Category: News

Massage Practice Hiring Tips

Learn how massage practice owners can effectively hire, onboard, and manage a skilled and reliable team.

Oncology Massage: Benefits, Techniques & Healing Support

Oncology massage is a gentle, supportive therapy designed to ease pain, reduce stress, and improve quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatment.

Your next chapter in wellness: Massage Heights evolves into Heights Wellness Retreat

In October of 2024, Massage Heights unveiled their next evolution: Heights Wellness Retreat (HWR). This new identity reflects an expanded vision, one where massage remains at the heart of our business, but where we also embrace a broader spectrum of therapies designed to support whole-body wellness.

Massage Envy: The Nation’s #1 Provider of Massage Collectively Across its Franchise Network

From the opening of its first location in 2002, to hundreds of franchised locations across 49 states today, the Massage Envy franchise network continues to grow.

Outsourcing Tips For Massage Therapists

Massage therapists can save time, reduce stress, and grow their practices by outsourcing tasks like bookkeeping, laundry, website design, and social media management.

Biological age tests: Should you get one?

If you’ve heard of billionaire Bryan Johnson, you’ve likely encountered the phrase “bio age testing.”

Johnson, the subject of the Netflix documentary Don’t Die, says he’s on a quest to achieve the lowest possible “biological age” (also known as bio age).

He reportedly spends millions each year on anti-aging treatments—dozens of daily supplements, weekly acid peels for his skin, injections to boost collagen production, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and plasma infusions extracted from his 17-year-old son’s body.

To determine what’s working, Johnson has undergone numerous tests to assess his bio age. Johnson says these tests show his age is now 5.1 years younger than when he embarked on his anti-aging quest.

Apparently, he’s aging in reverse.

Granted, not everyone’s buying it. A New York Times exposé, for example, claims Johnson’s biological age, in reality, has increased by 10 years.1

Still, Johnson’s “don’t die” crusade is gaining traction.

Bio age tests are a frequent topic on popular podcasts by Peter Attia, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Huberman. Google “bio age testing” and you’ll see dozens of ads for mail-order blood or urine testing kits that claim to reveal your biological age, pace of aging, and more. With prices tumbling into affordability, it’s natural to wonder…

Should you or your client sign up for bio age testing?

If so, which test is best? Just as importantly, what should you do with the information?

In this story, you’ll learn:

Five FREE ways to assess your overall health and pace of aging—from the comfort of your own home
Doctor-approved bio age tests you may have already done without realizing it
The research behind commercial bio age tests, and whether they’re worth your money
The two biggest mistakes people make when chasing health and longevity

What is your bio age?

Your biological age (bio age) refers to how your cells function. It’s not necessarily the same as your chronological age, which refers to the number of candles on your birthday cake.

For example, let’s say Chang, a 50-year-old man, works at a desk, spends his free time in front of the TV, lives in the most polluted city in the world, eats a candy bar for lunch, and smokes. On the other hand, Jabari, a different 50-year-old man, hits the gym several times a week, lives in the mountains, doesn’t smoke, relishes his five servings of veggies a day, meditates, and spends most evenings in his garden.

Genetics aside, you’d be wise to wager that Jabari’s bio age is younger than Chang’s.

How do these tests measure bio age?

Bio age testing kits measure one or more biological markers of aging, also known as biomarkers.

For example, some tests focus on the size of your telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. Others measure DNA methylation, a physiological process that chemically alters DNA.

Once a company isolates and measures these markers from your blood or urine, it plugs the bio data into a formula that calculates your bio age.

However, if you see a doctor with any regularity, you’re likely already tracking some biomarkers of aging. For example, biomarkers such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood glucose can help predict your risk of future cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of premature death.

What’s the point of biomarker testing?

Biomarker testing can help you monitor your wellness proactively rather than waiting for disease symptoms to appear.

For some, it also serves as a motivator. If you learn you have the bones of someone 20 years older, this may give you the nudge you need to start strength training consistently.

In addition, biomarkers provide objective data, allowing you to track and evaluate various health-related actions quantitatively. By monitoring your blood pressure, you might learn that consistent exercise helps, but your late-afternoon energy drink does the opposite.

5 FREE biomarker tests

You don’t have to be a billionaire (or even a millionaire) to track biomarkers of aging.

In this section, we’ll cover several massively underappreciated, scientifically validated tests you can use to gain insight into your bio age—for FREE.

Before scientists developed high-tech blood-based bio age tests, researchers used these free tests to calculate the pace of aging in the people they studied.

FREE biomarker test #1: Get off the floor

People who are fitter and stronger tend to live longer.2

That’s because muscles do more than just move us around. They also secrete anti-inflammatory substances, help to regulate blood sugar, slow cellular aging, protect the lining of the arteries, and more. All this helps reduce the risk of age-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, a phenomenon we explore in our article, The New Science of Muscle.

Related to strength, your ability to balance is also key. If you’re middle-aged or older and can’t stand on one foot for at least 10 seconds, your risk of dying in the next seven years is double that of someone who can stand for longer, according to a study of 1,700 people.3

The Sitting-Rising Test (SRT) is one way to assess both strength and balance at the same time.

