Mediterranean Diet Outperforms Traditional Dietary Advice for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Landmark Randomized Trial

Highlights

• The Mediterranean diet (MD) demonstrated both noninferiority and statistical superiority to traditional dietary advice (TDA) in reducing IBS symptom severity.
• 62% of participants on the MD achieved a clinically significant response (≥50-point reduction in IBS-SSS) compared to 42% in the TDA group.
• The MD group saw a mean reduction of 101.2 points in the IBS Symptom Severity Scale, significantly outperforming the -64.5 points observed with TDA.
• The Mediterranean diet offers a more nutrient-dense and less restrictive alternative to the Low FODMAP diet, potentially improving long-term adherence and gut microbiome health.

Background: The Challenge of IBS Nutrition