IBS? Just cut out the sugars and starch

If you suffer from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), you may have been recommended the FODMAP diet.  But there’s another diet that isn’t so restrictive and is easier to follow—and it’s more effective.

FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, which are short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed by the small intestine. They are found in many fruits, vegetables, milk, and wheat.

But there’s a simpler diet that works even better, say researchers from Lund University in Sweden.  It’s the SSRD diet, which just means taking out sugars and starch.  SSRD (starch and sucrose-reduced diet) also excludes sweet treats and processed foods such as ‘ready meals’.

“We wouldn’t really even call SSRD a diet.  It’s how everyone should eat, not just those with IBS.  And unlike Low FODMAP, SSRD is easy to understand and easier to follow,” said Bodil Ohlsson, one of the researchers.

They tested the diet against FODMAP on 105 IBS patients for four weeks, and discovered it was more effective.  It “greatly reduced” typical IBS symptoms such as pain and tightness in the abdomen, and diarrhea or constipation.  Both groups reported up to an 80 percent improvement in symptoms, but the SSRD group also reported greater weight loss, and had fewer sugar cravings.

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