People with low scores on this test have a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a 12-year study of 4,200 adults between the ages of 46 and 75.4

How to measure it

Lower yourself to the floor with your legs in a crisscross position. Then, with your legs in the same position, stand back up. As you stand, notice if you must use a part of your body—hand, shin, knee—as leverage.

To score yourself, start with 10 points. Then, for each body part you used to stand, deduct a point. Subtract a half point if you became unsteady or lost your balance.

Keep in mind that this (and other tests) serve as a proxy for your fitness. A low score indicates that your balance and coordination, muscle strength and power, and mobility may all require some attention.

FREE biomarker test #2: Squeeze a ball

Like the SRT test, your grip strength provides insight into your overall fitness. If the muscles in your hands are weak, the muscles throughout your body are more likely to be weak, too.

Poor grip strength can also predict future muscle weakness. In one study, people with a weak grip were more likely to walk slowly and be unable to rise from a chair, complete rigorous housework, or climb a flight of steps 25 years later.5

Low grip strength has also been associated with:6

Low bone mineral density
Increased risk of falls
Poor nutritional status
Depression
Poor sleep, cognitive function, and/or quality of life
Increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and premature mortality

According to one study, grip strength was a better indicator of longevity (or lack thereof) than blood pressure.7

How to measure it

Grab a standard tennis ball, and squeeze as hard as you can, for as long as you can.

If you can manage 15 to 30 seconds before your grip fatigues, you’re doing fine. Ninety seconds puts you well above average—anything over 90 ranks you solidly in the upper-third percentile.

If you’re below 15, keep in mind that this test is also just one indicator of your overall strength. (And squeezing balls to improve grip strength without training the rest of your body is unlikely to make significant improvements in your overall health and fitness.)

A hand-held dynamometer—available for use at most occupational therapists’ and some gyms—can also test grip strength. (If you’re willing to shell out some cash, you can buy your own for somewhere between $100 and $500.)

FREE biomarker test #3: Stand on one foot

An ability to balance on one foot for an extended period can help reduce your risk of falls, one of the leading causes of injury-related death among older adults.

In addition, many different bodily systems—the eyes, inner ear, skeletal muscles, and brain—must work together to help you stay upright.

Conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer can all affect balance. As a result, an inability to stand on one foot can serve as a warning sign for eroding health and fitness.8

How to measure it

Stand near a wall or chair for safety. Keep your eyes open and hands on your hips. Then, lift your dominant leg and start timing yourself. Once you put your foot down, stop the clock. Repeat the test with your non-dominant leg.

Once you have your times, compare them to the following averages, from a study out of Duke University, to see how you did compared to your age-matched peers.9

Age
Seconds on one leg (males)
Seconds on one leg (females)

30-39
59
56

40-49
56
55

50-59
42
48

60-69
40
38

70-79
27
25

80+
13
11

FREE biomarker test #4: How you feel

Sometimes you know why you’re tired, such as the morning after binge-watching the last few episodes of a thriller. Once you catch up on your sleep, the weariness lifts.

That’s not the same thing as fatigue, which describes persistent exhaustion that worsens over time and interferes with life. In addition to feeling physically tired, someone who’s fatigued feels mentally dull and emotionally exhausted.

Think of fatigue as an early sign that something’s off, especially if you don’t know the cause.

Let’s say you’ve already ruled out the usual suspects like too much caffeine, dehydration, too much alcohol, medication side effects, chronic stress, or too much or too little exercise. What’s left is likely a sleep disorder or a developing health problem such as anemia, obesity, depression, cancer, or diabetes, to name a few.

If you’re 60 or older, fatiguability—or how worn out you feel after an activity—can also predict longevity.

According to research out of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the higher someone scores in fatiguability, the higher their risk of death in the future.10 Other research has linked high fatiguability with declines in gait speed, walking ability, and other tests of fitness.11

How to measure it

To measure fatigability, use a tool called the Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale. Using a 0 (no fatigue) to 5 (extreme fatigue) scale, rate how fatigued you think you would feel after completing the following activities:

Activity
Duration
Score (0 to 5)

Leisurely walking
30 minutes

Brisk or fast walking
1 hour

Light household activity
1 hour

Heavy gardening or yard work
1 hour

Watching television
2 hours

Sitting quietly
1 hour

Moderate-to-high intensity strength training
30 minutes

Participating in a social activity
1 hour

Hosting a social event for 60 minutes
1 hour

High intensity activity
30 minutes

Add all scores:

If you score less than 15, you’re doing well. Scores between 15 and 24 are a warning sign. Anything 25 and above is regarded as severe, and worth mentioning to your healthcare professional.12

FREE biomarker test #5: Body composition

Despite popular belief, both too little and too much body fat can influence health for the worse, as we explore in our infographic, Is body fat good or bad for you?

Too much fat raises the risk for:
Too little muscle raises risk for:

Heart disease
Heart disease

High blood pressure
High blood pressure

Cancer
Cancer

Fatty liver disease
Stroke

Insulin resistance
Insulin resistance

Type 2 diabetes
Faster cellular aging

Inflammation
Inflammation

Joint distress
Depression and anxiety

Sleep apnea
Falls and loss of balance

Your muscle mass also plays a role, which is why someone’s body composition matters more than their weight.

