A FODMAP-lowering diet with smartphone app support beats medical therapy in reducing IBS symptoms and should be considered first-line in primary care, according to European researchers. 

A Belgian team has demonstrated in a randomised controlled trial with 459 patients that the lifestyle intervention was superior to use of an antispasmodic drug for up to 24 weeks and had better adherence.

“The use of a simple diet application should be considered a first-line approach to manage IBS in primary care,” the researchers said.

The patients (average age of 41, 76% women) were randomised to eight weeks of otilonium bromide (OB) 40mg taken three times a day — considered standard IBS medical therapy in Europe — or to a FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) diet, which is often recommended in tertiary care.