Could MCAS/Mast Cells Be Contributing to Your Endo Belly and IBS Symptoms?

Because for today...

We are talking about how MCAS or even just mast cells in general could be contributing to your endobelly, IBS and or SIBO if present.

But let's just do a super quick recap before we get started on mast cells, just so you kind of have a basic understanding.

So mast cells are immune cells that are like guards stationed around the body, ready to respond to a threat.

and injury, etc.

They release inflammatory chemicals in response to these perceived threats, or real threats.

But in MCAS, these guards are like extra jumpy and extra cautious, and they fire off at normal stimuli.

So it could be the food you eat, your environment, stress, or more.

Just these normal everyday occurrences that are aggravating muscles when they shouldn't be.

Now, mast cells line the intestines and stomach and are present to respond to allergens, pathogens, injury, infection, etc.

that come through into our stomach.

And intestinal histamine levels are significantly elevated when gut inflammation is present.

And research shows that these mast cells seem to orchestrate at least some of the symptoms and the severity of symptoms that we see in IBS.

Studies have shown that MCAS gastrointestinal symptoms include heartburn, nausea, bloating, vomiting, not always common, but I do see it in my sickest clients or in acute MCAS reactions.

Altered bowel movements, so for example a significantly higher level of degranulating, which sort of means exploding, mast cells, have been found in the colons of people with severe constipation.

But I will say diarrhoea is often present in my MCAS clients, and that's especially true when they're going through an acute MCAS reaction, so they're having an episode in that moment.

It's often a diarrhoea episode.

Abdominal pain is a symptom as well.

Visceral hypersensitivity, which is sort of abnormal sensitivity to normal movements in your gut.

Difficulty swallowing, dyspepsia and gastritis in the absence of NSAIDs or H. pylori.

So if you get diagnosed with gastritis and you don't take NSAIDs, which is a cause of gastritis, and you don't have H. pylori, consider MCAS.

Research also shows that IBS patients have been found to have a higher density of mast cells and histamine in contrast to those without IBS.

Activated mast cells and high levels of histamine located by nerve cells has also been linked to abdominal pain in IBS patients.

And one study looked at IBS patients who hadn't responded to treatment and found that 19 out of 20 had MCAS symptoms, and 11 of the 12 that were tested for MCAS markers were positive.

Additionally, another study found that 58% of IBS patients experienced GI reactions to histamine foods.