The gold standard methods that estimate body composition—underwater weighing, air displacement (Bod Pod), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA)—certainly aren’t free.

However, a recent study determined that a good old-fashioned (and cheap) tape measure can provide a comparably accurate estimate of body composition.13

How to measure it

To use a tape measure to keep track of your body fat percentage, measure:

The widest part of your neck
The narrowest part of your waist (For some people, this will be at the navel. For others, it might be slightly above the navel)
The widest part of your hips

Ensure the tape is snug but not so tight that it cuts into the skin. Once you have your measurements, plug those numbers—along with your age, sex, height, and weight—into our FREE Body Fat Calculator, which will take it from there.

Doctor-approved biomarker tests

Depending on where you live in the world, the following tests may not be free. However, as part of routine preventative care, your insurance might cover them.

Doctor-approved test #1: Blood panel

If your primary care doctor recommends yearly blood work, it’s for good reason.

By keeping tabs on several blood markers, you can see if your health is trending toward type 2 diabetes or heart disease, both leading causes of premature mortality.

Many blood markers can also be influenced relatively quickly (within 6 to 12 weeks) through lifestyle changes, supplement protocols, or medications. This makes them practical tools for monitoring whether various lifestyle or medical modifications are working.

How to measure it

If you’re not already doing so, consider having the following blood markers tested annually. Then, talk to your health care professional about what your numbers mean. They might use the following numbers, along with your blood pressure, to calculate a cardiovascular disease risk score.

Blood marker
Optimal range

Total cholesterol
< 200 mg/dL*

LDL
< 100 mg/dL for those without heart disease
< 70 mg/dL for those with a history of heart attack or stroke

HDL
> 60 mg/dL

Triglycerides
< 150 mg/dL

Alipoprotein B (Apo B)
< 133 mg/dL (males)
< 117 mg/dL (females)

Lipoprotein (a)
< 30 mg/dL

C-reactive protein
< 2.0 mg/L**

Fasting glucose
< 100 mg/dL

Hemoglobin A1C
< 5.7%

*Milligrams per deciliter of blood
**Milligrams per liter

Doctor-approved test #2: Bone density

When researchers study healthy super-agers aged 90 and older, strong bones are one of their defining features.14

That may be because, like muscles, bones are live organs that secrete substances that may be beneficial to overall health and longevity.15

For example, bones secrete osteocalcin, a hormone that plays a role in bone remodeling. When osteocalcin circulates in the body, it’s thought to play a role in everything from helping muscles to produce ATP to regulating brain neurotransmitters.

Because of these varied roles, it’s thought that, as bones wear away, osteocalcin levels drop, contributing to many age-related health problems, including diabetes, low muscle mass, and cognitive issues.16 17 (At least, that’s the theory. Most of this research has been done on mice.)

Osteocalcin aside, loss of bone density can, of course, lead to fractures, which can increase your risk of death for up to 10 years after a break.18

It’s especially important to keep tabs on bone health if you’re in any of these high-risk categories:

You’re female and went through menopause before age 45.
You’ve been sedentary most of your adult life.
You take medications such as diuretics or stomach-acid blockers, which are linked with an increased risk of osteoporosis.
You have a history of nicotine use or excessive alcohol consumption.
You have a medical condition, such as diabetes or thyroid disease, that raises your risk.
You have a family history of osteoporosis.

How to measure it

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans are a type of X-ray that measures the amount of bone mineral content packed into a square centimeter of bone.

Insurance often won’t cover these scans for people younger than 65 unless there’s a documented risk of developing osteoporosis. Out of pocket, the average cost is about $300.

When you receive your DEXA results, you’ll see a T-score that represents how your bone density compares to the average bone density of a young adult with peak bone mass. A T-score of +1.0 to -1.0 means you have normal bone mineral density for someone your age. Anything below -1.0 means you might have osteopenia (low bone mineral density) or osteoporosis (porous bones that are prone to fracture).

Commercial bio age tests

If you have some money to burn, you can learn an awful lot about your body.

Here, you’ll find a quick run-down on some of the more high-tech tests you can get and what they can tell you.

However, before we get into the details, we want to point out a few caveats:

Biological age can vary over time, and by organ. Someone may go through a period of accelerated aging—saying, during a period of intense stress—then their rate of aging may slow as they focus more on recovery. Additionally, organs can age at different rates. For example, someone with heart disease may have a relatively older heart than their kidneys. (Not all tests measure individual organ age, but it’s becoming more common.)

Commercial tests won’t always accurately reflect the changes you’re making. Until more research supports the reliability of these tests, evaluate your behaviors over isolated test results. If you’re eating more fruits and veggies, exercising more consistently, managing stress, and otherwise slaying the healthy lifestyle department, don’t sweat your results. Focus on doing the things we know improve health.

If a company pairs your test results with a hard sell for a proprietary and expensive supplement protocol, be wary. It’s better to share and discuss your results with a trusted health professional than take health advice from a profit-seeking stranger over the internet.

