This is one of many books being published that explain and propose cures for IBS. All the books I have read prior to this one were heavy on dietary precautions but not as concerned with the so-called psychological aspects of IBS. As a psychologist myself, I have noted the growing tendency, when physicians don't know what causes a disease, to quickly dismiss it as psychological. As a sufferer of IBS (started after I took an antibiotic), I wasn't content with being told that it was entirely or partly in my head, and I got relief from most symptoms by visiting a nutritional doctor (not a nutritionist) who tested me for food allergies using an IGG blood test. Once eliminating the foods I was sensitive to, my IBS improved dramatically to the point where I do not need medication. Nor am I affected by stressful situations as I was prior to watching what I ate. My biggest concern with this book was the advice on loading up on wheat fiber. If you research gastric diseases, IBS is very similar to celiac sprue, which is caused by extreme allergy to wheat. I found this misguided, because I don't doubt that some cases of IBS are celiac sprue -- just not diagnosed because traditional physicians believe it only occurs in infants. Our digestion is being assaulted by processed foods, junk food, pollutants in our drinking water, disease spread by unsanitary food services, and even plastic and styrofoam chemicals leeching into the liquids we drink. Like me, if you are a sufferer from IBS or any "new" disease, you may be getting frustrated by publications that claim cures, including psychoanalytic cures, rather than revealing the reasons or sources of disease. This book just doesn't cut it if you are a person interested in answers, and I do worry about the cure proposed here. If you want to study up on gastrology, getting more info that you can use to search for your own cure, don't neglect the information on digestion and the stomach's nervous system in The Second Brain by Gershon. There are plenty of books on Food Allergies also on amazon.com -- a number are good sources for all sorts of symptoms, not just IBS.
