Are You Suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Try Blueberry!

If your quality of life is being kept down by irritable bowel syndrome, then simply supplementing blueberry may be part of the answer.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD), are some of the most common causes of gastrointestinal symptoms. A crazy 10-15% of all people suffer from them.

FGID has recently been renamed disordered gut-brain interactions to reflect new research on the axis between the gut and the brain and how they are communicating with each other. Symptoms include abdominal pain or discomfort and changes in patterns of going to the washroom.

This double-blind study looked at the potential of blueberry supplement to improve IBS for the very first time.

There were 43 people in the study, all of whom had IBS or FD. Half were given a placebo, and half were given 30g of freeze-dried blueberry powder (equivalent to 180g of fresh blueberries) twice a day for 6 weeks.

At the end of 6 weeks, a significantly greater 53% of people taking blueberry reported moderate or significant relief of symptoms versus 30% on the placebo. 40-65% of people on blueberry had abdominal symptom relief in the last week versus 20-39% in the placebo group.

When it came to the important quality of life, the people taking blueberry had significantly greater improvement.

This study suggests for the first time that supplementing freeze-dried blueberry could be a safe, simple way to improve abdominal symptoms, general well-being and quality of life in people with IBS.

Nutrients. 2023 May;15(10):2396.

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For much more on treating irritable bowel syndrome naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

For comprehensive natural help with your health, including IBS, make an appointment to see Linda Woolven now. Linda’s clinic is now open for virtual appointments.

The Natural Path is intended for educational purposes only and is in no way intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. For health problems, consult a qualified health practitioner for a comprehensive program.

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