Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Low carb, low fat for IBS

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter found in the brain & gut. It is involved in the regulation of the motility of the gut. The IBS drugs Zelnorm and Alosetron affect serotonin levels. Carbohydrates affect serotonin levels in a complicated way too.

There is a brief description of how serotonin works on the gut in the NIH web site on IBS. It says "Recent research has reported that serotonin is linked with normal gastrointestinal (GI) functioning. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, or chemical, that delivers messages from one part of your body to another. Ninety-five percent of the serotonin in your body is located in the GI tract, and the other 5 percent is found in the brain. Cells that line the inside of the bowel work as transporters and carry the serotonin out of the GI tract. People with IBS, however, have diminished receptor activity, causing abnormal levels of serotonin to exist in the GI tract. As a result, they experience problems with bowel movement, motility, and sensation�having more sensitive pain receptors in their GI tract."

Dr. Drossman and his colleagues study was done on a very small population of 13 patients. Approximately 51% of calories were from fat, 45% from protein, and 4% from carbohydrates. The study concluded that a very low carbohydrate diet (20 grams/day or 1/2 cup white rice per day) provided relief, and improved abdominal pain, stool habits, and quality of life in IBS-D. This study and diet was originally designed for overweight/obese IBS-D patients to loss weight.

While the results look promising the study was small and more research is required.

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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS

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