Commercial test #1: DNA methylation

DNA methylation is a biological process that chemically alters DNA. Because the rate of methylation accelerates with aging, it can be used to estimate someone’s biological age and life expectancy, finds research.19 20 21

The Horvath Clock and DunedinPACE both measure specific biomarkers that can be used to better understand someone’s methylation rate. Scientists developed these tests to help other scientists study how various lifestyle factors, environmental exposures, and medicines affect aging. They didn’t develop the tests as a way for the average person to pinpoint their biological age. (Which hasn’t stopped companies from selling DNA methylation testing kits to the public.) They cost about $300.

If you decide to get one of these tests, keep in mind your results won’t give you a complete picture of your health and longevity. Aging typically occurs at varying rates throughout the body. Your liver might age faster than your heart or brain, for example. So if you measure DNA methylation in your blood, that’s all you know about. Put another way, a DNA methylation test isn’t a substitute for your annual wellness checkup or blood work.

Commercial test #2: Telomere analysis

Telomeres—the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes—wear away with age. The length of a telomere can predict how many times a specific cell can divide before dying.

Abnormally short telomeres are associated with several genetic diseases. For this reason, when physicians suspect someone might have inherited a genetic disease, they’ll order a specific type of telomere test—the flow-FISH test—to measure the telomere length in all the cells in a blood sample.22 23

It’s more debatable whether telomere tests can predict aging in healthy people.

Just as importantly, the telomere test marketed to the public, known as the qPCR telomere test, isn’t used in research or medicine. These $100 tests are fine if you’re merely curious—just don’t base health and fitness decisions on your results.

Commercial test #3: VO2 Max

For years, only elite athletes cared about VO2 max, which describes the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can use during exercise.

More recently, however, some experts have suggested that VO2 max can serve as a measure for athletes and non-athletes alike to track the rate at which their bodies are aging.

People with high VO2 max tend not only to be more physically fit but also less likely to develop heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or stroke.24 25 26 27

In an observational study that followed the health outcomes of 5,107 Danish men over 46 years, men with above-average V02 max during middle age lived an average of five years longer than men with below-average V02 max. Each unit increase in VO2 max was associated with a 45-day increase in longevity. The researchers suggested VO2 max may more accurately predict all-cause mortality than high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance.28

You might think of V02 max as a canary and your aging body as a coal mine.

As you age, your chest wall becomes more rigid, the muscles that surround the lungs weaker, and the oxygen-carrying blood vessels calcified and less elastic. The heart also squeezes with less force, max heart rate drops, muscle mass and strength decline, the mitochondria in cells and muscles lose their effectiveness, among other differences.

In addition to raising your risk for many different diseases, these changes can also affect VO2 max, which tends to decline 10 percent per decade starting around age 30.29 30

In the past, the only way to reliably measure VO2 max was in a fitness lab.

You would wear a metabolic mask and a heart monitor while you ran or cycled to exhaustion. The mask collected your expired carbon dioxide and monitored how much oxygen you sucked into your lungs. This lab-based testing is still the most accurate way to measure V02 max as well as other key fitness metrics such as:

Max heart rate, or the highest number of times your heart can beat per minute during exercise
Ventilatory threshold 1, or the point during exercise when the body switches from mainly using fat for fuel to using a combination of fat and glucose or glycogen (stored glucose) for fuel.
Ventilatory threshold 2, or the point where your body moves away from aerobic metabolism (which uses oxygen) to anaerobic metabolism (which doesn’t use oxygen).
Tidal volume is the amount of air inhaled or exhaled during each breath

Depending on where you live, you might be able to get your VO2 max tested for around $150.

However, if you don’t have access to a VO2 max clinic, three somewhat less accurate options exist.

The 1-mile walk test

Wear a heart rate monitor as you walk one mile on a flat surface, such as a treadmill or running track. As soon as you complete the mile, record your heart rate and walk time. Then, plug it into the following formula to calculate your VO2 max:

132.853 — (0.0769 × Weight) — (0.3877 × Age) + (6.315 × Sex) — (3.2649 × Time) — (0.1565 × Heart rate)

If that feels like too much math, you can also use a free online tool.

The smartwatch test

Many smartwatches will estimate your VO2 Max for you based on information the watch gathers from your workouts, sex, and age. Compared to in-office testing, smart watches can over- or underestimate V02 max, especially in people who are very out of shape or extremely fit.31

Because of this, you don’t necessarily want to use your smart watch measurement to determine your current state of health. However, it can help you to see trends. For example, does your VO2 estimate drop after a few weeks of skipping your usual spin class? If so, that’s good information to have.

The PR test

Fitness performance correlates with longevity. If you’re getting faster at running a certain distance or can go a longer distance than before, you’re getting fitter and increasing your chances of living a long, healthy life.

One way to test this: the 12-minute run test, also known as the Cooper test. (This is a validated way to estimate VO2 max—and shows about a 90 percent correlation with lab-based measurements.)

Here’s how it works:

Run as fast as you can on a flat surface, such as a treadmill set at a 1 percent incline or running track, for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, record your distance. Then, plug it into one of the following formulas to calculate your VO2 max.

Distance in Miles
Distance in Kilometers

VO2 Max =
(35.97 x distance in miles) – 11.29
(22.351 x distance in kilometers) – 11.288

In lieu of doing math, you can also use a free online calculator.

