Sufferers of from irritable bowel syndrome will know only too well the pain that it can cause: bloating, nausea and headaches, as well as the embarrassment of prolonged trips to the toilet. For Caroline Jadeja, 26 (pictured), an account manager in London, what began as slight constipation became three years of cramps, fatigue and extreme physical discomfort.
“I was so bloated that I looked as if I was six months pregnant,” she says. “My clothes didn’t fit and I had no room in my stomach for food. I stopped eating proper meals and couldn’t even go to the gym because I had so much trapped air that I felt sick if I started exercising.”
The problems began after a six-month trip to Ghana in 2001, where she was working to raise awareness of HIV and Aids. On returning to London, she noticed that she was slightly constipated and started to take capsules of peppermint oil as a digestive aid. However, by 2003 she had excruciating headaches and was going to the toilet only once a week. “I visited my GP, who identified the symptoms as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and recommended that I cut out junk food and eat more fruit and vegetables,” she says. “But I was already doing that with very little effect.” She had also stopped eating bread, pasta and cereal after she bought a Holland & Barrett food-sensitivity test which she claims revealed that she should avoid wheat and yeast.
Jadeja was by now on a steady diet of laxatives, so her doctor suggested an ultrasound on her stomach, which found nothing malignant. She decided to try alternative remedies: Chinese herbal medicine, and then homoeopathy. “Both of those treatments had an initial effect and then just didn’t work any more,” she says. “I was really suffering, although I tried not to let it break me or to affect my life.”
Frustrated with all the pills and potions that she was taking, she cut out dairy from her diet after she tried another food-sensitivity test, the York test, which she bought from a chemist. She decided to stick to a simple diet of mainly fruit and vegetables, and avoided any foods such as bread and pasta that made the condition flare up. It was only while on holiday in India with her family last year that her Indian-born parents suggested that she try Ayurveda, a branch of Eastern medicine that takes a holistic approach to healing. It works on the principle that we are made up of a combination of bioenergies — doshas — called vata, pitta and kapha. The aim of a practitioner is to coax these elements into balance, although the complicated philosophy belies simple treatments. Remedies can involve a combination of healthy food, yoga, massage and herbal medicines.
Jadeja’s Ayurvedic doctor recommended a simple vegetarian diet, with no alcohol, and prescribed some Ayurvedic remedies made from a combination of herbs. “Within a week I saw a dramatic improvement,” she says. “Within three weeks I was absolutely back to normal.”
The IBS returned when she came back to England, however, and Jadeja sought out an Ayurvedic practitioner in London: Dr Shantha Godagama, the president of the Ayurvedic Medical Association UK, who practises at the Hale Clinic in London. He diagnosed a water- deficient colon. “Caroline is a water-dominant person, so we needed to hydrate her to see an improvement,” he says. However, the solution wasn’t drinking pints of water, although he did recommend that she increase her fluid intake. Instead he again prescribed a healthy diet and suggested a combination of Ayurvedic herbal remedies, including haritaki, which, it claimed, can have a laxative effect, and bibhitaki and amalaki derived from the Indian fruit amla, which is high in vitamin C.
He also advised her to have marmapuncture, which is similar to acupuncture, but involves stimulating the marmas, the energy points of the body according to ancient Indian medicine. As part of her weekly visits, she also undertook a course of panchakarma, a detox involving massage and steam therapy. “I felt instantly better,” she says. “After a few weeks my energy levels were back to normal. I had become used to feeling so tired all the time that it was only then that I realised how you’re supposed to feel.” The treatment has also alleviated her allergies to wheat, yeast and dairy. “These days, if I’m at a birthday party, I can have a slice of cake without any ill effects,” she says.
Three months of visits to the Hale Clinic left Jadeja IBS-free and six months after her first consultation she is no longer undergoing treatment. “I believe it is the combination of marmapuncture and panchakarma, in addition to herbal remedies and her diet, that worked this time,” says Dr Godagama.
Jadeja has become a strong advocate of Ayurvedic medicine: “I still have no idea what started the problem, but the trapped air, constipation and headaches are all gone now.”
What is it?
AYURVEDIC MEDICINE dates back 3,000 years and is based on the idea that three doshas — vata, pitta and kapha — govern the body. It is believed that putting these in harmony, through herbal preparations, diet, lifestyle, yoga, meditation and detoxification, helps to achieve perfect health, and to treat the underlying cause of illness, not just the symptoms. Ayurveda has strong links with many Asian medical systems, particularly with traditional Chinese medicine, another holistic system of diagnosis and treatment.
SUITABLE FOR digestive disorders, gynaecological problems such as painful periods, skin complaints, allergies, joint problems such as arthritis and rheumatism, depression and high blood pressure. It is also believed to help with addiction to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
COST Dr Godagama charges £60 for an initial 30-minute consultation and £50 thereafter at the Hale Clinic (www.haleclinic.com)
CONTACT the Ayurvedic Medical Centre, the Hale Clinic, 7 Park Crescent, London W1 (020-7631 0156)
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE? DR GEORGE LEWITH
Can Ayurvedic medicine cure irritable bowel syndrome? Although there is an increasing amount of research into Ayurveda, there is limited evidence for some of the patented herbal combinations prescribed, with few randomised controlled trials and no rigorous studies of Ayurveda in IBS. One of the few exceptions is an excellent Australian study of 116 IBS patients, by Alan Bensoussan and colleagues, published in 1998 in the Journal of The American Medical Association, showing that both an individualised and a patent formulae of Chinese herbs had a significant and long-term clinical effect on IBS, over placebo.
Why didn’t Chinese herbal medicine help? Caroline Jadeja used a combination of herbs, detox, Ayurvedic massage, and diet. The Chinese herbal medicine and homoeopathy appeared to help a bit. One of the main problems with whole systems of diagnosis and treatment such as Ayurveda and Chinese herbal medicine is that it’s difficult to scientifically evaluate the various elements of these complex interventions.
Is Ayurvedic medicine safe? There is no single registering body for Ayurvedic practitioners in the UK so training and qualifications are variable. Nor is there any coherent regulation for some of the Ayurvedic herbals available here, which may be imported by practitioners directly from India. This will change in October when all herbal suppliers will have to register with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
What are the dangers? There is some evidence that a few Asian herbal medicines may be contaminated by toxic metals such as lead and mercury; five cases of lead poisoning from herbs were reported in the UK in 1995 in Human & Experimental Toxicology. Check that the herbs prescribed come from a practitioner who is a member of the Ayurvedic Trade Association, which covers 50 per cent of suppliers, and tests herbs for contamination.
Dr George Lewith is head of the complementary medicine research unit, Southampton Medical School
