Reasons for Low Vitamin D in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Some people confuse irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with inflammatory bowel disease. They both have the same symptoms and both show a low amount of vitamin D in the body, but the reason may be quite different in both cases. IBS does not show any signs of inflammation or damage to the bowels, and is a functional disease. Stress may be the culprit that creates a spastic colon.

Function

A shortage of vitamin D causes gastrointestinal problems, which in turn can lead to IBS.

Significance

Vitamin D comes from sun exposure. Shortages may develop if a person works long hours indoors and can't get out during the day.

Diet

People with IBS often restrict their diets in an effort to eliminate the problem. These changes may result in dropping foods high in vitamin D such as eggs, salmon and dark leafy vegetables.

Fortified Milk

Doctors often remove milk fortified with vitamin D from IBS sufferers' diets because they suspect that the problem comes from lactose intolerance.

Absorption

Despite popular belief, IBS sufferers do not normally have a problem with poor absorption of vitamin D. Rather, as noted above, vitamin D shortage may be the actual cause of IBS.