Oral Diets and Nutrition Support for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: What Is the Evidence?

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which primarily includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, involves chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The mechanisms of IBD pathogenesis are not well understood at this time, but likely involve an interaction between genetic, gut microbial, immune, and environmental factors. Emerging epidemiologic studies have suggested a relationship between specific dietary nutrients as an environmental factor and IBD risk. Clinical trials have also shown oral diets to have variable efficacy in affecting clinical outcomes for IBD. This review discusses the key studies that evaluated the use of various oral diets as well as nutrition support in the management of IBD.