๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฒ
- Madhukar Dama
- Oct 3
- 12 min read
---
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is not a disease in the traditional sense. It is a functional disorder of the digestive system. That means your intestines are not damaged, but they are overreacting, misfiring, or not working in rhythm.
This leads to symptoms like stomach pain, gas, bloating, constipation, loose stools, or alternating between both. Some people also feel fatigue, headache, anxiety, or poor sleep because digestion and the brain are deeply connected.
---
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ
IBS does not happen overnight. It develops slowly due to:
1. Wrong foods โ refined grains, excess sugar, fried snacks, packaged foods, milk and dairy when not tolerated.
2. Sedentary lifestyle โ no daily walking, sitting long hours.
3. Addictive habits โ excess tea, coffee, smoking, alcohol.
4. Stress and anxiety โ mental tension directly irritates the gut.
5. Weakened gut flora โ loss of healthy bacteria due to processed food, antibiotics, or lack of fermented foods.
All of these affect digestion, absorption, and the delicate balance between the brain and gut. Slowly, the intestines become hypersensitive โ this is IBS.
---
๐๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฌ โ ๐๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ
Typical symptoms:
Abdominal pain or cramps
Bloating, excessive gas
Constipation, loose stools, or both
Urgency to pass stools but incomplete evacuation
Atypical symptoms:
Fatigue, weakness
Poor sleep
Anxiety or low mood
Headaches, muscle aches
Skin dullness, hair fall due to poor nutrient absorption
This is why many patients suffer silently, not realizing that these diverse problems are linked to the same gut condition.
---
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ง
Urban lifestyles have reduced physical activity.
More dependency on outside food, especially among working men.
Higher levels of work stress.
Social habits like alcohol, smoking, excess tea/coffee.
Men often ignore early signs, which later build into chronic IBS.
---
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค
Medicines only suppress symptoms. A pill may reduce pain or slow bowel movement, but it does not remove the root cause. IBS is not an infection or an injury โ it is a lifestyle disease. Unless lifestyle changes, IBS will return again and again.
This is why the cure is both simple and powerful: change the way you live, eat, and think.
---
๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ โ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ง
Each step here addresses both the causes and the symptoms of IBS.
---
โ Quitting harmful foods
Milk & Dairy: Many Indians have lactose intolerance. Undigested lactose ferments in the gut โ bloating, gas, pain.
Sugar: Refined sugar feeds bad bacteria and causes imbalance in gut flora.
Maida, Wheat & White Rice: Highly refined carbs spike blood sugar and slow digestion. Gluten in wheat irritates sensitive guts.
Refined Oils: Cause inflammation, poor digestion, acidity.
By quitting these, you remove the constant irritation from the gut lining.
---
โก Eating only homemade foods
Homemade food is fresh, simple, and cooked with care. Outside food is loaded with refined oils, stale ingredients, and chemical additives โ all enemies of gut health.
---
โข Walking daily
Walking is the most natural exercise. It stimulates bowel movement, improves circulation, reduces stress, and balances hormones. Just 30โ40 minutes daily is enough.
---
โฃ Quitting addictives
Tea & Coffee โ overstimulate the gut and brain.
Alcohol โ irritates stomach lining and damages gut bacteria.
Smoking โ reduces blood supply and delays healing.
Quitting these allows the gut to reset naturally.
---
โค Managing mental stress
Most IBS patients know that stress worsens symptoms. Stress tightens gut muscles, changes secretions, and increases pain.
Meditation calms the nervous system.
Mindful living reduces anxiety.
Healthy personal boundaries reduce emotional triggers.
When the mind relaxes, the gut relaxes.
---
โฅ Minimising animal foods
Heavy meats, eggs, and fried non-veg are difficult to digest. Plant-based foods are lighter and keep the gut cool.
---
โฆ Daily buttermilk & fermented foods
Buttermilk cools digestion, hydrates, and restores gut flora.
Fermented foods (idli, dosa, pickles, kanji) add probiotics.
For vegetarians, buttermilk is also the best natural source of Vitamin B12.
---
โง Whole body massage with Cold-Pressed Castor Oil
Castor oil massage improves circulation, relaxes nerves, reduces inflammation, and stimulates the lymphatic system. It deeply calms both body and mind, supporting digestion indirectly.
---
โจ Daily Simarouba Kashaya
Simarouba is a natural herbal decoction known for its digestive healing properties:
Reduces inflammation in intestines
Improves absorption of nutrients
Restores balance in gut flora
Relieves constipation or irregular motions
Daily use builds a strong, resilient digestive system.
