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Stomach cramps and bloating are common symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. IBS was seen as largely psychosomatic. And that’s why it was frequently treated with antidepressants, or worse, nothing at all, which meant a pretty miserable existence for those affected. The new approach to IBS is focused on altering microbiome, the trillions of microbes that live in the gut.
Cutting apples, peaches, and pears can reduce symptoms of IBS. Some people develop IBS after a bad bout of gastroenteritis or food poisoning, which can permanently change the microbiome. Others develop it after years of living on beige diet – one that involves a lot of fast food, stress and hastily snatched meals. Some people just seem to be more prone to it than others.
Researchers have found that the mix of bacteria in the gut of people with IBS tends to be different from those of the average, healthy person. The result is that when someone with IBS eats certain foods, they blow up with gas. That’s because they are feeding not only themselves but also a host of ‘bad’ microbes that have taken up residence in their digestive tract.
Taking antibiotics gets rid of ‘good’ bacteria as well as the bad ones, and may make IBS worse. The more effective solution is either to reinforce the ‘good’ ones or starve out the bad ones. Researchers in Spain took 43 patients with IBS and randomly allocated them to either going on what’s known as a FODMAP diet or taking a prebiotic.
Doing a FODMAP diet involves cutting down on sugars, refined starchy carbohydrates – those found in potatoes, bread and pasta. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. These are the scientific terms used to classify groups of carbohydrates found in a wide variety of foods – from fruit and vegetables to milk and wheat – that are notorious for triggering digestive symptoms such as bloating, gas and stomach pain.
Doing a FODMAP diet involves cutting down on sugars, refined starchy carbohydrates – those found in potatoes, bread and pasta – dairy products, wheat, rye, processed foods, apples, peaches, and pears, and a surprising number of vegetables, such as cauliflower, leeks, garlic and onions. Excluding these foods allows the gut to calm down. You can then reintroduce ingredients one at a time to see which ones are triggering the IBS.
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