Probiotics Improve Life for People with IBS

People with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) experience abdominal pain or discomfort. It is a very common condition, affecting around 11% of people globally, 15% of people in the U.S. and as many as 18% in Canada. It affects women more than men. For many of those people, IBS impacts their quality of life. Safe, affordable, effective treatments would be very welcome.

This meta-analysis of probiotics as a treatment for IBS included 20 studies and 3,011 people.

It found that probiotics are significantly more effective than placebo at improving global IBS symptom scores. It also found that probiotics are actually significantly more effective at improving quality of life.

Taking higher doses of multiple strains of probiotics may be most effective for reducing abdominal pain.

Since the probiotics were as safe as the placebo, this study puts probiotics forward as a safe, affordable, effective piece of the treatment of IBS.

Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2024 Apr:60:362-372.

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For much more on treating IBS naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

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