Does diet help IBD?

Sadly, all to often, I hear of people with IBD being told diet makes no difference to their disease. But the truth is IT REALLY DOES and I want EVERYONE with IBD to know that!

Diet is important for EVERYONE no matter whether you have a disease or not – every single complex system in our body needs nutrients to work properly and we get nutrients from food, diet can increase or decrease your risk of developing diseases like type 2 diabetes, and research has suggested certain dietary patterns could be associated with the onset of IBD.

Arguably when we have IBD diet is even more important and here are some reasons why:

  • We now have lots of research showing the importance of diet in IBD. Just because there is no ‘prescription diet’ that can be given to everyone and no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to diet and IBD, it doesn’t mean it’s not important.

  • The gold standard treatment for flares of Crohn's Disease in children is not steroids but instead a liquid-only diet called exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN). There is also some emerging evidence for the role of a partial liquid diet in the treatment of Crohn’s Disease and Crohn’s flares in adults (CDED) and this is being used at some of the leading London IBD centres.  

  • The food we eat comes into direct contact with our inflamed bowel.

  • Research shows that malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies can negatively impact disease course and outcomes including increased risk of flares, hospitalisations, and complications.

  • Some medications increase our need for certain nutrients as they impact their absorption.

  • Some food intolerances which cause unpleasant symptoms are higher in people with IBD (e.g. lactose intolerance in Crohn’s Disease).

  • Frequent consumption of certain foods could increase or decrease occurrence of flares.

  • Diet can hugely impact symptoms including bloating, diarrhoea, and pain.

  • Diet can impact overall quality of life.

  • Eating disorders are common in people with IBD and disordered eating patterns even more common.

  • Changes in weight, either weight loss or weight gain, can hugely impact our body image and mental health.

  • Food related quality of life (the impact of diet, eating behaviours, and food-related anxiety on a person's quality of life) is known to be poor in people with IBD.

  • People with IBD often follow self-imposed restrictive diets leading them to miss out on important nutrients increasing their risk of nutrient deficiency and reducing quality of life.

Those are just a few reasons but there are tonnes more! If you need help and support with you IBD, follow the link below to schedule a free enquiry call where I can hear more about you and your IBD journey so far and we can chat about how I can help and appointment options that would be best for you.

References

Bischoff, S., Escher, J., Hébuterne, X., Kłęk, S., Krznaric, Z., Schneider, S., Shamir, R., Stardelova, K., Wierdsma, N., Wiskin, A. and Forbes, A., 2020. ESPEN practical guideline: Clinical Nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. Clinical Nutrition, 39(3), pp.632-653.

Clemmie Macpherson