How to change your biological age

Try to think of the information you gather about your body as just that—information.

It’s not a moral judgment of who you are as a person.

Just as importantly, it’s not a permanent situation.

If you’re weaker than other people your age, you can grow stronger.
If your cholesterol or blood glucose levels are high, you can take steps to lower them.
If your body is aging faster than your birthdays, consider exploring key lifestyle changes that may help turn the situation around.

You have options. However, most people make two big mistakes when it comes to longevity-related lifestyle changes.

Mistake #1: Ignoring evergreen, big-impact strategies

It’s the simple, boring, “I’ve heard this a million times before” health practices that, when done consistently, add up to a long, healthy life.

We’re talking about things like…

Eating more minimally processed foods and fewer ultra-processed foods
Consuming more brightly colored fruits and veggies
Moving your body regularly
Getting enough rest and sleep
Enjoying community, time in nature, and other activities that make life meaningful
Keeping alcohol intake moderate
Not using tobacco
Wearing sunscreen
Flossing

And that’s just a partial list.

According to thousands of studies, people who practice these and other high-impact strategies not only live longer, but also live better. They’re stronger, happier, and less likely to spend their later years disabled or in pain.

(If you’d like to see where you stand when it comes to big impact health and longevity strategies, check out our FREE Longevity Assessment.)

However, when it comes to health, fitness, and longevity, many people pursue options with minimal impact (at best). They reach for the latest, trendy supplement rather than taking steps to quit smoking, as just one example.

Here’s the thing: Big rock strategies require changes in behavior. If daily physical activity were as easy as popping a pill, walkers and cyclists would clog up the streets in your neighborhood.

(It’s precisely this reason why so many people need the support of a certified health coach who has undergone training in the science of behavior change.)

Mistake #2: Not turning data into action

The data gathered from biomarker aging tests can give you a sense of control.

However…

Data, in isolation, doesn’t lead to a longer life.

Gathering data without changing your behavior is like checking your reflection in the mirror, seeing spinach wedged between your incisors, and leaving it there.

You need to remove the spinach for the mirror check to be worthwhile.

Biomarker testing is the same.

If you don’t use your bio data to inform behavior change, you’re wasting your money and time.

Consider your biomarker data as a baseline or starting point.

Then, use it to assess whether various lifestyle changes or medical interventions are moving you closer to your goal of living a longer, healthier life.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a health and fitness pro…

When your clients are stressed and exhausted, everything else becomes a
struggle: going to the gym, choosing healthy foods, and managing cravings.

But with the right tools, you can help your clients overcome
obstacles like chronic stress and poor sleep—leading them toward the
lasting health transformations they’ve always wanted.

PN’s Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery (SSR) Coaching
Certification
will give you these tools. And it’ll give you confidence and credibility as a
specialized coach who can
solve the biggest problems blocking any clients’ progress. (You can
join the SSR Early Access List for our biggest discount + exclusive perks.)

The post Biological age tests: Should you get one? appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Over a Tenth of Your Clients Are Dealing With IBS—And Here’s How to Help

Many people with IBS would trade 10 to 15 years of life expectancy for an instant cure for their condition.

This is according to the results of a study of nearly 2,000 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).1

In other research, people with IBS said they would take a medicine that carried a one percent risk of sudden death if it would cure their symptoms2—which can include urgent bouts of diarrhea, gas, or persistent constipation.

Some people with IBS experience bouts of abdominal pain they describe as worse than childbirth. These flare-ups can siphon concentration, interrupt sleep, and destroy work productivity.3

As a result, many people with IBS plan their lives around the availability of private, clean bathrooms. Fear of a sudden flare-up leads some to avoid restaurants, get-togethers, even exercising in public.

This pervading worry has a name—gastrointestinal-specific anxiety—and it can affect everything from social relationships to overall well-being. It’s also the main reason people with IBS report worse quality of life than people with other chronic conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and end-stage kidney disease.4

If you or a client has IBS, there are ways to manage it.

PN Super Coach Sarah Maughan, certified through Monash University—a global leader in understanding the link between food sensitivities and IBS—has witnessed how lifestyle changes can prevent flare-ups, calm GI anxiety, and allow people with IBS to live the lives they want.

“My hope is for everyone with IBS to know they have options, whether that’s turning to a physician for medication and/or a health coach to learn about lifestyle changes and how to put them into action,” says Maughan.

In this article, we’ll hear more from Maughan. You’ll also learn:

What IBS is, including why it happens and the different ways it can manifest
What your poo can tell you about the health of your digestive tract
Five evidence-based lifestyle changes that can improve IBS symptoms
The best way to determine which foods trigger your or your client’s IBS symptoms (and which foods are usually “safe” to eat)

Plus, if you’re a health coach, you’ll learn how to support clients with IBS while safely staying within your scope of practice.

So, what is IBS?

Sometimes referred to as “spastic colon,” IBS is the most commonly diagnosed digestive disorder in the world, affecting about 14 percent percent of adults.5

Unlike Crohn’s and other inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), IBS doesn’t alter the architecture of the gut. When healthcare professionals use diagnostic imaging, they find no infections, inflammation, damage to the bowel wall, or other evidence of disease.

