Diet and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are increasingly becoming interested in nonpharmacologic approaches to managing their disease. One of the most frequently asked questions of IBD patients is what they should eat. The role of diet has become very important in the prevention and treatment of IBD. Although there is a general lack of rigorous scientific evidence that demonstrates which diet is best for certain patients, several diets—such as the low-fermentable oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide, and polyol diet; the specific carbohydrate diet; the anti-inflammatory diet; and the Paleolithic diet—have become popular. This article discusses the diets commonly recommended to IBD patients and reviews the supporting data.