The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) says conclusive evidence that directly connects specific foods to the development of Crohn's disease remains lacking. However, because the origin of Crohn's, according to the CCFA, is a complex interaction between the immune system, genetics and environment--including diet--knowing for sure that nutrition is noncontributory is difficult to prove. Accordingly, anecdotal and epidemiological information does correlate factors associated with imbalanced nutrition to the onset and progression of the disease process.
Location and Nutrition
Location as an environmental influence has been linked to the development of Crohn's disease. The CCFA.org article "About Crohn's Disease" says that for reasons that have yet to be determined, the incidence of Crohn's disease is greater in more developed countries, such as the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, Crohn's is more prevalent in urban than rural areas. The European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology article "The Urban Diet and Crohn's Disease: Is there a correlation?" investigates nutritional differences among these two communities. Parallels drawn by this study include the fact that urban diets are high in processed foods.
Food Additives and Preservatives
Processed foods generally tend to be higher in non-food ingredients such as microparticles found in soil and dust, additives and anti-caking agents such as titanium dioxide. These microparticles, or nanoparticles, according to the 2007 article "Biological Effects of Nanoparticles Used as Glidants in Powders," show immunological activity in intestinal cells when absorbed. The article suggests that this may be important for sufferers of Crohn's and mentioned a small study whereby removal of titanium dioxide from the diet resulted in improvement of Crohn's disease symptoms.
Food Sensitivities
Information from some Crohn's disease patients subjectively attributes worsening of their disease symptoms to the consumption of particular foods. The article "Nutrition in Crohn's Disease" lists the most common offenders as cereal grains, dairy, nuts, raw fruit, tomatoes and alcohol. The immune system responds to antigens, and although the CCFA disputes that there are antigens particular to any type of food that people with Crohn's disease consistently respond to, low-antigenic or elemental diets have been able to reduce symptoms and even induce extended remission in some patients. A 1993 article published in the journal Gut concluded that although variable, after elemental diets were applied, food sensitivities became evident.
High Sucrose Intake
The "Nutrition in Crohn's Disease" article also noted that epidemiological evidence illustrates a connection between increased sugar, or sucrose, consumption and the development of Crohn's disease. The aforementioned article on urban diets and Crohn's disease agrees with this conclusion. Finally, the 1997 Gut article "Pre-illness Dietary Factors in Inflammatory Bowel Disease" (IBD) also analyzed diets from 87 IBD patients, 33 of which had Crohn's, and noted that high sucrose consumption was positively associated with an increased risk of IBD.
Baking and Brewing Yeast
Two suspect organisms are potentially associated with Crohn's disease. One in particular is from a common dietary source, explains a 2004 article in Clinical and Experimental Immunology. According to the Saccharomyces Genome Database, S. cerevisiae is a yeast with a long history of use as a fermenting agent in the production of alcohol from various grains and as a baking yeast in the bread and pastry industry for the raising of dough. The 2004 article suggested S. cerevisiae may be a feature in the gut inflammation characteristic of Crohn's disease.
References
- Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America: About Crohn's Disease
- European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology: "The Urban Diet and Crohn's Disease--Is there a correlation?
- Powder Technology: Biological Effects of Nanoparticles Used as Gliadants in Powders
- Gut: Food Intolerance and Crohn's Disease
- Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England: "Nutrition in Crohn's Disease
