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 the dietitians of UZ Leuven. The other half of the patients received treatment with the classic medicines for irritable bowel syndrome, the so-called antispasmodics.
After an initial follow-up visit with the doctor eight weeks later, it turned out that both the diet and the medication gave good results. But the diet scored better than the drugs: with medication, 62 percent of people saw the symptoms reduce or disappear after eight weeks, 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,” said Professor Jan Tack, gastroenterologist at UZ Leuven. “It is the first time that such a large study on irritable bowel syndrome has been conducted through the GP. The low-fodmap diet exists. has been with specialist dietitians for some time, but was not accessible to a wide audience. We created an app that is so simple that anyone can use it without explanation. Almost all patients who followed the diet in the study continued to use it. use the end of the study. “
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