would be far more beneficial than excluding it, even if you do have IBS.
There’s also the obvious evidence posed by certain cultures. Very, very spicy food has been a staple in Indian food going back millennia. If IBS and spicy food were connected, you’d expect to see an inordinate amount of people in India suffering from this problem.
This would also apply to much of the rest of Asia and Central and South America, yet it just isn’t the case.
The Truth About IBS and Spicy Food
Instead, it’s far more likely that it’s the foods you’re eating along with spicy foods that are causing your IBS to flare up.
Here are some food items commonly associated with IBS:
- Greasy Foods
- Dairy
- Wheat
- High-FODMAP Vegetables (e.g. garlic, onion, mushrooms, etc.)
- Beans and Legumes
- Artificial Sweeteners
- Alcohol
- Carbonated Drinks
Can you see how these ingredients that may lead to IBS and spicy food often go together? Fried chicken dipped in hot sauce is an obvious example. The same goes for chili with lots of beans, onion, some garlic and maybe cheese sprinkled over the top. Blood Maries would also be an issue.
The list goes on and on, but it should be clear that if you have IBS, spicy food isn’t the problem.
It’s understandable how this assumption got started, of course. Spicy food is hot and IBS is often accompanied by a burning sensation. However, there’s no evidence to support any kind of link between IBS and spicy food.
Furthermore, even in otherwise healthy people, high-fat, greasy diets can wreak havoc on their GI tracts. Eat too much of this type of food and you’re bound to end up with diarrhea, cramps, constipation and other stomach problems.
When this happens to someone with IBS, these uncomfortable symptoms are far more severe.
The Good News About IBS and Spicy Food
If you love spicy food and have IBS, just make sure you’re not also eating any of the aforementioned items that would cause a problem and you should be fine. While you may have to do a bit of experimenting to find which ingredient is the issue, it will be worth it. Many people with IBS keep a food journal for this reason.
If you’re really not a big fan of spicy foods, you can still benefit from capsaicin in pill form. You’ll get help with your digestion without paying for it by having your mouth burn up.
Keep in mind, too, that all herbs and spices aid in digestion, too. You can ditch all kinds of other food items without having to worry about completely missing out on flavor simply by finding which herbs and spices you like best.
Despite what everyone thinks, there is no relationship between IBS and spicy food. While you should still seek professional help with the former, don’t feel as though you need to give up your favorite foods.