Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory condition without known cause. The inflammation can occur at any point throughout the gastrointestinal tract and commonly causes nutrient malabsorption, as well as symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, altered bowel habits and occasionally bleeding.

There is no special diet for Crohn’s disease, nor other types of inflammatory bowel disease, however, manipulation of certain dietary components can help through different stages of disease.

During a flare up, when inflammation and symptoms are severe, a low residue diet may be recommended. This is usually only a short term requirement. If you have been advised to follow a low residue or low fibre diet, our dietitians can explain what the low residue diet entails and liaise with your specialist to determine when it is appropriate for you to return to normal diet. Nutrient deficiencies, particularly iron, B12 and folate are common in Crohn’s disease and dietary intake may be encouraged by the dietitian on assessment. When the disease is quiescent (not active, minimal inflammation) a normal diet is appropriate. For some people however, despite the fact their disease is well controlled, gastrointestinal symptoms can be considerable. It is likely in this case that you have IBS or another functional gut disorder as well as Crohn’s disease and therefore dietary strategies that alleviate IBS symptoms are likely to be beneficial