Irritable bowel syndrome patients who changed their diet using a special app have been helped more efficiently than patients who took traditional medication. This is evident from a two-year study by UZ Leuven, the results of which were announced on Thursday. The app will be available from the GPs from June.
The study followed 470 patients who went to the doctor for the first time with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Half of the patients received treatment in the form of a simplified low-fodmap diet, which reduces or excludes certain food groups. They could follow that diet via an app developed by dieticians at UZ Leuven. The other half of the patients received treatment with the classic medicines for irritable bowel syndrome.
Both the diet and the medication were found to yield good results eight weeks later. But the diet scored better than the drugs: with medication, 62 percent of the people saw the symptoms decrease or disappear, with the diet it was 71 percent. After six months, almost all patients were motivated to continue treatment, both with the medication (82 percent) and with the diet (91 percent).
“We are surprised by the good results ourselves,” says Professor Jan Tack, gastroenterologist at UZ Leuven. “The low-fodmap diet has existed for some time among specialized dietitians, but was not accessible to a wide audience. We made an app so simple that anyone can use it without explanation. Almost all patients who followed the diet for the study continued to use it after the study ended. ”
Scientific literature has already shown that a low-fodmap diet can reduce complaints in irritable bowel syndrome. Those who follow the diet will remove six major food types, including fructans, polyols, fructose or lactose, from their diet for six weeks. The guidance of an experienced dietitian is therefore necessary. After six weeks, the dietitian checks whether the symptoms are better, after which a food group can be eaten each time to determine what effect this has.
UZ Leuven dietitians have now developed an app with a simplified fodmap-reducing diet, containing lists that say what can and what cannot be eaten. There are menu lists with replacement products and each about forty breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts and snacks.
“It is the first time that we can demonstrate in practice that a diet works better than the existing medication. That does not mean that the app works equally well for everyone, ”says Professor Tack. “Anyone who leads a busy international life or often eats at a restaurant is probably better off with the medication. And we will of course continue to refer patients with serious and long-term complaints of irritable bowel syndrome to specialized dietitians, who can guide them through the more extensive version of the low-fodmap diet. ”
– .
