Finding western medicine - Continued....

Have you tried papaya? It will certainly clean the pipes pretty fast.

@Vagabondone: I'm going to give it a shot..Heard a lot of good things about papaya + easy to buy.

Plenty of positive information online regarding papaya for IBS.

@ Stumpy

Actually, that's where I "heard" the good things. If anyone is stumped for time, here's some of the best info I found:

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/18 … for-ibs-c/

http://ibsremedyreviews.com/is-papaya-good-for-ibs/

See below for info on how much papaya to eat, the freshness of papaya (say's it needs to be fresh not overripe)

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/123455-my-miracle/

The above thread also has info on substitutes/alternatives to the fruit. e.g. papaya enzymes, papaya Purée. Op recommends the real thing: Fresh papaya fruit instead of the substitutes.

When I looked at this yesterday, I saw that some info said we need to eat papaya 1 hour before a meal (presumably every meal. Keep in mind having several small meals throughout the day alleviates IBS symptoms, as opposed to 1-2 heavy meals). The thread above says eat a small wedge before bedtime. I'm kinda swaying towards "wedge before bedtime" at the moment. I reckon, if that doesn't do it, try 1 hour before a meal. Yep!, I'm willing to eat papaya before each meal. After all, you are eating a natural fruit, so unless the sugar content in the fruit is an issue, you cannot really go wrong. e.g. eating too much (any?) processed meat is obviously not good. Not so with Papaya I reckon, unless you eat way too much it gives you the runs.

The link above also says papaya has other beneficial effects (e.g. preventing cancer), in addition to preventing IBS symptoms.

As an aside, you can crush the seeds and apply to burns, sunburn. Have seen papaya packed into machete wounds to keep them relatively sterile whilst seeking medical help.