Years ago, this lack of visible disease led many healthcare professionals to assume that IBS was purely psychological. More recently, however, this thinking has shifted.

Experts now view IBS as a functional neuro-gastrointestinal disorder.

That means the nerves between the GI tract and the brain don’t function optimally, causing the brain to deliver unnecessary pain signals and interfere with typical bowel function.

What are the symptoms of IBS?

IBS symptoms can come and go, with some people experiencing months or years of relief only to suffer a severe flare-up that can last hours to weeks.

In addition, not everyone with IBS experiences the same set of symptoms, which can make the condition challenging to diagnose.

The below illustration shows the range of IBS symptoms.

What causes IBS?

Researchers are still trying to understand why the gut functions differently in people with IBS. However, they do have a few theories.

According to one hypothesis, the nerve endings in the GI tract may be overly sensitive in people with IBS. This can lead to two different sets of symptoms.

Hypersensitive nerves communicate pain signals to the brain, causing people with IBS to notice digestive processes that other people wouldn’t feel. Tiny gas bubbles may be severely uncomfortable for someone with IBS, for example, but not bother someone without the disorder.

Overreactive nerves can trigger GI muscles to contract with too much force, leading to gas, bloating, and diarrhea. If they underreact, the same muscles don’t contract forcefully enough, which slows the passage of food through the intestine and leads to constipation.

Another theory blames disturbances on the gut microbiome, which helps to explain why some people develop IBS symptoms after first having a severe GI illness like the Norovirus.

How is IBS diagnosed?

If you or your client suspect IBS, see a credentialed health professional.

The symptoms of IBS overlap with several other gastrointestinal diseases and health conditions that can require medication, surgery, or medically-supervised lifestyle changes. These include infections, inflammatory bowel diseases, celiac disease, cancer, and food allergies, among others.

It’s especially important to see a medical professional if you or your client notice any of the following:

Rapid, unintentional weight loss
Rectal bleeding, blood in stools, or vomiting blood
Bouts of diarrhea that disturb sleep
Diarrhea with fever
Continuous abdominal pain
A sudden onset of GI symptoms after age 50

IBS Types

In addition to ruling out other GI conditions, a healthcare professional will also ask detailed questions about you or your client’s symptoms. This information allows them to pinpoint which IBS “type” you or your client might have:

IBS-D, which means someone predominantly has diarrhea
IBS-C, which is characterized by constipation
IBS-M, which means someone has alternating periods of diarrhea and constipation
IBS-U, which means someone’s symptoms don’t neatly fall into any of the above categories

You or your client’s IBS type will inform what your healthcare professional recommends.

A healthcare provider might suggest a short course of antibiotics and antidiarrheal medicine for IBS-D. On the other hand, for IBS-C, they might recommend a fiber supplement, non-habit-forming laxative, laxative-like medication, or other medicine that reduces the perception of pain and regulates bowel movements.

How to prepare for a medical appointment: Your pre-appointment checklist

In order to get the most out of the visit, you can help your client (or yourself) prepare for a healthcare appointment.

A healthcare professional will likely ask the following questions, so consider the responses beforehand:

How long have you experienced these symptoms?
Did anything change around the time your symptoms began? (Stress levels? Dietary habits? Recent travels?)
Did you recently have food poisoning or gastroenteritis?
How much fiber do you consume?
How is your sleep quality? How many hours do you usually sleep at night?
How often do you exercise?

Another way to prepare for your first appointment?

Well, you might not like it, but it’s a good idea to…

Look at your poo

Consider keeping a poo diary for a couple of weeks before your appointment.

In the diary, track the frequency of bowel movements and other symptoms. Use the Bristol Stool Chart (below) to take note of the quality of your poo. This information can help your healthcare professional assess whether you have IBS and which type.

(To learn more about the clues your poos can hide, read: 6 reasons you should care about your poop health)

How to help IBS: 5 strategies to support bowel health and function

In recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved several new prescription medicines for IBS, along with a medical device that stimulates the cranial nerves behind the ear.

In addition, thousands of research papers have looked at the interaction between IBS and various lifestyle habits, with many promising findings.

Here are five evidence-based ways to reduce the symptoms of IBS (and bonus, many of them are great for enhancing overall health too).

IBS relief strategy #1: Add exercise

People with IBS who exercise regularly tend to experience fewer symptoms and flare-ups than people who don’t exercise.

When researchers asked people with IBS to walk moderately for an hour three times a week, study participants experienced significant relief from bloating and abdominal pain within 12 weeks.6

How exercise soothes IBS isn’t fully understood, though.

According to other research, exercise may reduce stress and improve mental health, which, in turn, may help improve communication between the gut and the brain.7 8

Another theory argues that exercise helps encourage the growth of health-promoting gut bacteria, which may help to break down food more efficiently and decrease inflammation.9

IBS relief strategy #2: Work on stress management

Anxiety, stress, and depression all activate stress hormones like norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and cortisol, which can:

Amplify gut-based pain signals
Alter the balance of bacteria in the gut (known as the gut microbiome)
Increase intestinal permeability—potentially allowing harmful substances into the bloodstream10 11 12

Of course, stress doesn’t come with an on/off switch.

