# Wheat-free diet brings bloating relief



## Jeffrey Roberts

*Wheat-free diet brings bloating relief*October 24, 2007 04:37amArticle from: AAPA RESTRICTED diet of low carb food can help relieve the painful and embarrassing symptoms of inflammatory and irritable bowel problems, a trial has found.New research has shown that cutting back on select foods including wheat, milk and stone fruit helps more than half of people with both inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) manage their conditions. IBS causes symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea and bloating, but the bowel looks normal, while IBD causes similar symptoms but the bowel is inflamed. The two diseases commonly co-occur.New Zealand researchers will today present the Australian Gastroenterology Week conference in Perth with results from their three month trial of 100 patients with both conditions."Patients were given an individualised dietary assessment to determine which foods, known as FODMAPs, triggered their abdominal symptoms," said lead investigator Dr Richard Gearry, a consultant gastroenterologist at Christchurch Hospital. These foods include fructose like apples, lactose or dairy products, polyols like stone fruit, fructans like wheat and galactans like legumes.The study showed that those patients who adhered to a diet which restricted the trigger foods were more likely to get relief from symptoms, particularly abdominal pain, diarrhoea, bloating and wind. "Most patients found that the diet was easy to implement and that the taste was acceptable which is very important if people are to follow this diet," Dr Gearry said. Up to 50 per cent of patients with Crohn's disease and 30 per cent of ulcerative colitis patients have IBS as well.Specialists said the diet could act as an alternative to standard treatments for some sufferers. "We don't want to prescribe drugs or perform surgery on patients who do not have inflammation as the cause of their symptoms," Dr Gearry said."Therefore, if a patient with IBD has symptoms suggestive of IBS, or there is no evidence of inflammation, then using this dietary approach is appropriate." About 61,000 Australians are currently living with IBD, making it more common than epilepsy and comparable to type one diabetes and schizophrenia statistics.Copyright 2007 News Limited


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