Pimentel's book, A New IBS Solution, takes up where Elaine Gottschall's book leaves off.

His theory of IBS is identical to Gottschall's. But his prescription for a cure differs.

Both Gottschall and Pimentel claim that bacteria migrate from the large intestine, or colon, to the small intestine, where they do not belong and where they cause gas, diarrhea, or constipation.

Both Gottschall and Pimentel claim that a predigested factory diet--called an "elemental diet"--can kill of the bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine.

Both Gottschall and Pimentel suggest that IBSers should eat a diet that can be easily digested. But they differ in what that diet consists of. I have found that Pimentel's diet worked quite well for me, completely ending all diarrhea, while Gottschall's diet did not.

Pimentel also recommends taking antibiotics. The antibiotics did not work for me, though I know many people who have been helped by them. The elemental diet (Vivonex Plus) did not work for me either. But, as I said, Pimentel's diet, which is a low-carbohydrate diet, was quite helpful. It did not cure me, but it was a significant improvement.