---
๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ
If these steps are followed honestly:
First 2โ3 weeks: Gas, bloating, and pain reduce. Energy improves.
1โ2 months: Bowel movements become regular. Mind feels calmer. Sleep improves.
3โ6 months: Most symptoms disappear. Digestion becomes strong.
6โ12 months: Complete recovery and resilience. The gut no longer reacts to small triggers.
---
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ
Day by day, bloating and cramps fade.
Appetite becomes normal.
Stools become soft, easy, and complete.
Mind feels light and clear.
Confidence returns because health is under control.
---
๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ โ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐๐
Monthly twice traditional oil bath โ keeps the body cool and relaxed.
Low dose Simarouba Kashaya daily โ maintains gut strength.
Simple diet and lifestyle โ stick to natural foods, avoid extremes.
Stress management โ daily breathing, walking, meditation.
---
๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
IBS is not a life sentence. It is only a reflection of how we live. Medicines cannot heal it, but ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐, ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ can.
Within 6โ12 months, most patients can see a complete transformation.
The cure is easy, because it is nothing more than living close to nature โ eating wisely, moving daily, calming the mind, and respecting the body.
---
---
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฒ โ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข
---
Scene
Early morning, Yelmadagi hills. Dew still clings to the grass. Birds sing. Smoke rises from a small chulha outside the mud-walled homestead of ๐๐ซ. ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ค๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐.
Two men arrive on a motorcycle from Bijapur, dusty after 150 km of travel. One is an IT engineer, thin, restless, dark circles under his eyes. The other, a school headmaster, sturdy but tired, carrying his breath with slight wheezing.
Madhukar greets them with warm buttermilk and a pot of freshly prepared Simarouba Kashaya.
---
Dialogue
Headmaster: (sighing as he sips buttermilk) Madhukarโฆ we have heard you help people with stomach troubles. We came all the way because both of us are fed up. Years of this IBSโฆ no medicine is working.
Madhukar: (smiling gently) You came at the right time. The morning is cool, the mind is calm, and truth can be spoken softly. Sit here on this cot. Tell me your stories.
---
1. Years of Suffering
IT Engineer: For ten years Iโve had bloating, gas, sudden motions in the office. Iโm scared to travel. My doctors kept giving tablets โ first for acidity, then for anxiety, then some antibiotics. One medicine made me so constipated that I bled. Later they sent me for scopes, blood tests, scans. Everything came โnormalโ. But I feel sick every day.
Headmaster: Same here. I started with simple gas. They said itโs โIBSโ. Slowly, I lost weight. My joints started aching โ doctor said itโs autoimmune. Then I developed asthma. They gave inhalers. Still my stomach cramps daily.
Madhukar: (nodding) This is what I call the โmedical merry-go-roundโ. IBS is not a disease that medicines can cure. It is a lifestyle imbalance. The tests come normal because the intestines are not damaged โ they are irritated. Yet the suffering is real.
---
2. Why IBS Happens
IT Engineer: But why us?
Madhukar: Tell me your food and habits.
IT Engineer: Office life โ I eat at odd hours. Tea every hour, pizzas on weekends. No time to walk. Always tension about deadlines.
Headmaster: I eat hostel food at school. Oily, reheated curries, maida chapatis. I sit the whole day correcting papers. At night, I worry about family problems.
Madhukar: There it is. IBS begins when the gut and brain stop living in rhythm. Wrong foods, no movement, addictions, stress. Milk you cannot digest ferments inside, sugar feeds bad bacteria, maida and white rice stick like paste. Refined oil inflames your intestines. Stress squeezes your gut like a clenched fist. Day after day, year after year โ this is IBS.
---
3. Mechanisms Explained in Simple Words
Headmaster: And how did I get joint pains and asthma?
Madhukar: The gut is like the root of a tree. If the root rots, the branches dry. IBS weakens the gut wall โ small food particles leak into blood. The immune system attacks them, and slowly it starts attacking your own body โ that is joint pain, sometimes even asthma. Medicines suppress, but never heal the root.
IT Engineer: That explains why one tablet helped my stomach but gave me terrible headaches.
Madhukar: Exactly. Because medicines silence one symptom but disturb another pathway.
---
4. The Cure Is Simple
(Madhukar pours hot Simarouba Kashaya into brass tumblers. The aroma is earthy and bitter, but soothing.)
Madhukar: Drink this. Itโs Simarouba Kashaya. It reduces inflammation, calms the gut, and heals the lining. But remember โ this is not a magic potion. The real cure is in how you live.
IT Engineer: What should we do?
Madhukar: Step by step.
