Anuradha Varanasi
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Written By: Anuradha Varanasi | Updated : January 7, 2016 9:35 AM IST
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a fairly common gastrointestinal disorder as population based studies in 2008 estimated the prevalence to be as high as 10-20% among Indians [1]. The most common symptoms of IBS are stomach aches, constipation, abdominal fullness, diarrhea or feeling of incomplete evacuation. While there is no known cause for IBS, so far, nor is there any particular treatment or cure for this chronic ailment that can significantly lower the quality of one s life. These are the six triggers of IBS you should avoid.
However, a study published in the Oman Medical Journal in March, 2015, suggests that vitamin supplementation should be considered as a part of the therapeutic protocol in patients with IBS [2]. Around 60 patients with IBS and 100 healthy individuals participated in this study as test and control groups respectively. Following that, the vitamin D level of the IBS patients were compared with the healthy individuals in the control group. The results revealed that vitamin D deficiency was detected in 49 patients (82%) in the IBS group and 31 patients (31%) in the control group.
In another study published in the peer reviewed British Medical Journal, Open Gastroenterology in December, 2015, researchers from the University of Sheffield conducted a pilot study where 50 patients with IBS underwent blood tests to assess their vitamin D levels. Even this study found that a high number of IBS patients (78%) did not have enough vitamin D.
The study concluded that IBS patients could benefit from screening and vitamin D supplementation and that the impact of IBS on quality of life may be reduced by vitamin D level.
However, despite these findings, it might still be too soon to say that this data could provide a new way to manage the symptoms of IBS as despite vitamin D supplementation in some of those patients, no significant improvement was witnessed. Here are six diet tips to beat IBS. The researchers suggested that future trials should have a sample size of over 97 in order to establish whether symptoms of IBS can be treated by vitamin D supplementation. Did you know that this vitamin can also lower the risk of heart disease?
Reference
[1]Indian J Gastroenterol. 2008 Jan-Feb;27(1):22-8. Epidemiological and clinical profile of irritable bowel syndrome in India: report of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology Task Force.
[2] Khayyat Y, Attar S. Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Does it Exist? Oman Medical Journal. 2015;30(2):115-118.2015.25.
[3] BMJ Open Gastro 2015; Vitamin D associates with improved quality of life in participants with irritable bowel syndrome: outcomes from a pilot trial. Simon Tazzyman, Nicholas Richards, Andrew R Trueman, Amy L Evans, Vicky A Grant,Iveta Garaiova, Sue F Plummer, Elizabeth A Williams, Bernard M Corfe
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