After four weeks, participants in both the diet groups reported significantly reduced symptoms — a 76% reduction with the low FODMAP diet and a 71% reduction with the low-carbohydrate diet. The medication group reported a 58% reduction in symptoms.
Two weeks after the study began, one participant, a woman in her 50s on the FODMAP diet, cried as she described the relief from abdominal pain she felt for the first time in her adult life, Nybacka told NPR.
Others in both dietary groups also said they felt better than they had for as long as they could remember, she said.
In addition to IBS symptom relief, participants in all three groups reported less anxiety and depression and an improved quality of life.