Constipation warning as woman develops gut problem linked to colon cancer due to not going enough
A gut expert has warned of the long-term dangers of constipation, after the common problem triggered a nasty digestive issue that's been linked to bowel and pancreatic cancer in a 35-year-old patient.
Despite only having one bowel movement a week for 15 years, the unnamed patient was not concerned about her gut health and had no idea her infrequent gut emptying was abnormal.
But, when she started experiencing consistent painful bloating and excessive wind, she decided to seek expert advice from US-based gut health specialist Devin Wagenman, as explained in an Instagram video.
He eventually diagnosed the young woman with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), Wagenman explain
SIBO occurs when bacteria from the large intestine travel to the small intestine, causing bloating, excess wind, pain, food intolerances and nutrient deficiencies.
Left untreated, this condition can interfere with the absorption of fats and nutrients, causing vitamin deficiencies, kidney problems, and has even been linked to cancer.
In 2016, a Chinese study involving more than 200 cancer patients found a significant link between SIBO and the development of pancreatic, bile duct and colon cancers.
The scientists suggested that bacteria overgrowth can produce a number of toxins that activate receptors in the body, known as TLR-4 receptors.
These receptors can trigger inflammation, which is known to support tumour growth and weaken the immune system.
Prior to the woman's diagnosis she'd seen several specialists who had said her symptoms were likely due to constipation caused by a lack of fibre in her diet.
Two gastrointestinal specialists suggested taking the laxative MiriLax to cure her symptoms.
But Dr Devin Wagenman said that this advice was misguided.
'The caveat that they didn't ever consider was she was actually vegetarian, so she was eating a tonne of fibre every single day and it never made a difference,' Dr Wagenman said in the Instagram video that has so far garnered over 37,900 views.
Doctors at The Wellness Way, a restorative health clinic in Georgia, ran a stool test, to see what could be causing her problem.
The stool sample revealed a high amount of bacteria in her gut.
'This suggests she is dealing with something called SIBO or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which is going to cause a lot of fermentation, gas and bloating', Dr Wagenman explained.
'This is because she is not emptying regularly', he added.
The condition commonly occurs when constipation or surgery slows the movement of food and waste products in the digestive tract, creating a breeding ground for bacteria.
SIBO is diagnosed through either a simple breath test that measures the concentration of hydrogen and methane in a person's breath, or via an endoscopy.
The bacterial overgrowth is usually treated with antibiotics to kill the harmful bugs.
The clinic also ran a food allergy and intolerance test, to see which foods the patient's immune system was responding to.
Her results revealed 36 adverse reactions, to wheat, cow's milk and chia seeds as well as a number of other high fibre foods such as barley and pinto beans.
Dr Wagenman was subsequently able to treat the woman's SIBO with a combination of medical treatment and diet changes.
Within two months, she began to have two to three healthy bowel movements a week.
Dr Wagenman shared her blood test results to Instagram in a bid to show his followers that one bowel movement a week 'is not normal'.
This warning comes amid a worrying trend of younger adults being diagnosed with bowel cancer, after putting their symptoms down to stress, indigestion and food intolerances.
For instance, one mother-of-two urged women to seek help for gut problems after her stomach pain and constipation turned out to be deadly bowel cancer that had spread to her liver.
Tess was initially told that she was likely suffering the ill-effects of either a dairy or gluten intolerance.
However, other alarming symptoms including constipation and 'thin stools' began to strike.
It wasn't until 10 months after her initial symptoms struck that she was finally offered a colonoscopy — whereby a flexible camera is inserted into the rectum to obtain images of the bowel.
The scan revealed a tumour so large the procedure had to be abandoned there and then.
Tess, from Sydney, was eventually diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer — the disease had spread to her liver.
This comes as health chiefs are set to introduce a groundbreaking screening scheme that aims to offer long-awaited hope for those who develop the UK's most lethal cancer.
Pancreatic cancer—dubbed a 'silent killer' due to its subtle symptoms—kills just over 10,000 patients every year, about one death every hour.
It is typically diagnosed at late stages, as warning signs are easily mistaken for other problems.
But now, GP clinics will contact patients believed to be at high-risk of the disease, and call them in for urgent tests, in the hope of pre-empting symptoms.
While pancreatic cancer is most likely to strike people over the age 75—with 47 per cent of all cases in this demographic—younger groups can also get the disease.
Experts say the exact reasons behind the disturbing rise in these cancer cases is still unknown.
However, some believe poor diets, increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, obesity and a lack of exercise or a combination of these and other factors could be responsible for the alarming trend.
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