While it is thought that stomach viruses, stress and an abnormal balance of bowel bacteria are possible triggers of IBS, it is believed the major underlying trigger is a food intolerance. While drug therapy for IBS is largely unsuccessful, a dietary management plan that is low in certain naturally occurring sugars known as FODMAPs, is proving itself to be an effective treatment for many IBS sufferers. It doesn’t work for everyone, but research has found three out of four people trialling the diet, developed in Australia by nutritionist Dr Sue Shepherd and gastroenterologist Professor Peter Gibson, reported a marked improvement in all their symptoms. And earlier this month, UK researchers reported patients following a low FODMAP diet appeared to have better control of their IBS symptoms than patients who stuck to the standard dietary advice. Overview of the low FODMAP diet FODMAPs is the user-friendly acronym for ‘Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, and Monosaccharides and Polyols’, which are all indigestible sugars that occur naturally in foods. These dietary sugars are not absorbed well by the body and they increase the water content in the gut and produce excess gas, causing the symptoms of IBS. The reason some people experience painful and uncomfortable symptoms while others don’t is because of their gut sensitivity, explains Gibson, professor of gastroenterology at Monash University and The Alfred hospital in Melbourne. “In people with irritable bowel they have hypersensitivity in the gut … where even normal physiological distension will be felt and they might get changes in their bowel habits, bloating or pain,” he explains. The diet is also believed to be helpful for some symptoms in people with inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Although it doesn’t treat the underlying disease or inflammation, it can relieve symptoms resulting from a sensitivity triggered by the medical condition, explains Professor Michael Grimm, president of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia. “When those patients get effective treatment and the disease goes into remission, a lot of them are left with residual symptoms that are related to the bowel being hypersensitive … (but) it’s no longer inflammation, it’s an irritability,” he says. The philosophy of the diet is simple. It is recommended you strictly avoid all FODMAPs for at least two months.
site web http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2011/10/20/3342199.htm
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