Inflammatory bowel disease is a debilitating condition involving severe bouts of diarrhea and even manifestations outside the digestive tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Individuals who may be prone to developing these disorders may now be able to exert some control. A study published in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (2005;11:154-163) showed that certain dietary factors may influence the chance of developing IBD.
Researchers conducted a small case controlled study involving thirteen hospitals in Japan. They administered food frequency questionnaires to subjects who were classed in three groups:
(1) Crohn's disease
(2) ulcerative colitis or
(3) matched control to assess their diets prior to diagnosis.
Subjects with IBD had been diagnosed within the last three years. From the data, they were able to compile a list of dietary factors that either increased or decreased the risk of IBD. Eating sweets increased the risk of ulcerative colitis, while taking vitamin C reduced the risk. For Crohn's disease, consumption of sugars and sweeteners, sweets, fats and oils, fish and shellfish, vitamin E and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were all associated with increased risk. The finding that n-3 fatty acids increased the risk of Crohn's disease is surprising as fish oil has been shown to be effective in treating the disease. However, the results of this study are considered preliminary because of the retrospective collection of dietary data and the small sample size. A larger prospective study is required to more clearly elucidate dietary factors that influence IBD.
Posted by Kristopher Foster on May 4, 2006 02:54 PM
