A 2017 study compared the effectiveness of the low FODMAP diet to yoga for the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. And the findings may surprise you! Read my summary on this study below.
How?
59 participants with IBS were randomised into two groups – a yoga-based intervention or a low FODMAP diet intervention. Both interventions ran for 12 weeks. The IBS Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS) and IBS Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) tools were used to measure:
- changes in symptoms from beginning of each intervention to the end of the intervention; and
- changes in symptoms between low FODMAP group and the yoga-based group.
The interventions?
The yoga-based group undertook traditional hatha yoga group sessions of 75 minutes duration twice weekly for a period of 12 weeks. The yoga intervention was designed by a certified hatha yoga instructor, who also ran the classes. In addition to attending the twice-weekly classes, patients were provided with a written manual and three half‐hour videos and were encouraged to practice their yoga at home every day.
The low FODMAP group received 4 sessions of nutritional counselling; consisting of an educational group lecture, 2 sessions of individual counselling based around a food diary and a group counselling session. They received pamphlets detailing what foods to avoid, as well as low FODMAP recipes.
At the end of the intervention, an “assessor” took each patient through the IBS-SSS and IBS-QOL to measure intervention effectiveness. The assessor was blinded to the patient’s group – i.e. did not know whether the participant had been allocated to the low FODMAP group or the yoga group. This reduced the likelihood of bias from the assessor.
Who?
Male and female patients were included if they were between 18 and 75 years old, had suffered from diagnosed IBS for at least 6 months and met the ‘Rome‐III’ criteria. This was a German study, but no particular ethnicities or genders were selected for or excluded.
30 people were randomised to the yoga group, while 29 were randomised to the low FODMAP group. A total of 7 withdrew from the study prior to completion.
Findings?
At week 12 there was no statistically significant difference in outcomes between the two groups. However, both groups saw a statistically significant reduction in symptoms from week 12 as compared to week 0. This means that this study found both yoga and the low FODMAP diet to be effective in reducing IBS symptoms in this population.
Comments?
Many people with IBS have issues with anxiety, and we know that mental health and gastrointestinal health are linked. This study makes a great case for IBS sufferers adding yoga into their weekly routine. Yoga can be done for free in the home, and is accessible for all body types and levels of ability (there are yoga classes for people with disabilities). So why not give it a go?
Reference:
Schumann, D., Langhorst, J., Dobos, G., & Cramer, H. (2017). Randomised clinical trial: yoga vs a low-FODMAP diet in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 47(2), 203-211. doi: 10.1111/apt.14400 [Link]
