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A special diet called the low FODMAP diet (LFD) can help improve gastro symptoms and quality of life in women with endometriosis, a new study has found.
The Monash University research also found that the diet helped ease abdominal pain and bloating, and normalise stool consistency.
“Six out of 10 patients responded to the Low FODMAP Diet and reported clinically significant improvements in gastrointestinal symptoms,” Monash University senior researcher Dr Jane Varney said.
What is a FODMAP diet?
FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols.
To put it simply, these are carbohydrates that are not completely digestible, so they travel slowly through the small intestine and draw in water.
When they reach the large intestine, gut bacteria feed on them and this creates gas.
This extra gas and water then leads to bloating and stretching of the intestinal walls, which can cause discomfort.
The low FODMAP diet generally avoids dairy-based milk, wheat-based products, beans and lentils, particular vegetables like onions and garlic, and particular fruits like apples and pears.
Instead, the diet encourages food such as eggs, meats, certain cheeses like brie, almond milk, grains like rice and oats, particular vegetables like potatoes and eggplant, and some fruits like grapes, oranges, and pineapples.
The disease can cause severe pelvic pain, painful periods, inflammation and infertility – and there is little known about why it occurs.
“75 per cent of women with endometriosis experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, which mimic those experienced by people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome,” Varney said.
The participants ate their usual diet for seven days, and after were provided one of two diets supplied by researchers for 28 days before returning to their normal diet.
Both diets were based were based on Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines, but only one was low in FODMAPs.
Sixty percent of study participants responded to the LFD, compared to 26 per cent who responded to a control diet based on Australian Dietary Guidelines.
“Given the high prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms among women with endometriosis, and the absence of targeted treatments, this study highlights a diet therapy that will bring symptom relief to many women,” Varney concluded.