\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGut issues are more common in women<\/p>\n
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects up to 15% of the population \u2013 and disproportionately affects women. \u201cFor some reason, it\u2019s more likely in women than men. I don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s an oestrogen-related thing. Possibly,\u201d says Dr Bobart. \u201cAlso, I think women are more in tune with their physical health\u2026 so it might be underdiagnosed in men.\u201d<\/p>\n
That includes more serious conditions like Crohn\u2019s disease, which she says can present in several ways \u2013 and can have knock-on effects far beyond digestion.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrohn\u2019s can present [with] bloody diarrhoea. It\u2019s a malabsorption problem \u2013 several bowel motions throughout a day, potentially bloody. But Crohn\u2019s affects [the body] from the gum to the bum. You get ulcerations all along the gastrointestinal tract, but also can present with something like a low B12, low folate or low serum iron because of that malabsorption as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
These nutrient deficiencies can impact energy, concentration and mood \u2013 symptoms often dismissed as hormonal or stress-related, but which could be rooted in gut dysfunction. For those with Crohn\u2019s or ulcerative colitis, she advises against taking probiotics without guidance:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn malabsorption diseases, it\u2019s important not to just take any probiotic\u2026 potentially taking any probiotic can exacerbate the Crohn\u2019s or ulcerative colitis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Symptoms like bloating, discomfort, and changes in bowel habits that come and go are common, but she warns: \u201cIrritable bowel should always be diagnosed when everything else has been investigated. Make sure it\u2019s nothing to do with the ovary. Make sure it\u2019s not fibroids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone over 35 with new bowel symptoms \u201chas to be investigated,\u201d she stresses. \u201cDon\u2019t assume it\u2019s irritable bowel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gut issues are more common in women Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects up to 15% of the population…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,130270,227743,137,227744],"class_list":{"0":"post-436313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-boots","11":"tag-boots-ireland","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-the-image-womens-health-clinic"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}