IBS – Environmental Illness?

Is IBS an environmental illness? Matthew Hogg seems to think so. Matthew runs a website know as the “Environmental Illness Resource”. This site provides information and networking opportunities for individuals who suffer from chronic, poorly understood illnesses. Into this category, Matthew places health conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, autism, and IBS. Matthew’s site is impressive, offering among other things, educational articles, book reviews, and forums. If the notion of an environmental illness interests you, I recommend you take a peek at Matthew’s site and poke around.

The question “Is IBS an environmental illness?” certainly provides fodder for debate. On the one hand, there are reports that go back centuries of historical figures experiencing chronic digestive problems. On the other hand, the prevalence of IBS, food allergies and food intolerances appears to be rising. Is it the stress of modern life that can account for this and can you count stress as an environmental component? Is it the new super-bacteria that we have inadvertently created through the overuse of antibiotics? Is it all the unhealthy ingredients that are poured into our foods and into the animals we consume? I certainly don’t have the answers, but I remain eager to see quality research address these questions.

| Twitterstream | Newsletter Signup | Forum |