Can the Mediterranean Diet Help With IBS?
The Mediterranean diet—one of the most popular healthy eating patterns out there—might be good for more than just lowering your risk of heart attack, stroke, and dementia. A new study suggests it could ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), too.
The research, published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility in April, suggests that the Mediterranean diet could be an alternative strategy for dealing with the abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation that often come with IBS. Currently, patients looking to manage their IBS are often encouraged to follow the low FODMAP diet—it’s effective but extremely restrictive, making it hard for some people to follow.
“If you cannot tolerate the low FODMAP diet and you’re still interested in dietary therapies, there are still a few options that can work,” said study author Prashant Singh, MBBS, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Excerpted from Health
