Low FODMAP and Sugar-Reduced Diets Show Most Promise for IBS Relief
Dietary changes may offer meaningful relief for individuals living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to findings from a comprehensive network meta-analysis evaluating the effectiveness of various nutritional interventions.
Published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, the analysis reviewed 28 randomized controlled trials involving more than 2,300 patients and compared the impact of 11 different dietary strategies—each requiring modifications to multiple food groups—on key IBS symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, and bowel irregularity. Researchers ranked the diets by their ability to improve global IBS symptoms, using relative risk ratios and a statistical ranking metric called P-score.
The starch-reduced and sucrose-reduced diet emerged as the top-ranked intervention for overall IBS symptom improvement (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.26–0.67; P-score 0.84), followed by the low FODMAP diet, which was also the only diet to consistently improve bloating across trials. Both approaches showed moderate confidence in evidence when compared with a habitual diet.
In contrast, more widely recommended strategies like the British Dietetic Association/NICE diet showed lower efficacy, ranking tenth overall (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43–0.90; P-score 0.44).
Despite the promising findings, researchers cautioned that most comparisons were based on low- or very low-confidence data, underscoring the need for more robust, high-quality trials. Still, the results highlight the potential of tailored dietary approaches—particularly sugar-reduced and low FODMAP plans—for patients seeking alternatives to medication in IBS management.
Reference
Cuffe MS, Staudacher HM, Aziz I, et al. Efficacy of dietary interventions in irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. Published online April 18, 2025. doi:10.1016/S2468-1253(25)00054-8
