Nutrition and IBD

While diet does not cause Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, certain foods or drinks may exacerbate symptoms.

Avoid Your Troublesome Foods

Those with IBD are suggested to remove “trigger” foods one at a time from their diet to see if particular items flare symptoms. However, it is important to note that everyone is different and the foods or drinks that exacerbate symptoms vary from person to person and diets should be personalized.

In any case, here is a list of some troublesome foods:

• Spicy foods
• Alcohol
• High fiber foods
• Fried foods
• Raw fruits & vegetables
• Whole grains
• Nuts & seeds
• Beans
• Coffee
• Diary products (if lactose intolerant)

Again, no two people are the same, so this list may not be applicable for you.

Discover What are Your Trigger Foods

To discover what foods bother you, we recommend doing a trial and error. You should do this by removing a trigger food group for a few days in a row—not just for one day—and taking note of how you feel. It may be helpful to write down or journal your response to removing trigger foods. This way, you can show your dietician or doctor exactly how you felt when a particular item was removed and can help tailor your diet to what works best for you.

When removing trigger food groups from your diet, it is important to remove items one at a time. If you take several out of your diet at the same time and feel better, you won’t be able to decipher which was the culprit for exacerbating your symptoms.

A helpful tool in assessing your diet’s role in IBD is to keep a food journal. Some benefits of food journaling include:

• Help to remember what you’ve eaten each day
• Assess response when eliminating trigger foods
• Tangible items discuss when meeting with Nutritionist or Physician
• A method of mindful eating
• Prevent eating out of boredom
• Track calories

Again, everyone is different. Some people with IBD may not have any foods that cause flare ups while others are affected by certain dishes. Therefore, we suggest that you find a diet that works best for you to prevent you from experiencing IBD symptoms.