Soluble Fiber May Ease IBS
A new Dutch study has shown that soluble fiber helps ease Irritable Bowel Syndrome twice as effectively as insoluble fiber such as bran. The 12-week study, which involved 275 people, was published in the British Medical Journal and raised questions as to how effective bran is in treating IBS.
Participants were sorted into three groups: the first were given 10g of psyllium (a soluble fiber), the second 10g of bran (an insoluble fiber), and the last 10g of rice flour (a placebo). The researchers, led by Dr CJ Bijkerk, found that the first group who were given the soluble fiber saw their symptoms drop by 90 points on a standard scale, while the second group’s symptoms only dropped by 58 points and the placebo group’s dropped by 49 points.
During the study, a few participants in the bran group dropped out early because their symptoms had actually worsened.
“I think adding psyllium to the diet is the best treatment option to start with,” says Bijkerk. “In the study, people did this by adding it to things such as yoghurt and it had a real effect.”
Other sources of soluble fiber include oats, dried beans, nuts, barley, flax seed and strawberries.
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