Diet and nutrition against inflammatory bowel disease: Trick or treat(ment)?

Core Tip

Core Tip: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is alarmingly growing worldwide, and there is still no efficient drug able to induce complete remission since IBD spreads. There is currently no consensus in the medical community about nutritional treatment for the IBD patients, and the role of diet in the disease course is often underestimated. Diet and nutrition seem to have a role not only in preventing the onset of the disease, but also in inducing and keeping temporary remission. Whether specific diets have potential to cure the disease is still uncertain and much research is still needed to clarify their role in this sense. In our opinion, diet and nutrition should be classified as pure treatments against IBD, as it happens for steroids, azathiopirine, mesalazine, or others, and their administration should be indicated by nutrition specialists, with the greatest degree of customization of dosages and dietary plans.