Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a regular source of discomfort for many people, causing symptoms like bloating, constipation and diarrhoea. There's currently no cure – as a chronic condition, IBS tends to persist over the long term, sometimes easing but rarely disappearing entirely. That said, there's plenty that can help manage symptoms. A healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, minimising stress, and looking after gut health can all make a genuine difference.
Digesting food is a genuinely complex process involving multiple interacting systems in the body. One key player is "gut flora" – the bacteria and fungi living in the digestive tract. Rather than causing harm, healthy gut flora help crowd out potentially harmful pathogens and play a direct role in digestion by producing enzymes that break down substances the body would otherwise struggle with.
An unhealthy lifestyle, illness, and antibiotic use can all reduce the size and diversity of the gut microbiome. This isn't surprising when you consider how antibiotics work – they don't distinguish between harmful and beneficial bacteria. An imbalanced microbiome, where some bacteria dominate and others diminish, is known as "dysbiosis," and has been linked to IBS and other digestive complications.
Probiotics have become an increasingly popular way to help manage IBS symptoms over recent decades.
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are foods and supplements containing live, beneficial bacteria. Including them in your diet, or taking a supplement, can help support the regrowth of healthy gut flora and rebalance the microbiome, supporting overall gut health.
Probiotic-rich foods include:
- Yoghurt
- Kefir (fermented milk drink)
- Kombucha (fermented tea)
- Tempeh (fermented soya)
- Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)
Lactobacillus acidophilus is one of the most commonly found probiotic strains in supermarket products, though there are many others worth knowing about.
While these foods are genuinely rich in probiotics, they're not always practical or easy to source regularly. Probiotic supplements offer a more consistent, convenient option for many people, available in pill or liquid form.
Do Probiotics Help IBS?
Yes – this has been demonstrated across a number of clinical studies. As with most conditions, IBS varies significantly from person to person, and the most helpful probiotic strain often depends on which symptoms predominate.
- If diarrhoea is your main symptom, Saccharomyces boulardii is worth looking into – this yeast was linked to reduced gut inflammation in a 2014 study, and is available in supplement form.
- If bloating predominates, the strains Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium lactis have shown promise in clinical trials for relieving bloating, and are also available as supplements.
- For constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C), the Lactobacillus strains acidophilus, reuteri,
