Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common chronic debilitating functional bowel disorder, with symptoms that include stomach pain or discomfort, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating and excess gas. The exact cause of IBS is still unknown, but is probably the consequence of alternations of gut microbiota, the disturbance of brain-gut axis, psychological stress, increased intestinal permeability, gastrointestinal infections, activation of immune system and inflammatory factors. Because pharmaceutical drugs have limited effect on relieving symptoms of IBS, there has been an increase in the use of different diets and food supplements with purpose of reducing symptom severity and improving quality of life of these patients. Low FODMAP diet, which is based on dietary restriction of short-chain carbohydrates, has shown to be the most beneficial for alleviating IBS symptoms, particularly flatulence and diarrhoea. Other diets, used in the treatment of IBS are elimination diet, fibre diet and specific carbohydrate diet (SCD). Examples of food supplements, which have shown a potential for treatment of IBS, are L-glutamin, vitamin D, probiotics and peppermint oil.
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