Author information

1 Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 6701 Fannin Street, MWT 1010.03, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: chumpita@bcm.edu.

Abstract

Diet plays a significant role for children with functional abdominal pain disorders. A large majority of these children identify at least 1 food that exacerbates their symptoms. Malabsorbed carbohydrates may have both direct and microbiome-mediated physiologic effects. There are several factors associated with carbohydrate symptom generation, including (1) the amount ingested, (2) ingestion with a meal, (3) small intestinal enzymatic activity, (4) consuming the carbohydrate with microorganisms capable of breaking down the carbohydrate, (5) the gut microbiome, and (6) host factors. Therapies include carbohydrate (single and/or comprehensive) restriction, selective prebiotic and/or enzyme supplementation. Fiber supplementation may also be beneficial.