IBS—Discovering Root Causes and Natural Treatments

Today I’m going to talk to you about IBS, which stands for irritable bowel syndrome, or in my opinion, It’s BS. And why would I say that? Because certainly millions of people have IBS. Well, I’ve been practicing for over 30 years and have seen over 100,000 patient visits, treating all sorts of conditions—pain, fatigue, brain fog, depression, anxiety, thyroid, adrenal issues, autoimmune.

But the one thing though that almost all my patients have in common is digestive issues. I’ve seen it more so lately, and it seems like almost everyone comes in with some sort of gut symptoms. Many of my patients have been to other doctors and get labeled as having IBS.

IBS Traditional Treatment

So I want to talk about what you can do to find out what’s causing it and how to correct it. So, typical scenario, you go to the doctor saying you have symptoms such as gas, bloating, abdominal pain, cramping, constipation, diarrhea. Even mucus in the stool can feel miserable. 

And so you go in and your primary doctor says, all right, well why don’t you take this medication (usually acid-blocking drugs)? See if that works. 

You go back, still no better. All right, well, let’s send you to the GI doctor.

So you go to the GI doctor. What’s going on? 

Well, doc, I don’t know, I have some gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, just feel really irritable. My bowels feel irritable all the time. I don’t know what’s going on. 

All right, well, let’s do some tests. We’ll do a colonoscopy. 

Maybe they’ll do a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. So you get the results back and go in. 

So what is it? 

Oh, well you have IBS. 

Oh, what’s that Doc? 

That stands for irritable bowel syndrome.

Well, wait a minute isn’t that what I told you I had, irritable bowel? 

Right, you have irritable bowel syndrome, exactly. 

Well, what causes that? 

Well, no one really knows what causes it. 

What can I do about it? 

Well, you can get this medication for it. We have acid-blocking drugs. 

That’s the one that didn’t work.

Okay, we can do muscle relaxers or anti-anxiety pills, or you can do these pain meds or even anti-depressants. These are all common medications used for IBS. 

And that’s why I say It’s BS because IBS is not a condition, it’s simply a description of what’s going on. It would be like going to the orthopedist and you say, 

Doc, my neck hurts, it’s been really hurting a lot lately. 

They do some x-rays, maybe an MRI. 

Okay, well, you have something very serious. It’s called HNS. 

HNS, what’s that? 

Hurt neck syndrome. 

What do you mean?

You have HNS. 

Well, I know, my neck hurts. 

But this is an actual condition. Look it up online.

You go online, HNS, there are support groups. There are all kinds of blogs, websites all over the place. I’m making this up, by the way, maybe I’m not, maybe it does exist. But this is how it works. Anyway, that’s why I say it’s BS. 

Root Cause of IBS

However, IBS does exist. I know, I had it years ago, even as a kid I had all these symptoms. I was miserable. And as I got older, it even got worse. So I went through all this. I was able to get it cleared up and basically what it comes down to is finding out the root causes of IBS. 

Number one is pathogens (infections)—bacteria, yeast, parasites. And why don’t they ever test for this? It’s so rare that you can even get your doctor to order a stool test. I like to order these comprehensive stool tests, not just to check for parasites, but also yeast, bacteria, digestive enzymes, different markers of inflammation, immune health. So it gives a clear picture. 

So parasites, for instance, in one study I read almost half of the IBS patients had this parasite called Blastocystis hominis. I did other videos on that if you want to check that out. But 46% had blasto. and all the symptoms of IBS can be from this blastocystis and other parasites, the gas, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, constipation.

Yeast overgrowth is also a common cause of IBS symptoms, and bacterial overgrowth (dysbiosis) as well. And when I tested myself, these are just some of approximately 20 stool test parasite pictures and everything that I did years ago when I had these issues. I wanted to get to the underlying root cause. And it took me a while to figure out and get it cleared up. But you should do a comprehensive stool test if you want to find out and figure out what’s causing your gut symptoms. 

So infections, pathogens are one. And what do you do about that? Well, depending on what it is, for parasites, there’s certain natural formulas we use and sometimes you need a prescription medication. For me, I use a series of products that I found really worked, and this was after I tried a few different prescription drugs for the parasites which did not work.

Natural Treatment for IBS

If it’s yeast, there are certain protocols for that. I use a product called Yeast Defeat™. If it’s a bacterial overgrowth, I use Microb-Balance™.  There are probiotics that I use that are effective and powerful called ProbioSupreme™SB or other of our probiotics depending on the findings. So, eliminating the cause of the infection is one thing.

Second, are deficiencies—nutrient and digestive enzyme deficiencies, so that has to be addressed and they are different types of enzyme supplements, such as GastricZyme™ or PanAbsorb™ that can be a huge help.

Third, are food allergies/sensitivities. Gluten is the most common one I see. There are other foods that are highly reactive as well. You have to find out which foods you are sensitive to. That’s a major cause of digestive issues. Two ways to do this are, you can test, there is a comprehensive gluten celiac test, food allergy and sensitivity tests. You can check upwards of 100 or more foods. 

