New Study Finds Diet Can Improve Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease

Because there have been few clinical trials on the connection between diet and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), patients often receive little guidance about which foods may trigger symptoms. A new study, published in Gastroenterology, is the first large-scale, randomized trial in the US to show that diet can significantly benefit adults with IBD such as Crohn’s disease.

The study compared the effectiveness of a Mediterranean diet to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in about 200 Crohn’s patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms on stable doses of medication. After six weeks, 44% of those following a Mediterranean diet achieved symptom remission, as did 47% of those following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Both diets reduced fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, and social isolation in participants.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, popular among IBD patients, is rich in unprocessed meat and fish, fruits, and vegetables, and eliminates grains, most dairy, and most sweeteners. However, because the diet’s restrictions make it more difficult to follow, experts often recommend the Mediterranean diet instead, which also has a variety of other health benefits. A Mediterranean-style diet includes a high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seafood, whole grains, and olive oil, while restricting red and processed meats and sweets.

James Lewis, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the study’s principal researcher, said the findings are the beginning of being able to provide actionable dietary recommendations to help improve quality of life for IBD patients: “This research opens the door to more tailored dietary recommendations and additional research into how best to leverage diet to improve the quality of life for patients with Crohn’s disease.”