IBD patients may experience improvements with a Mediterranean diet
A study published in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases suggests that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may experience improvements in malnutrition-related parameters and steatosis if they eat a Mediterranean diet.
A study published in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases suggests that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may experience improvements in malnutrition-related parameters and steatosis if they eat a Mediterranean diet.
The researchers analyzed data on 84 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 58 with Crohn’s disease (CD). At the outset, participants filled out questionnaires designed to evaluate quality of life and underwent clinical and disease activity evaluation, including abdominal ultrasound to assess possible steatosis. The participants agreed to adhere to a Mediterranean diet, characterized by the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, red wine, and yogurt, for six months. To stay on course, the participants received dietary counseling from a nutritionist.
At baseline, 43 UC patients and 30 CD patients were obese. After six months, among patients with UC, BMI had decreased by a mean of 0.42 points and waist circumference by a mean of 1.25 cm; among those with CD, BMI had decreased by 0.48 points and waist circumference by 1.4 cm.
Seven UC patients (8.33%) showed high-grade, 13 (15.48%) moderate-grade, and 11 (13.09%) mild-grade liver steatosis at baseline. After six months on a Mediterranean diet, liver steatosis was high grade in only three UC patients (3.57%), moderate in nine (10.71%), and mild in six (7.14%). Similarly, at baseline, 31 CD patients (53.45%) had no signs of steatosis; six (10.34%) had mild, 10 (17.24%) moderate, and 11 (18.97%) high-grade liver steatosis. After six months, 40 CD patients (68.97%) had no evidence of steatosis, with 10 (17.24%) having mild, six (10.34%) moderate, and two (3.45%) high-grade steatosis.
Over the six months, the number of UC patients with active disease also declined to four (6.8%) from 14 (23.7%) at baseline, and among those with CD, the number with active disease declined to two (3.8%) from nine (17%) at baseline.
The researchers concluded that the “data indicate that the adherence to short-term Mediterranean diet not only improved obesity-related parameters and liver steatosis in both CD and UC but also significantly reduced disease activity and inflammation-related biomarkers.”