Simply telling yourself, “Stop getting so stressed out!” won’t likely help—and may even paradoxically lead to more stress.

That’s why Precision Nutrition-certified coaches like Maughan help clients learn to focus on what’s within their control—such as practicing self-compassion, or experimenting with nervous system regulators like yoga, breathing exercises, and gentle walking.

As the image below illustrates, clients can control how they perceive, respond to, and anticipate stressors—but not always the stressors themselves.

Either way, when clients focus more on what they can control and less on what they can’t, they often feel calmer and more capable.

(If you want to help a client figure out just what’s within their control—and what’s not—try out our free worksheet: Sphere of Control Worksheet)

(Assess your current stress load by taking our free quiz: Do you have a Stress Bod?)

IBS relief strategy #3: Slow your eating pace

PN coaches have long appreciated and advocated slower, more relaxed eating.

Yes, slow eating helps people fill up on fewer calories—but it also tends to help clients reduce or even eliminate GI woes like acid reflux, bloating, and pain.

For one, slower eating often translates to more chewing. In addition to mechanically mashing food into a pulp, increased chewing also allows the mouth’s digestive enzymes to pre-digest food. As a result, the stomach and intestines have to work less hard.

Plus, eating in a relaxed setting often lowers stress hormones like norepinephrine and cortisol, making it less likely that they will intensify GI pain signals.

According to Maughan, this can be especially important for young parents, as it’s not always easy to eat undistracted and peacefully when tending to little ones.

(Sounds simple, but slow eating is more challenging than people think—and a lot more impactful. Learn more: Try the slow-eating 30-day challenge.)

IBS relief strategy #4: Troubleshoot sleep problems

According to research, people with IBS experience more shallow, less restorative, and more interrupted sleep.13

Because of poor sleep quality, many people with IBS sleep more hours overall than people without IBS—yet feel less rested.

Fatigue can then set off a vicious cycle. When people don’t sleep restfully, stress hormone levels tend to be higher, which can exacerbate gut pain.14

Unrested people also tend to feel hungrier during the day. Cravings for fats and sweets also intensify, driving people to reach for the very foods more likely to trigger IBS symptoms—and wolf them down too quickly.

Stopping this cycle can be challenging.

As with stress, you can’t simply will yourself to sleep more restfully.

However, the first three strategies—exercise, stress management, and slower eating—can all help.

Some PN clients have found that consuming a smaller dinner earlier in the evening gives their bodies more time to digest before bed. Other clients tell us that a relaxing pre-bedtime routine—a few minutes of foam rolling, a guided meditation, a bath, or some journalling—tends to help.

(Find out the best practices for getting better sleep by checking out our infographic: The power of sleep)

IBS relief strategy #5: Investigate your diet

While there’s no one-size-fits-all IBS diet, experts have identified several food categories that are more likely to be problematic for many people. These include:

Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols (FODMAPs), which are a family of carbohydrate-rich foods that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine. Even in people without IBS, these foods tend to slow digestion and attract water. When gut bacteria ferment them, they produce gas, which can stretch the intestinal wall. For most, this slowed digestion and gas isn’t especially noticeable; In people with IBS, it can lead to intense pain. High-FODMAP foods include wheat, rye, barley, onions, garlic, beans, dairy, honey, cashews, some processed meats, and many fruits and vegetables. (More about FODMAPs in the next section.)

Caffeinated beverages and foods, especially coffee, which trigger the release of stress hormones, stimulate the production of stomach acid, increase muscle contractions in the colon, and irritate the lining of the intestine.15

Alcohol and spicy foods that irritate the gut.16 17

High fructose corn syrup and sugar alcohols such sorbitol and mannitol, which have been linked to gas, bloating, and diarrhea in susceptible people.18 19

Fatty, greasy foods, which can slow digestion and attract water, leading to loose stools, bloating, and gas.20 21

If the idea of giving up all the foods and beverages on the above list has you in a cold sweat, know this…

Not everyone with IBS is sensitive to the same foods and beverages.

“Everyone can have different triggers,” says Maughan. “That’s why it’s so important to figure out what makes your body feel good and what doesn’t.”

Some people struggle with apples but are okay with berries. Others can drink green tea but not black. One person might be able to consume five to eight ounces of beer but not 12. A gluten-free diet may work great for some but not others.

Similarly, many people find relief by avoiding certain high-FODMAP foods. However, you may only be sensitive to some FODMAPs and not others. If so, eliminating all FODMAPs would be unnecessarily restrictive and difficult to follow consistently.

For this reason, it can be helpful to try an elimination diet to see which foods and beverages are problematic—along with the quantities you can safely tolerate, says Maughan. You’ll learn more about elimination diets in the next section.

(Want someone to walk you through exactly how to do an elimination diet? Read: How and why to do an elimination diet.)

Elimination diets for IBS: How and when to try them

Elimination diets do what the name suggests: They exclude certain foods for a short period—usually three weeks. Then, you slowly reintroduce specific foods and monitor your symptoms for possible reactions.

Elimination diets work a lot like a science experiment that helps you identify problematic foods.

