Medical Nutrition Therapy in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the most common functional gastrointestinal disease and is among the most common reasons for outpatients doctor visit both in primary and specialty clinics. Except for some changes in functional brain imaging and some mild GI mucosal inflammation there is no gross structural changes or pathological finding. Patients suffer from lifelong chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating and flatus often associated with anxiety depression with significant opposing effect on the quality of life and will force the patients to use the healthcare system repeatedly and induce a huge cost for health care system. It will also result in abstinence from work and its economic consequences. There are no known underlying cause, but stress, childhood problems, infections and neurotransmitter changes in brain and genetic susceptibility , have been implicated as potential risk factors. The diagnosis is challenging but could almost always be made positively without extensive work up. A minimal preliminary work up in patients who don’t have the alarming symptoms may be necessary. Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome is symptom based and  is one the most challenging aspect of clinical practice . Recently there is accumulating evidence in favor of dietary therapy as one of the cheapest and most effective therapy for IBS. We aimed to look at the recent literatures about the role of diet in therapy of IBS.Â