Enbiosis finds microbiome-based personalized diet more effective than low FODMAP in IBS

The study, published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology​, compared the efficacy of a personalized diet (PD) provided by personalized nutrition firm Enbiosis​ to that of a low FODMAP diet (LFD), on different sub-types of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with “exciting” results, according to the firm. 

The PD provided by Enbiosis was based on the analysis of trillions of gut bacteria to provide personalized food, supplement and recipe recommendations.

This diet showed a substantial effect in improving symptom severity scores (SSS) and quality of life (QOL) scores across various subtypes of IBS but most notably showed substantial effect in alleviating symptoms in in the IBS-D (diarrhea) subtype. 

While the PD intervention led to significant improvements for all subtypes, the LFD intervention showed significant improvements only for the IBS-C and IBS-D subtypes.

Beyza Hilal Ermiş, R&D nutrition specialist at Enbiosis Biotechnology, said the significant improvements in the PD group included: IBS severity and quality of life scores, anxiety and depression levels, microbiome diversity, and increased levels of beneficial bacteria like Faecalibacterium prausnitzii ​(notable for its anti-inflammatory and gut health properties).

“The results were truly remarkable and exceeded our expectations,” she told NutraIngredients.

As well as symptom and QOL benefits, the study observed positive influences of the PD intervention on gut microbiome profiles, including increased alpha and beta diversities and the abundance of beneficial bacteria like Faecalibacterium prausnitzii​.