The phrase “elimination diet” may sound scary and off-putting, as if you’ll be living for months on bland food you have to slurp through a straw.

However, there are many different types of elimination diets, with some much less restrictive than others.

Here are a few versions.

Elimination diet “lite” for IBS

This is an excellent option for people who suspect they already know which foods and beverages trigger symptoms.

It goes like this: You eliminate up to four foods for several weeks. Then, slowly reintroduce them one at a time to see if your symptoms return.

Let’s say, for example, from experience, you know you feel bad whenever you eat dairy. On the lite elimination diet, you’d eliminate just dairy for three weeks. Then you’d reintroduce it to see how you feel.

Elimination Diet “medium” for IBS

If you’re unsure of how food interacts with your GI tract—but aren’t ready for a super restrictive eating plan, our Precision Nutrition elimination diet is likely the way to go.

Created by PN and approved by several registered dietitians, the plan removes many of the foods most likely to cause problems, while still including a variety of vegetables, fruits, starches, legumes, nuts, seeds, and meats, so you can continue to eat a well-balanced diet.

To learn more, download our FREE Ultimate Guide to Elimination Diets. This ebook has everything you need to be successful, including an at-a-glance chart that helps you easily follow the diet, along with recipes, meal ideas, and tip sheets.

The FODMAP diet for IBS

Over several years, researchers at Monash University in Australia have developed and extensively studied a low-FODMAP elimination diet for people with IBS.22

Unlike other types of elimination diets, the FODMAP diet is a highly specialized form of medical nutrition therapy. The FODMAP diet’s list of problematic foods (shown below) is anything but intuitive, and the reintroduction phase is more complex than other elimination diets.

As a result, if you’ve been diagnosed with IBS and suspect you have a FODMAP issue, seek the expertise of a FODMAP-certified practitioner. You can also download Monash University’s FODMAP Diet app, which will help you navigate low-FODMAP eating.

Food Group
Low FODMAP
High FODMAP

Vegetables
Green beans, bok choy, green bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes
Artichoke, asparagus, mushrooms, onions, garlic, snowpeas, cauliflower, leeks

Fruits
Cantaloupe, kiwi, mandarin, orange, pineapple, firm bananas, blueberries
Apples, cherries, mango, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, watermelon, ripe bananas

Dairy and Dairy Alternatives
Almond milk, brie, feta, hard cheese, lactose-free milk & yogurt
Cow’s milk and foods made from cow’s milk, soy milk

Protein-Rich Foods
Eggs, tofu, tempeh, most minimally-processed meats, poultry, seafood
Most legumes, some marinated and processed meats

Starches
Foods made from oats, quinoa, rice, spelt, or corn
Foods made from wheat, rye, and barley

Sweeteners
Dark chocolate, maple syrup, rice malt, table sugar
High-fructose corn syrup, honey, sugar alcohols, agave

Nuts and Seeds
Peanuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, macadamias, and walnuts
Cashews, pistachios

The power of health coaching

In isolation, more knowledge doesn’t always lead to more power.

For example, there’s a difference between knowing that dairy messes with your gut and doing something with that knowledge.

Similarly, you might know that you feel better when you eat a small dinner earlier in the evening, but you may struggle to plan your life so an early dinner happens regularly.

This is where a certified health coach can help.

“Many of my clients already have an idea of the foods that tend to cause them problems,” says Maughan, “But they’re nervous to know for sure because they fear that the knowledge will make eating more challenging.”

That’s why Maughan assures clients…

Even if you do an elimination diet and you learn your favorite food is contributing to your IBS, you don’t have to do anything with that information.

You can choose to continue to eat your favourite foods if you want, AND you can choose to avoid them when it’s really important for you not to experience IBS symptoms, she says.

“With knowledge, you have choices,” says Maughan.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Over a Tenth of Your Clients Are Dealing With IBS—And Here’s How to Help appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Small Business Funding Will Help Grow Your Massage Practice

Funding options like savings, loans, credit, and investors can help massage practice owners start and grow without draining personal funds.

Create Effective Massage Marketing Videos on a Budget

Massage therapists can market effectively with just a smartphone by using a clear message, short script, and simple filming tips.

Infographic | The Cost of Health “Optimization”

Do you want to live longer?

If you’re like most people, your answer is probably, “Yes!”

And, you probably want to live not only a longer life, but also a healthier one.

If so, you don’t have to look very far to find claims about how to improve—no, “optimize”—your health.

Want to reverse chronic disease? Extend that youthful glow? Live to 115… or forever? Lots of fitness influencers, authors, and podcasters will tell you how to do it.

But are their ultra-specific, advanced protocols necessary—or even effective?

And just how much effort, time, and money do these methods really require?

Most of all: Are the benefits worth the trade-offs?

In this infographic, we’ll explore.

By the end of it, you’ll have clarity about how to get the health and longevity you want, while living a life you enjoy.

Click here for a fully printable version of this infographic.

And, for a complete explanation of this infographic, including a review of the latest research, check out our accompanying article: The True Cost of “Optimal” Health—Here’s what it really takes to live as long and healthy as possible.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

++++

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Infographic | The Cost of Health “Optimization” appeared first on Precision Nutrition.