Background: Data on the absolute fiber intake and the source of dietary fiber intake in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have been lacking in northern Indians.
Objective: To find out the absolute fiber intake from different sources of food items in patients with IBS and healthy subjects from northern India.
Methods: Using the 72-hour recall method, dietary intake of macronutrients and fiber was determined in 33 consecutive adult patients with IBS and 33 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.
Results: The patients consumed lower amounts of macronutrients (protein 60.4 g vs 79.3 g, fat 47.7 g vs 65.7 g, and carbohydrates 294.6 g vs 339.8 g) and dietary fiber (8.1 g vs 15.7 g) than the control subjects. Though the patients consumed similar amount of pulses as the controls (46.6 [25.0] vs 46 [19.6] g/day), their fiber intake from pulses was lower (0.8 [0.7] vs 1.4 [0.9] g/day). The intake of fiber from vegetables and fruits was also significantly lower in patients (2.1 and 0.5 g/day, respectively) than in control subjects (5.8 and 3.9 g/day, respectively; p< 0.001 each).
Conclusion: Total dietary fiber intake and intake of fiber from vegetables, fruits and pulses are lower in patients with IBS from northern India than in control subjects.