Your Gut Bacteria May Decide Which IBS Treatment Works
Key takeaways
- For the 10% to 15% of U.S. adults living with irritable bowel syndrome, finding relief often feels like a guessing game.
- The low FODMAP diet and the antibiotic rifaximin are two of the most common treatments for IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D).
- Shop nowTo see whether gut bacteria could help predict treatment response, researchers assigned 65 adults with IBS-D to receive either low FODMAP diet counseling or a course of rifaximin for five weeks.
Why this matters: practical guidance grounded in recent research or expert insight.
Author: Zhané Slambee April 29, 2026mindbodygreen editor By Zhané Slambee Image by Flamingo Images / Stocksy April 29, 2026If you've ever tried multiple IBS treatments (cutting out foods, taking medications, waiting weeks to see if anything helps), you know how tiring the process can be. For the 10% to 15% of U.S. adults living with irritable bowel syndrome, finding relief often feels like a guessing game. But a recent clinical trial suggests your gut microbiome may offer clues about which treatment is most likely to work for you.
The low FODMAP diet and the antibiotic rifaximin are two of the most common treatments for IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D). Both have good evidence behind them, but each works in fewer than half of patients. That means most people end up trying several approaches before finding relief, if they find it at all.
Shop nowTo see whether gut bacteria could help predict treatment response, researchers assigned 65 adults with IBS-D to receive either low FODMAP diet counseling or a course of rifaximin for five weeks.