So the typical tests doctors run for gluten, if you can get them to do that, is for just 2-3 markers for gluten sensitivity and celiac. But meanwhile, there is a particular lab test I use to check more than 20 different antibodies, which is a very comprehensive approach to find out if gluten is an issue. 

Testing Options for IBS

So another option besides testing for gluten are testing for others. A food allergy test if you can get your doctor to order that. Some of the major labs offer panels of 10 or 15 foods, and those are true allergies. Most people have sensitivities more so than allergies, so I like to test both in panels of about 100 foods or more. 

So aside from food testing, another option I came up with is a diet I call the FreeDiet® because it’s not only free of gluten but gluten, grains, sugar, yeast, dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, nightshades, and processed foods. And you go through that, phase one is typically four weeks where you are eliminating these potentially reactive foods. And most patients, usually within the first couple of weeks are doing so much better.

And then as everything clears up, we go onto phase two, we start adding foods back one at a time. So, this is what worked for me. Because I tested positive for gluten sensitivity, and I went gluten-free but was eating all the gluten-free grains, millet, rice, corn, gluten-free pasta and bagels, everything. 

I was not feeling any better because you must eliminate the bacteria, yeast, parasites, all of those things. All of those live on, they love sugar, grains, yeast, starches. So this diet, the FreeDiet® is free of all of those. 

It really helps your gut calm down. If you want a complimentary copy of the FreeDiet® phase 1 food chart, feel free to click here to check that out. So the FreeDiet® gives your gut a rest, calms down the inflammation, allows it to heal. If you have infections, pathogens, it also is the diet you would follow for that. So it’s all-encompassing as far as to help clear up gut issues and that’s what worked for me after I finally figured it out over many years of testing and tweaking and for many of my patients since then.

Contact Us

If you need help with your health, feel free to contact us and feel free to share this with someone you know, who is having gut or thyroid issues. We would be happy to help.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • freediet-img

    Download The FreeDiet® Phase 1 Food Chart

    from Dr. Rofrano's best-selling book, The FreeDiet®

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Success Stories

    Natural treatment for Migraine Headaches, neck pain, digestive problems, fatigue.
    To read more and to view full-sized video, click HERE

