Browsing by Author "Fredericks, Ernst"

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    Food avoidance in irritable bowel syndrome leads to a nutrition-deficient diet
    (MedPharm Publications, 2014-08) Stevenson, Cheryl; Blaauw, Renee; Fredericks, Ernst; Visser, Janicke; Roux, Saartjie
    Objective: The objective was to assess the dietary intake of subjects with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and to compare it to that of international recommendations. The hypothesising assumption of this study was that a situation in which subjects insist that diet or trigger foods play a part in symptom generation may lead to an unbalanced dietary intake. Design: This was a descriptive observational study, with an analytical component. Setting: A private, secondary care-level clinic in South Africa. Subjects: The study population comprised 122 participants. Each subject completed an estimated, three-day dietary record. The data were analysed using a computerised food analysis programme. The fructose intake was analysed semi-quantitatively. IBS subjects’ protein and carbohydrate intake were significantly higher than the recommended dietary allowance for protein and carbohydrate (p-values < 0.000 and < 0.000, respectively). Outcome measures: The identification of dietary risk factors that affect IBS. Results: The IBS subjects’ daily total dietary fibre (15.13 g ± 13.11) was significantly lower (p-value < 0.000) than the dietary reference intake (DRI) target intake of 24.76 g/day, and the intake of micronutrients, calcium, iron and folate) was significantly less than the DRI. There was no significant difference in macronutrient intake between the diarrhoea-predominant IBS (D-IBS), constipation-predominant IBS (C-IBS) and the control groups. The total number of fructose serves per day was not statistically significant between the three groups (C-IBS 2.68 ± 1.68, D-IBS 2.15 ± 1.86, and controls 3.17 ± 2.39, p-value = 0.157). Conclusion: The IBS subjects in this study consumed diets that were deficient in key micronutrients and total fibre when judged against the recommended DRIs. Dietary adjustments may have been tailored by subjects to minimise symptom development and this led to nutritionally deficient diets.
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    Probiotic effect and dietary correlations on faecal microbiota profiles in irritable bowel syndrome
    (Medpharm Publications, 2019) Stevenson, Cheryl; Blaauw, Renee; Fredericks, Ernst; Visser, Janicke; Roux, Saartjie
    Objective: Probiotics and nutrient intakes modulate gastrointestinal (GIT) microbiota and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The extent to which these factors influence the microbiota is relatively unknown. The primary objective of this paper was to investigate the effect of a probiotic on gut microbiota and IBS symptoms. The secondary objective was exploring correlations between dietary intake and gut microbiota. Design: This study was an extension of a randomised clinical trial (Clinical Trials Registry NCT018867810). Dietary intake was recorded by three-day estimated food records. Faecal samples were collected at three time points: (1) baseline (A), (2) after eight weeks’ probiotic supplementation (Lactobacillus plantarum 299v) (B) and (3) following a two-week washout period (C). Total Bacteroides spp., Bifidobacteria bifidum and Lactobacillus plantarum were quantified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results: Twenty-eight diarrhoea-predominant IBS (D-IBS) and 24 constipation-predominant IBS (C-IBS) patients participated. Lactobacillus plantarum profiles at baseline (A) were significantly different between C-IBS and D-IBS (−0.956 ± 1.239 vs. −1.700 ± 1.239; p = 0.024). There was no significant change in bacterial counts after completion of the trial (B) and following the washout period (C) between groups. In both groups there were significant direct correlations between fibre and Lactobacillus plantarum and inverse correlations between fibre and Bacteroides spp. There was no difference in symptom severity scores between treatment and placebo groups during the study. Conclusion: The probiotic had no effect on symptoms and GIT microbiota. Certain nutrients strongly correlate to certain bacterial profiles, suggesting that nutrients can significantly influence gastrointestinal microbiota composition.