Epilogue

Abstract

We have come to the end of our journey through the often troubled gut. By now you should know enough about gut reactions to view skeptically anybody who claims that the causes or the cures are known. You should realize that there are many schools of thought on the irritable gut, including those which believe it is psychogenic. Depression, anxiety, or other psychological states might cause the symptoms, might result from the symptoms, or might even impair one’s ability to cope with the symptoms. Other medical authorities believe the cause is dietary, perhaps a lack of dietary fiber. Still others remain convinced that the irritable gut is caused by a physiologic defect for which a correcting drug will someday be found. But can diarrhea, constipation, globus, or dyspepsia be caused by a single defect? Thoughtful researchers like Thomas Almy wonder if gut reactions are abnormal at all. Are they a disease for which a cure should be sought, or are they rather the way in which the gut responds to its owner’s psychosocial and dietary environment? All these viewpoints merit serious consideration.