Eating more fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods may help lower the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Researchers followed more than 143,000 adults in the United Kingdom for an average of 14.5 years. During that time, 1,117 participants were diagnosed with IBD, including 795 cases of ulcerative colitis and 322 cases of Crohn’s disease.
Those who followed a healthy plant-based diet had a 14% lower risk of Crohn’s disease and an 8% lower risk of ulcerative colitis. In contrast, participants who followed an unhealthy plant-based diet — one that included more refined grains, sweets, vegetable oils and animal fats — had a 15% higher risk of Crohn’s disease.
“Our research indicates that a healthy plant-based diet may protect against inflammatory bowel disease, with its anti-inflammatory properties playing a key role,” said Dr. Zhe Shen, corresponding author and a researcher at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China.
Blood analyses suggest that the anti-inflammatory compounds in plant-based foods may help explain the protective effect. Fruits and vegetables were highlighted as especially beneficial.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a group of conditions marked by chronic inflammation in the digestive tract. It can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue and weight loss, and often requires long-term management.
The study was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China and the Zhejiang Province High-Level Talent Science and Technology Innovation Program. It was published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, a peer-reviewed journal focused on nutrition, microbiome science and food-related health outcomes.