Crohns-Disease Explained

Crohn’s Disease

Elimination Diet
Some people with Crohn’s disease have improved after avoiding allergenic foods. Common culprits are grains, dairy, and yeast. An elimination diet can help uncover your sensitivities.
Elimination Diet
×
Some people with Crohn’s disease have food allergies and have been reported to do better when they avoid foods to which they are allergic. One study found that people with Crohn’s disease are most likely to react to cereals, dairy, and yeast.³⁹ Increasingly, baker’s yeast (found in bread and other bakery goods) has been implicated as a possible trigger for Crohn’s disease.⁴⁰ Yeast and some cheeses are high in histamine, which is involved in an allergenic response. People with Crohn’s disease lack the ability to break down histamine at a normal rate,⁴¹ so the link between yeast and dairy consumption and Crohn’s disease occurrence may not be coincidental. However, the allergy theory cannot account for all, or even most, cases of Crohn’s disease.

High-Fiber Diet
A high-fiber, low-sugar diet has been shown to be beneficial in people with Crohn’s disease. Doctors often suggest eliminating all sugar (including soft drinks and processed foods) from the diet.
High-Fiber Diet
×
A person with Crohn’s disease might consume more sugar than the average healthy person.⁴² A high-fiber, low-sugar diet led to a 79% reduction in hospitalizations compared with no dietary change in one group of people with Crohn’s disease.⁴³ Another trial compared the effects of high- and low-sugar diets in people with Crohn’s disease.⁴⁴ People with a more active disease were reported to fare better on the low-sugar diet than those eating more sugar. Several people on the high-sugar diet had to stop eating sugar because their disease grew worse. While details of how sugar injures the intestine are still being uncovered, doctors often suggest eliminating all sugar (including soft drinks and processed foods with added sugar) from the diets of those with Crohn’s disease.

Fruit and Vegetables
A diet high in animal protein and fat (from foods other than fish) has been linked to Crohn’s disease. People may benefit from eating less meat and dairy fat and more fruits and vegetables.
Fruit and Vegetables
×
A diet high in animal protein and fat (from foods other than fish) has been linked to Crohn’s disease in preliminary research.⁴⁵ As with many other health conditions, it may be beneficial to eat less meat and dairy fat and more fruits and vegetables.

Nuts, Fruit, and Tomatoes
Nuts, raw fruit, and tomatoes were reported in one study to be problematic for people with Crohn’s disease, though other reports have uncovered reactions to different foods.
Nuts, Fruit, and Tomatoes
×
In one trial, people with Crohn’s disease were asked which foods aggravated their symptoms.⁴⁶ Those without ileostomies found nuts, raw fruit, and tomatoes to be most problematic, though responses varied from person to person, and other reports have displayed different lists.⁴⁷ (Ileostomies are surgical passages through the wall of the abdomen into the intestine that allow the intestinal contents to bypass the rectum and drain into a bag worn on the abdomen.) People with Crohn’s disease wishing to identify and avoid potential allergens should consult a doctor.

Fast Food
People who eat fast foods at least two times per week may more than triple their risk of developing Crohn’s disease.
Fast Food
×
There is preliminary evidence that people who eat fast foods at least two times per week more than triple their risk of developing Crohn’s disease.⁴⁸

Low-Allergen
Hypoallergenic diets have been used as a therapy in people with Crohn’s disease, although more research is needed to confirm any benefit.
Low-Allergen
×
Elemental diets contain amino acids (rather than whole proteins, which can stimulate allergic reactions) and are therefore considered hypoallergenic. They have been used extensively as primary therapy in people with Crohn’s disease,⁴⁹^,50^,51 with remission rates comparable to those of steroid drugs. Nevertheless, diets containing intact proteins derived from dairy and wheat have proven equally effective at controlling the symptoms of Crohn’s disease.⁵²^,53^,54 Until more is known, it is premature to conclude that food allergy plays a significant role in the development of Crohn’s disease or that a hypoallergenic diet is any more likely to help than a diet whose protein is only partially broken down.