By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – In a randomized trial, people with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) had significant pain and symptom relief on a diet that starves gut bacteria of some of their favorite foods, according to a new study. The “low FODMAP” diet restricts foods that are high in fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed by the body but quickly fermented by intestinal bacteria. Fermentation produces gas and excess liquid, and may underlie the symptoms of IBS, the authors write in American Journal of Gastroenterology.