Researchers compared the effectiveness of a Mediterranean style diet to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in nearly 200 Crohn's disease patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms on stable doses of medications. With both diets, nearly half of the patients experienced resolution of their symptoms. After six weeks, 43.5% of patients following a Mediterranean style diet and 46.5% of patients following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet achieved symptomatic remission.

While the Specific Carbohydrate Diet has typically been popular among IBD patients, public health experts often recommend a Mediterranean style diet because it has a variety of other health benefits. Researchers from the DINE-CD study also note that it is easier to follow than Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Dietary fiber is found in plant foods such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Past studies found that dietary fiber can affect bacterial colonies in your stomach and intestines. However, there is limited information about how dietary fiber affects inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms. In this study, we looked at fiber consumption and whether it was associated with flares in adults with IBD. A total of 1619 participants in CCFA Partners completed a diet survey and a follow-up survey 6 months later. We found that participants with Crohn's disease who reported eating the most fiber were less likely to have a flare within a 6 month period. In addition, participants with Crohn's disease who told us they did not avoid high fiber foods were about 40% less likely to have a flare than participants who told us they avoid high fiber foods. Interestingly, we did not find an association between fiber consumption and disease flares among participants with ulcerative colitis. In summary, eating foods high in fiber may help reduce risk of flares among patients with Crohn's disease.

Patients with celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder where eating gluten can damage the small intestine) benefit from a gluten free diet (GFD). Few data are available to tell us if patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) may also benefit from this diet. Individuals with GI symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and nausea can have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, for which a GFD can be beneficial. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity can also co-exist with IBD. We therefore asked patients enrolled in CCFA Partners whether they have ever tried a gluten free diet (GFD), whether they followed this diet closely, and whether it helped with any symptoms. A total of 1647 people took the survey on GFD. A total of 314 (19.1%) reported that they had ever tried a GFD and 135 (8.1%) were currently following the diet. Overall, 206/314 (65.6%) trying a GFD reported improvement in any GI symptom while on this diet. Over a 1/3 of people (38.3%) felt that they experienced fewer or less severe flares while on the diet. Improvements in clinical symptoms were reported for bloating (56.5%), diarrhea (42.6%), abdominal pain (41.5%), fatigue (27.5%), and nausea (26.3%) while on a GFD. Fatigue was significantly improved with excellent adherence to the diet. Because many patients had improved symptoms on the GFD, it is possible that patients with IBD could suffer from non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Fewer people who felt better on a GFD were taking biologics medications, suggesting that flare symptoms in those with more severe disease may not respond to a GFD. Future studies are needed to understand the benefits of this diet in IBD patients, and the mechanism of improvement with this dietary intervention.

People with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, often say that specific foods make their symptoms better or worse, but there is no good scientific evidence to support a specific diet. In this study, nearly 7,000 patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative completed a survey about the their diet and IBD symptoms. Yogurt and rice were most often reported to improve symptoms. Vegetables, fruit, spicy foods, fried foods, milk, red meat, soda, popcorn, dairy, alcohol, high fiber foods, fatty foods, seeds, coffee and beans were most frequently reported to worsen symptoms. In general, patients with ulcerative colitis ate more fruit, vegetables, beans and popcorn than patients with Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease patients with an ostomy tended to eat more cheese, sweetened beverages, milk, pizza and processed meats than Crohn's disease without an ostomy.