1. Quit milk, sugar, maida, white rice, refined oils. They irritate your gut daily.
2. Eat only homemade food. Fresh, simple, no hotel oil.
3. Walk every day. After meals, morning, evening โ let the intestines swing like a pendulum.
4. Quit addictives. Tea, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes โ they whip your gut into exhaustion.
5. Calm the mind. Meditation, prayer, or just sitting under a tree in silence. Stress squeezes your bowels; peace relaxes them.
6. Reduce animal foods. They are heavy to digest.
7. Take buttermilk daily. It cools, adds probiotics, and for vegetarians, it is the main source of B12.
8. Massage with cold-pressed castor oil. It reduces inflammation, improves circulation, relaxes body and mind.
9. Simarouba Kashaya daily. Especially in chronic cases like yours.
---
5. Timeline of Recovery
Headmaster: How long will it take?
Madhukar: If you follow honestly:
First 2โ3 weeks: Gas and bloating reduce. Sleep improves.
2 months: Motions become regular.
6 months: Body becomes light, joints stop aching, asthma reduces.
12 months: Complete recovery.
It is like planting a tree. Slowly the soil heals, the roots strengthen, the branches grow green.
---
6. Real Life Reflections
IT Engineer: (tears in his eyes) Madhukar, I missed weddings because I feared sudden motions. I stopped going on trips with friends. My life became a toilet map.
Headmaster: I scolded children in class because my stomach was paining. I lost my patience, my respect.
Madhukar: (placing a hand on both their shoulders) My friends, you suffered because nobody told you IBS is not a disease but a teacher. It forces you to return to natural living. Medicines failed you, but your own body has been whispering the cure all along.
---
7. The Resolution
As the sun rises higher, both men sip the last drops of Kashaya. Their faces relax.
IT Engineer: I feel a strange calm already.
Headmaster: My chest feels open, lighter.
Madhukar: That is the beginning. Now you must continue daily.
He goes inside and brings two bottles: one of cold-pressed castor oil, one of Simarouba Kashaya powder.
Madhukar: Take these. Prepare the Kashaya every morning. Massage your body with castor oil once a week. Keep your food and mind simple. Write to me after two weeks.
The two friends, grateful and hopeful, place money in his hand.
Madhukar: You are not buying medicine. You are investing in your health. Pay me by living well.
The men nod, touched. They tie the bottles to their bike, ready for the 150 km ride back to Bijapur โ this time not with despair, but with new courage.
---
Closing Note
IBS is not the end. It is the bodyโs way of saying: โReturn to ease, return to nature.โ
On that morning in Yelmadagi, two weary men discovered that healing is not hidden in laboratories or endless tests โ it is hidden in ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ค, ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐.
And they left carrying not just bottles of castor oil and Simarouba Kashaya, but the seed of a new life.
---
---
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
-- for a man hoping for a liberation from toilet trips
---
i have seen men
bow down to their stomachs
like slaves
to a cruel god.
they run from toilet to toilet
mapping the city by restrooms,
while doctors map them by scans.
i am not one of them,
but i have watched them closelyโ
the thin engineer
with a belly full of gas and shame,
the schoolmaster
dragging his wheeze and his temper
into a classroom of children.
their charts are clean,
their blood reports holy,
their colonoscopy a blank canvas,
yet they groan at midnight,
cursing every plate of food.
---
IBS, they call it,
but itโs not a disease,
itโs a rhythm gone mad,
a drummer boy in the intestine
banging off-beat,
every day, every night.
---
why does it happen?
because milk is not milk anymore,
it is lactose bombs
in bodies that forgot how to break it.
because sugar is not sugar,
it is white fire
feeding the bad wolves in the gut.
because maida and wheat and white rice
are not food,
they are paste,
plastering the villi
until nothing moves.
because refined oil
burns the lining
like kerosene on cloth.
because sitting all day
is like tying the intestines in a knot,
and worrying all night
is like twisting it tighter.
---
what does it feel like?
it feels like gas that wonโt leave,
a balloon in the belly
that laughs at you.
it feels like running to the toilet
before every exam, every interview,
every bus ride, every wedding.
it feels like constipation that mocks
and diarrhea that scoldsโ
a see-saw, never a balance.
it feels like losing weight,
losing sleep,
losing patience with your own children.
sometimes it feels like asthma,
sometimes like joint pain,
because when the gut wall cracks
the immune army
turns its guns on your own body.
