fibro in the media

Eating fibre may NOT be so good for your stomach

Last updated at 7:15 PM on 30th November 2009

Deirdre Parsonage's knowledge about what constitutes a healthy diet was second to none: bran flakes for breakfast, wholegrain bread, pasta and rice for lunch and supper, and, of course, five servings of fruit or veg a day.

It's a diet she tried to stick to for more than ten years. The only problem was that it left her doubled up in agony.

The 52-year-old mother of four and former police officer has suffered from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for years. What she didn't realise was that her healthy diet only made her symptoms worse.

IBS sufferers are usually told by their GPs to eat more fibre. But a major study, due to be published soon in the British Medical Journal, shows conclusively that eating extra bran and other fibre is likely to do more harm than good.

Indeed, the lead researcher, Professor Peter Whorwell from Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, is demanding a change in terminology. He says fibre should no longer be seen as an essential cornerstone of a healthy diet, at least for IBS sufferers.

'It's wrong to say that eating fibre is healthy when it exacerbates unpleasant symptoms for so many people with IBS,' he told the Mail.

An estimated nine million Britons suffer from the condition. A chronic bowel disorder, IBS is characterised by cramping abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea as well as constipation.

While it's not known what causes it, three times as many women as men are affected - possibly because of their hormonal changes or increased tendency to depression and anxiety (which are linked to the disorder).

While it's not known what causes it, three times as many women as men are

affected - possibly because of their hormonal changes or increased tendency

to depression and anxiety (which are linked to the disorder).

GPs commonly advise patients to increase their intake of fibre and prescribe fibre-based medication.

But around five million people in the UK may have their symptoms made worse by this advice, according to Professor Whorwell, who is a leading authority on the disorder

The worst thing for a significant number of IBS patients is fibre, particularly bran,' he says. 'While eating more fibre undoubtedly helps to sort out mild constipation, it's rarely helpful for severe IBS symptoms. It won't help diarrhoea.

'And people with severe constipation have a problem in moving waste along the colon, so adding a bulking agent in the form of fibre gives the bowel even more work to do and is likely to worsen symptoms.'

At the South Manchester Functional Bowel Service he sees many patients other doctors have considered 'difficult to treat'.

'Many IBS patients insist their diet can't be the problem, because they eat so much fibre,' he says. 'I tell them straight out that they should be eating an unhealthy diet.'

He advises patients to replace high-fibre food with white bread, white pasta, biscuits, cakes and cream crackers - anything, as long as its made from refined white flour.

Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1228402/Eating-fibre-NOT-good-stomach.html#ixzz0YSRgeWOb