Vitamins can be taken to help with ibs symptoms, but equally they can be harmful. As the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome vary from person to person, then vitamins that may be useful or not so useful, will also vary, depending on your own symptoms.

Vitamins with normally give a chemical reaction in the tummy and these can be helpful or harmful to your IBS, depending on your own particular symptoms.

Here are some popular vitamins and the effects they may have on your ibs symptoms.

1. Vitamin c or ascorbic acid. This vitamin has a slight laxative effect, and if your ibs presents itself with diarrhea then you should be very careful if increasing your intake of vitamin c.

Taking vitamin c when you have ibs could also you to have bloating and gas, which can be caused when the acid of vitamin c reacts with the alkaline in the lower intestinal tract.

2. Calcium. This can either cause a laxative effect or a binding effect on your body. There two types of calcium, and you will want to work out which one is best.

Calcium Carbonate – This does not contain magnesium and it can relieve ibs symptoms. This is best taken by those ibs sufferers that have diarrhea.

Calcium Citrate – This does contain magnesium and can therefore trigger diarrhea, so is best for those that suffer with constipation.

When taking any calcium do not have more than 500mg, and this will prevent the triggering of any ibs symptoms. If you take calcium together with vitamin D you will help in the absorbing of the nutrients.

3. Iron. Again that this cause constipation, and often people that take iron are prone to getting tummy upsets. Iron also interferes with the absorption of calcium.

Try and take a balanced dose of vitamins, making sure that any supplements contain the correct amount of vitamins.

Take your vitamins with food, you should never take the vitamins on an empty tummy.

Consult with a pharmacist if you are unsure which vitamins to take for your ibs.

Take your vitamins separately as they can also react together in various ways, so to get the best nutrient absorption you should take them individually.