Mixed
Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with decreased mortality and lower disease activity in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), though direct causal evidence from large randomized controlled trials is currently lacking.
If you have IBD, increasing your adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil; low in red meat) is associated with lower mortality and reduced disease activity. While large randomized trials are still pending, current observational data strongly supports this as a beneficial adjunctive strategy.
A recent analysis of patients with IBD in three large cohorts... demonstrated an association with MD adherence and decreased mortality following IBD diagnosis (HR 0.69; 95% CI 0.49–0.98)... MD adherence was positively correlated with IBD questionnaire (IBDQ) scores... and negatively correlated with CRP values and the clinical Harvey–Bradshaw index (HBI)... A large cohort study that was recently published suggested that greater adherence to an MD was also associated with a lower risk of developing CD, but not UC.
Why this rating
Evidence consists of observational studies, small uncontrolled trials, and cohort studies; no large-scale RCTs confirming clinical remission are cited as completed.
Source
Therapeutic Implications of Diet in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Related Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases
Yan Jiang et al. · Nutrients · 2021
DOI 10.3390/nu13030890
More from this paper
- A Low FODMAP diet significantly improves functional gastrointestinal symptoms (pain, bloating, diarrhea) in IBD patients, but does not reduce underlying inflammatory disease activity.Good
- Gluten-free diets do not appear to impact IBD disease activity, hospitalization, or surgery rates, despite many patients self-reporting symptom improvement.Good
- Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) shows potential for improving disease activity and inflammatory markers in pediatric IBD, with some self-reported benefits in adults, but large-scale adult trials are needed.Moderate
Related findings · Mixed
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- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
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