---
medicines?
yes, they come in glossy packets,
blue, pink, white,
they promise calm,
but they deliver silence
only for an hour.
then the gut rebels louder.
a pill for the cramp
gives you headaches,
a syrup for acidity
makes you dizzy,
an antibiotic kills bacteria
that were guarding you.
medicine is a mute button
on a broken radioโ
the static always comes back.
---
so what is the cure?
i tell you
with the calm of early morning air,
the cure is not in science fiction
but in grandmotherโs kitchen.
stop the milk,
let the cows keep it.
stop the sugar,
your body is not a temple for ants.
stop the maida, the polished rice,
the refined oilโ
they are ghosts pretending to be food.
eat at home,
where fire and love still mix.
walk,
as if your intestines swing with your legs.
throw away cigarettes, bottles,
the extra cups of tea
that shake your nerves.
sit quietlyโ
call it meditation if you want,
call it breathing,
call it prayer.
your gut listens when your mind is quiet.
take buttermilk daily,
fermented and alive,
let the good bacteria march back in.
for vegetarians, it is also
the missing B12.
massage your tired skin
with castor oilโ
not for beauty,
but for blood,
for nerves,
for quiet.
and yes,
take the Simarouba Kashaya,
bitter as truth,
but truth heals.
it seals the gut,
cools the fire,
rebuilds the broken rhythm.
---
timeline?
the first weeksโ
the gas bows down a little,
your sleep softens.
by two monthsโ
the bowels learn
to keep time like tablas,
not erratic drums.
by six monthsโ
your joints stop crying,
your breath no longer wheezes,
your eyes lose their fatigue.
by a yearโ
you are free,
a man not chained
to toilets or tablets.
---
after recovery?
donโt grow proud.
honor the body like a fragile clay pot.
oil bath twice a month,
Simarouba in small sips,
eat like a farmer,
move like a pilgrim,
breathe like a saint.
---
i have seen men walk into my yard
like broken radios,
full of static.
they left
with bottles of castor oil and Kashaya
strapped to their bikes,
but what they really carried
was a new spine,
a new rhythm,
a new laughter.
---
IBS is not the end.
it is a letter from the body,
a reminder
that the gut is a trainstationโ
you must keep its tracks clean,
its signals clear,
its timetable steady.
otherwise,
you will keep circling
between toilet and table,
between shame and tablets.
but when you listen,
when you live simply,
the gut becomes a friend again.
and then, my friend,
the liberation you seek
is not just from the toilet trips,
but from fear itself.
---
---
REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
1. Camilleri, M., Lasch, K., & Zhou, W. (2017). Irritable bowel syndrome: Methods, mechanisms, and pathophysiology. Gastroenterology, 152(6), 1355โ1369. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2016.10.048
2. Chey, W. D., Kurlander, J., & Eswaran, S. (2015). Irritable bowel syndrome: A clinical review. JAMA, 313(9), 949โ958. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.0954
3. Oลwiฤcimska, J., Szymlak, A., Roczniak, W., Girczys-Poลedniok, K., & Kwiecieล, J. (2017). New insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Advances in Medical Sciences, 62(1), 17โ30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advms.2016.11.002
4. Barbara, G., Grover, M., Bercik, P., Corsetti, M., Ghoshal, U. C., Ohman, L., & Mayer, E. A. (2019). Rome Foundation Working Team Report on Post-Infection Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Gastroenterology, 156(1), 46โ58. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2018.07.011
5. Drossman, D. A. (2016). Functional gastrointestinal disorders: History, pathophysiology, clinical features and Rome IV. Gastroenterology, 150(6), 1262โ1279. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2016.02.032
6. Ford, A. C., Lacy, B. E., & Talley, N. J. (2017). Irritable bowel syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(26), 2566โ2578. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1607547
7. Martoni, C. J., Srivastava, S., Leyer, G. J. (2019). Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 and Bifidobacterium lactis UABla-12 improve irritable bowel syndrome symptoms and gut microbiota. Beneficial Microbes, 10(4), 379โ390. https://doi.org/10.3920/BM2018.0134
8. Ng, Q. X., Soh, A. Y. S., Loke, W., Lim, D. Y., & Yeo, W. S. (2018). The role of inflammation in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Journal of Inflammation Research, 11, 345โ349. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S174982
9. Liu, J. H., Chen, G. H., Yeh, H. Z., Huang, C. K., & Poon, S. K. (2000). Enteric-coated peppermint-oil capsules in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: A prospective, randomized trial. Journal of Gastroenterology, 35(9), 690โ694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s005350070013
10. Srivastava, S., & Nagpal, M. (2022). Herbal medicines for the management of irritable bowel syndrome: A review. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, 808195. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.808195
---
