Kids' IBD Better Avoiding Sugar & Grains

Anti-inflammation eating can help IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be a difficult problem for children and adults, but recent research has confirmed the benefit of avoiding inflammatory foods like sugar and grains.

Conventional Medical Treatment for IBD

IBD conditions like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease can cause severe digestive problems ranging from abdominal pain, to fluctuations between excessive or infrequent bowel movements. These conditions are conventionally treated with medications and some diet changes to reduce flare-ups of symptoms. Because of the common risks associated with immunosupressive medications (medications that reduce the strength of the immune system), researchers studied the effectiveness of dietary changes alone for children with mild to moderate IBD.

Less Inflammatory Food = Less IBD

Researchers found that dietary changes alone (without the use of medication) could induce remission in children with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. "This diet removes proinflammatory carbohydrates such as simple sugars and sweeteners (honey excepted), starches, grains, some legumes, and all dairy products other than hard cheese and yogurt fermented for 24 hours."

Sugars and sweeteners are well known to be inflammatory, but many patients and even health care providers don't realize that grains are also inflammatory regardless of their gluten content. The diet studied is similar to a paleo diet which focuses on whole unprocessed foods including vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, good quality meats (pasture-raised), and healthy fats.

Avoiding inflammatory foods in favor of real whole foods can produce great health benefits and is a good place to start for anyone experiencing digestive problems. Whether you have IBD or not, try eating an anti-inflammation diet that avoids sugars and grains to improve your health.

---