Diet and Functional Abdominal Pain in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Functional abdominal pain (FAP) is a common complaint among children and adolescents. For many patients, symptoms exacerbate with eating. This review discusses findings concerning the role of diet in FAP. The foods that are discussed are divided into 2 major groups: food allergies or intolerances, which focus on milk, gluten, and fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols; and functional foods, which hone in on foods that reduce abdominal pain in adolescents such as fiber, peppermint oil, and probiotics. Lastly, we discuss the role of eating habits in FAP and how the physiology of eating may be the real culprit of symptoms associated with eating.