Hygeia Public Health 2017, 52(3): 286-291en

Selected dietary restrictions in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Mariusz Jaworski

Warsaw School of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Summary
Introduction. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder related to chronic diarrhea or constipation. The IBS therapy depends on the predominant clinical symptom such as pain, constipation or diarrhea. An important component of the IBS treatment is a nutrition therapy which helps reduce the severity of IBS symptoms associated with diarrhea or constipation.
Aim. An attempt to characterize the selected dietary behavior of patients with IBS.
Material and method. The study was carried out in a group of 55 intentionally selected specific individuals (48 women and 7 men) aged between 22-50 years (26.8±7.25) diagnosed with IBS. The main research tool was an original questionnaire.
Results. The most commonly limited food products by IBS patients were milk and dairy products (52%), fried foods (62%), and products that may cause abdominal distension (e.g. peas, beans, broad beans, onions) (66%). There were some patients who decreased the consumption of cereal products, vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish, meat and sausages because of fear associated with an increase of IBS symptom.
Conclusion. The study results may suggest that the IBS patients could have problems with a balanced diet. Consequently, the use of dietary counseling should be promoted in these patients. Moreover, dietary counseling should be one of the most important part of medical treatment of IBS.

Key words:  diet, treatment, dairy products, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Dietary counseling