Because the cause of inflammatory bowel disease is unknown, there are currently no guidelines for reducing your risk of inflammatory bowel disease.
But, some evidence does suggest that eating a diet high in
fiber
and fruits may lower your risk of
Crohn's disease
. And a diet high in vegetables may lower your risk of
ulcerative colitis
.
As our understanding of the disease grows, your doctor may have more information regarding steps for reducing your risk of inflammatory bowel disease.
American Gastroenterological Association website. Available at:
http://www.gastro.org/
. Accessed March 6, 2006.
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America
website. Available at:
http://www.ccfa.org/
. Accessed March 6, 2006.
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse website. Available at:
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/
. Accessed March 6, 2006.
Primary Care Medicine
. 4th ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2000.
Rakel RE and Bope ET.
Conn's Current Therapy 2001
. 53rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Company; 2001.
6/17/2011 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance
DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance
: Hou JK, Abraham B, El-Serag H.
Dietary intake and risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review of the literature.
Am J Gastroenterol.
2011;106(4):563-573.