    4.8
    Based on 49 reviews
    powered by Google
    Rebecca Dyckman
    00:52 15 Sep 21
    I began treatment under Dr. Tom and Dawn in early August. I had a shopping list of complaints. Many of them I'd been dealing with for 25 to 30 years. Traditional doctors told me again and again that I was perfectly healthy, implying that much of this was in my head. Dr. Tom ran numerous tests based on his hunches, and I'm glad that he did. Tests revealed many things never uncovered by any of my previous doctors. I began feeling relief from some symptoms within a few days and gradually began feeling relief from most others. I'm about 5 weeks into the program and feeling so much better. I had concerns about sticking it out because it is definitely a vastly different way of doing things and it is quite an investment. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This is the first time in my many years of trying to get better that I can actually see that light. I am excited to update in another few months because I feel certain that I'll be able to report that I am fully healed. Thank you Dr. Tom and Dawn (and Angelika). You all are an amazing team and I feel blessed that you all are working so hard to get me well. Thank you!!
    Andrea Fiebe
    12:46 23 Aug 21
    I am beyond grateful for Dr. Tom and his staff!! Kayla, Dawn and Alexandra have gone out of their way to help me and I know my situation hasn't been easy. I came to Dr. Tom with a long list of issues and hopeless. I am proud to say that a year later and I am thriving. I went from not working out at all to working out 4 days a week, plus yoga. I traveled around the country to many holistic doctors and he has been the only way to help me see major progress. My only regret is that I didn't meet him sooner. I feel taken care of and so grateful for my experience with them.
    Amanda Bailey
    18:27 09 Aug 21
    Dr. Tom Rofrano's Natural Medicine Clinic has changed my life. I came to him with an enlarged thyroid nodule, pain in my joints and tendons, increasing weight, imbalanced hormones, a leaky gut and so many other issues that I didn't even know were causing my symptoms. After extensive testing, he put me on a tailored protocol as well as the Free Diet (trademarked) to help clear up my symptoms. I have been on this protocol for 5 months and I have never felt better. I have more energy, reduced stress, overall happiness, no pain in my joints, clear skin, better menstrual cycles, no pms symptoms of irritability or mood swings. I lost 20 lbs and my gut is healing. All with supplements, dietary changes, and environmental changes to my daily life. I emphatically endorse this method and hope everyone seeks him out. He got to the root cause of my symptoms and I am on a path to heal myself holistically without traditional medicine. In addition to Dr. Rofrano, everyone in his clinic is extremely helpful and generous with their time. I have never met a more caring team of support from a clinic. Thank you to Kayla and Angelika and all the NMC support team for what they have done for me. In addition, I don't even live nearby and Dr. Rofrano and his team have worked to ship all my tests and supplies to me, Zoom my follow up visits, and help me find what I need in my area. So grateful to them all.-Amanda Bailey
    Christine VanBasten
    15:54 30 Jul 21
    I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2001 and have had severe abdominal swelling since 2008. People continuously asked me when my baby was due and I was never pregnant. I didn't want to be in public or go to work because I didn't feel well and I was extremely self conscious of my body shape. Since starting the FreeDiet in March 2021, I have lost 12 pounds. I am no longer bloated and all my coltis symptoms have disappeared. After completing extensive bloodwork and testing Dr. Rofrano discovered that I am allergic to Gluten and Candida. I knew I was allergic to Gluten and knew that I struggled with Candida but never realized I could be allergic to Candida as well. After eliminating anything fermented from my diet, I feel pain free in my stomach. Food is enjoyable once again. I am very happy with my improved health and energy thanks to this diet, supplements and to Dr. Rofrano. My colleagues are commenting and how healthy and young I look. I highly recommend Dr. Rofrano and all his services.
    Troy Stark
    14:36 15 Jun 21
    Testosterone gain of 50% in 30 days with NO drugs. DR. Tom’s nutrition and supplement guidance is foolproof, however, it’s up to you to do the work. My bloodwork improved amazingly across the full spectrum. If you want to be healthy and actually see the lab results go to NMC!
    Betty Diller
    20:06 19 Apr 21
    I was in a very sickly state with very high blood pressure, Epstein Barr Virus, severe digestive issues, IBS, and constant UTI ‘s that were always back to back. My cholesterol was 244 and my inflammation was off the charts / extremely high!!!! I decided to read “free diet” book written by Dr Rofrano. It made total sense, so I decided to proceed with the blood tests. This is when I discovered all my lab work was in a very poor state. He uncovered a lot of information and made me aware of why my health was poor and why I was feeling badly!!! I started to follow the diet and take the suggested supplements. Within 5 to 6 weeks everything turned around for me. My labs were nearly perfect in all the previously scary areas where the numbers were completely out of range. I am feeling much better and I am raving about the free diet / supplements that Dr Rofrano can offer you for your specific issues. he is gifted to know exactly how to help each person deal with their health issues. I am grateful to God I found him and had the initiative to move forward!!!! PTL !!!!
    Janet Oquendo
    13:41 27 Jan 21
    My health had been declining over the last 5 years. I have consulted with no less than 6 naturopaths. Non of which was able to help me regain my health. After more recent lab tests my Feritin level had skyrocketed at which point now I was worried. Every one I spoke to said the only option was to do leeching (where they draw out your blood periodically). That did not sound like an option. Then I found Dr Rofrano. To be honest I was extremely skeptical as I have spend lots of money and time with other naturopaths only to end up right back at the beginning. However I had nothing to loose (other than $$$) I decided to give him one try before I competely gave up. I can say I am 100% happy!!!... After an in-depth consultation, and extensive testing. Many deficiencies were uncovered not to mention, sensitivities, thyroid, hormones, high cholesterol the list goes on and on. We began a supplement regiment to get things back on track. Its now 6 weeks later. My labs have significantly improved, my cholesterol is now in normal range, my feritin level has significantly dropped and I am feeling a lot better. Its still early and my body has more healing to do. I am ecstatic to say we are on the right track. My labs have never looked better. If you are just not feeling well and really need to find a solution would highly recommend you contact the Natural Medicine Clinic and speak to Dr Tom Rofrano.. you will NOT be dissapointed.
    Shannon Empfield
    00:29 03 Jan 21
    Great Dr. his book is amazing and the supplements they sell are of highest quality. I’ve been taking them for years now and my health has improved greatly. I highly recommend Natural Medicine Clinic.
    D M
    14:02 23 Dec 20
    Stay away. Extremely expensive for results. All they want to do is throw pills at you for thousands of dollars.. Not worth the money.Find someone who takes an interest in your health not your wallet.
    Eric Myskowski
    18:02 18 Jun 20
    If you’re looking to take back your health and move foreword into longevity, I highly suggest Dr. Rofrano and his excellent team. They provide you with step by step guidance on how to make all your health dreams a reality. Be ready to commit to his individualized program for the best results possible. I would recommend Dr. Rofrano and his practice to anyone and everyone looking to finally understand your health and what it takes to get back to living the life you want to live. This is what real health is all about.
    More reviews
    js_loader

    Hours

    Monday 9 AM – 5 PM
    Tuesday 9 AM – 5 PM
    Wednesday 9 AM – 5 PM
    Thursday 9 AM – 5 PM
    Friday 9 AM – 1 PM

  • Schedule An
    Appointment

    We can help you look and feel the best you have in years!

    Natural Medicine Clinic

    Chiropractor Palm Beach Gardens, FL
    2401 PGA Boulevard Ste 132
    Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
    561-627-5800

    Serving the Florida communities of:

    Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach,
    Jupiter, Tequesta, Singer Island
    and West Palm Beach.

    Content on this website is based upon the opinions of Thomas Rofrano, D.C. and is not considered medical advice. It is designed to be a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Rofrano and his community. Dr. Rofrano encourages you to make your health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Dr. Rofrano is a chiropractic physician and offers physical and nutritional support and guidance to those seeking alternative or complementary care to traditional medicine. His care is not meant to replace that from your primary doctor and specialists but rather to help you on your path to achieving life-long vibrant health.

    Regarding any supplements mentioned: *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.