McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine

Gluten-free diet in IBS

2023-10-31

Joanna Dionne

Recorded at the 8th McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine (MIRCIM).

Joanna Dionne, MD, MSc, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Critical Care and Division of Gastroenterology at McMaster University.

Is gluten-free diet beneficial in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Should we recommend this diet to patients with IBS? If yes, when?

Another great question. The research that’s been done... There were 2 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) done on gluten-free diet, which we wrote about in a systematic review published in 2018—though it did show a reduction in symptoms of patients with IBS, it was not a statistically significant finding and there’s limited evidence for that.

The most recent guidelines for the management of IBS actually support a diet with low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (low-FODMAP diet), and not a celiac diet.

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