A study published in Gastroenterology found the Low Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols diet was effective in treating patients with irritable bowel syndrome, Science Daily reports.
Shanti Eswaran, study author and gastroenterologist at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, and colleagues analyzed more than 90 IBS patients over a six-week process. Roughly half followed a prescribed low FODMAP diet and half were a control group followed a regimen, in which they scaled back on large meals, binges and irritants such as caffeine and alcohol.
Here are three points:
1. More than 50 percent of the patients on the low FODMAP diet had major abdominal pain improvements compared with 20 percent of the control group.
2. The low FODMAP diet group also saw more improvements in bloating, diarrhea and stool urgency compared to the control group.
3. At four weeks, the proportion of patients with a meaningful improvement in IBS quality of life was significantly higher in the low FODMAP diet group (61 percent) compared to the control group (27 percent).