Soluble fibre better than bran for irritable bowel

Adding soluble fibre such as psyllium to the diet is more likely to improve irritable bowel syndrome symptoms than adding insoluble fibre such as bran, research suggests. The benefits of psyllium taken with yoghurt were seen as early as one month into a Dutch trial, which randomised 275 IBS patients to 10g psyllium, 10g bran or 10g placebo (rice flour) daily. For every four patients treated with psyllium at one month, one reported a fortnight's adequate relief from abdominal pain or discomfort. Patients taking psyllium reported a 90-point reduction in symptom severity on a 500-point scale at three months, compared with a 49-point reduction in the placebo group and a non-significant 58-point reduction in the bran group. Early drop-out was highest in the bran cohort, with the authors warning bran might worsen symptoms of IBS, especially at the beginning of treatment, and should be advised only with caution. Writing in the BMJ, the authors said those left in the trial taking bran were probably a small subset of patients who responded well to the supplement. Psyllium was most effective in patients with a positive diagnosis of IBS based on the Rome II criteria, but it also reduced symptoms in patients whose IBS was only suspected, the study found. Overall there was a 40% drop-out rate, which the authors said was comparable with similar trials. The main reason was that participants felt worse taking the fibre supplement, they said....