6 Natural Remedies for IBS That May Work for You

A new review suggests that herbal and alternative medicine from peppermint oil to probiotics can help relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be tough. It's characterized by abdominal pain and either constipation, diarrhea, or a combination of both, but its symptoms are different for every person who suffers from it. So, then, is what works to provide relief.

Medications are available to ease the symptoms of IBS, but some patients feel better trying natural remedies instead of (or in addition to) conventional drugs. The problem is, says Yuri Saito-Loftus, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic, there’s not nearly as much scientific research on these “treatments” to show how well they really work.

“There’s usually not a big pharmaceutical company with billions of dollars to sponsor a randomized clinical trial for these alternative remedies,” says Dr. Saito-Loftus. “A lot of what we rely on to make recommendations to our patients are the rare cases when either the government or a large supplement company has enough interest to fund a study.” 

A new review does provide some hope for people who get no benefit, or have bad side effects, from traditional IBS medicines: Writing in the British Journal of Pharmacology, researchers noted that several alternative therapies do seem to be effective at relieving symptoms.

We asked Dr. Saito-Loftus (whose research is referenced in the review) for her thoughts on these and other natural remedies. Here’s her advice including some words of caution about what’s worked for her patients.

1/ Probiotics:

These live bacteria found in supplements or in fermented foods like yogurt and kefir fared well in the newly published review: The authors noted several randomized clinical trials that suggested probiotic consumption can relieve abdominal pain and other IBS symptoms better than placebo.

But the news isn’t all great. "I’ve met patients who swear that they make all the difference in the world, and others that don’t feel they make much of an impact at all in their symptoms" says Dr. Saito-Loftus. "One problem is that there are so many brands and formulations, chances are what you pick up in the store is not the same product that performed well in clinical trials"


Dr. Saito-Loftus is also cautious about recommending probiotics to IBS patients because they do alter the amount and ratio of natural gut bacteria which, in some cases, could do more harm than good. Her advice ? Talk to your doctor about the potential risks and benefits, and decide together whether to give probiotics a try.