Role of Nutrition in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The persistent inflammation of the intestinal mucosa is the main characteristic of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a lifelong illness that affects people of both genders. The exact etiology is still undefined while previously it was attributed to genetic components. Later, it was investigated that the environment has an equal effect on the development of IBD encompassing both Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC). Among environmental risk factors linked to IBD, diet, notably the transition toward the Western diet, is the most noticeable element that contributes to IBD. This comprehensive overview summarizes the present literature on the role of food and food groups in IBD nutrition and management. Increased consumption of sugar, fats, and/or proteins, decreased consumption of fruits and vegetables, and increased use of emulsifiers or other binding compounds are among the most significant candidates that lead to inflammation in the intestines of healthy individuals. Furthermore, low dietary habits, including selective malnutrition, obesity, and sarcopenia, are linked with poor clinical results, treatment responsiveness, and, as a result, quality of life. Therefore, the trend in the management of IBD has shifted toward dietary therapies and strategies like Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), the Mediterranean diet (MD), Enteral Nutrition (EN), Crohn’s disease exclusion diet (CDED), Inflammatory bowel disease-Anti-inflammatory diet (IBD-AID), and others are reported to have had a positive association with reducing the underlying IBD symptoms and remission of intestinal homeostasis.