Mediterranean diet helps with gastrointestinal, psychological symptoms in IBS

Adopting a Mediterranean diet is feasible and may be beneficial to individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with a study suggesting that the diet improves gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms in this population.

The study included 59 adults with Rome IV IBS and mild or moderate anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. These participants were randomly assigned to groups receiving a Mediterranean diet or a control (habitual) diet for 6 weeks, with the participants knowing which dietary intervention they were receiving.  

Researchers gathered data on gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms and diet. Stool samples were also collected for metagenomic sequencing.

Of the participants, 29 were in the Mediterranean diet group and 30 were in the control group. A total of 48 participants completed the study.

At week 6, the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener score was significantly higher in the Mediterranean diet group than in the control group (7.5, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 6.9–8.0 vs 5.7, 95 percent CI, 5.2–6.3; p<0.001). The change in score from baseline was likewise greater in the Mediterranean group, indicating the feasibility of the intervention (2.1, 95 percent CI, 1.3–2.9 vs. 0.5, 95 percent CI, 0.1–1.0; p=0.004).

Significantly more participants in the Mediterranean diet group than in the control group had improvements in gastrointestinal symptom (83 percent vs 37 percent; p<0.001) and depression symptom (52 percent vs 20 percent; p=0.015).

The intake levels of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) at week 6 did not differ between the two groups (p=0.51).

Furthermore, the frequency of gastrointestinal adverse events was similar (p=0.588), and there were no differences in change in microbiome parameters between the two groups.