Targeted and individualized dietary interventions in disorders of gut-brain interaction

Disorders of gut brain interaction (DGBI) is an umbrella term for a group of prevalent symptomatic gastrointestinal disorders. Although typically not associated with increased mortality, these disorders have a major impact on patients' quality of life and have an economic impact on an individual and societal level. Many patients suffering from DGBI relate symptom onset or increase to food intake making dietary interventions an appealing treatment strategy. Typically, dietary interventions consist of excluding (presumed) culprit foods from the diet of patients. Many efforts are ongoing to prospectively identify culprit nutrients and enable tailored individualized dietary interventions. Here, we summarize the evidence for candidate biomarkers being studied for this purpose. We comment on the established empirical dietary interventions and highlight the important role of expert dieticians in administering these diets. We finally describe, which patients are likely to benefit from empirical dietary interventions and in which patients restrictive dietary interventions should be avoided.