IBS: Understanding Your Gut

How IBS works

IBS is a disorder of gut-brain interaction — meaning the problem isn't structural damage to the intestine, but abnormal communication between the gut and the nervous system. This produces real, measurable changes in how the bowel moves and how pain signals are processed. People with IBS often have visceral hypersensitivity: normal digestive sensations that most people don't notice are perceived as pain or discomfort.

On the dietary side, fermentable carbohydrates known as FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are poorly absorbed in the small intestine. They draw water into the gut and are rapidly fermented by bacteria, producing gas and triggering symptoms in susceptible individuals. But because the gut-brain axis is involved, non-dietary triggers — stress, sleep quality, hormonal cycles — can be just as significant as food. Individual variability is the rule, not the exception, which is why identifying your personal pattern matters more than following any general list.