Can yoga improve my gut health?

There have been few attempts in medical literature to justify yoga as a therapeutic treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

A systematic review headed by Dr. Dania Schumann, a nutritional scientist based in Germany, assessed the results of previous studies that explored the effectiveness of yoga as a treatment for IBS. The article, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2016, is the first of its kind - a review specifically investigating yoga practice in IBS management.

The findings suggest that yoga might be a feasible and safe secondary treatment for IBS!

There was some evidence to support the benefits of yoga, including significantly decreased bowel symptoms, IBS severity and anxiety. Furthermore, patients responded with significant improvements in quality of life and physical functioning after yoga compared with no treatment.

But don’t go into a frenzy looking for a yoga instructor just yet…

Although there is reason to be optimistic, Schumann and colleagues concluded that NO recommendation could be made regarding yoga as a routine treatment for IBS patients. This is because of major flaws in their study methods, including:

·       the lack of findings on long-term effects

·       the risk of bias

·       the lack of reported safety data regarding adverse events

·       larger representation of female patients

So how did Schumann respond? By leading her own clinical trial, one year later.

The study, published in the Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics medical journal, compares yoga with an emerging dietary treatment for IBS, the low FODMAP diet. It was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, Germany.

Both male and female patients, between 18 and 75 years old, were included if they had suffered from diagnosed IBS for at least 6 months. A total of 47 patients were randomly assigned to either yoga or nutritional counselling in conjunction with a low FODMAP diet.

The IBS Syndrome Severity Scoring system (IBS-SSS) was used to determine each patients’ symptom severity. Higher IBS-SSS scores indicates higher symptom severity. It is a self-reported questionnaire exploring:

·       the severity and frequency of patients’ pain

·       the degree of abdominal distension/bloating experienced

·       the extent to which their IBS symptoms interfere with their lives.

Schumann found that there was NO significant difference between the groups, with regard to their self-reported IBS-SSS score at either 12 or 24 weeks into the study. Both treatment options also showed a significant decrease in IBS symptom severity.

One patient in each group experienced serious adverse effects, and another, also in each group, experienced non-serious adverse effects.

In conclusion, the study found that IBS patients benefited from BOTH yoga and a low fodmap diet, as both groups showed a reduction in gut health symptoms.

So… should IBS patients take up yoga? While more research is needed to quantify its impact, Schumann’s research concludes that yoga might indeed help your gut health as much as a low fodmap diet. Read the full article here.