Author: GALLAND L.

Study Puspose: To determine whether dietary modification and nutritional supplementation for adult patients with Crohn's disease can relieve symptoms, induce clinical remission, and decrease the use of anti-inflammatory and immune suppressive drugs.

Methods: …The dietary treatment was administered in a tiered fashion. The initial diet was a grain free, low disaccharide diet (the specific carbohydrate diet, SCD); this was followed for 30 days. If a symptom reduction of 50 percent or more occurred the diet was maintained and nutritional supplementation was begun with fish oil capsules supplying 875 mg of EPA per day and a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral preparation supplying 400 mg of vitamin E, 20 mg of zinc, 200 mcg of selenium, 800 mcg of folic acid. If there was less than a 50 percent reduction in symptoms, additional dietary changes were made on an individual basis…

Results: All 20 patients demonstrated a decrease in symptoms and reduction in medication use. Six patients have entered complete clinical remission, discontinued all medication, and maintained remission for five to 80 months. The most rapid response in this category belongs to a 28 year old male who presented with daily fevers of 40 degrees C, bloody diarrhea six times per day, a serum albumen of 2.6 g/dl, ESR of 90 and oxalic acid excretion of 164mg per day, despite the use of azathioprine 100 mg per day and prednisone 40mg per day. This patient achieved complete clinical and laboratory remission during the first 60 days and has maintained remission for three years. For the remaining 14 patients, reduction in symptoms scores were from 90 percent to 40percent (mean reduction of 65 percent)…

Discussion AND Conclusions: …Individualized dietary modification and nutritional supplementation was associated with a reduction in symptoms, induction of clinical remission, and decreased use of medication. All patients in this study were already receiving conventional therapy. Further studies are warranted to determine whether individualized nutritional therapy should be considered first line treatment of adult Crohn's disease.

Link: http://www.mdheal.org/crohn%27s.htm

• Nutritional Therapy For Crohn's Disease
• Sugar-Free Diet as Long-Term or Interval Treatment in the Remission Phase of Crohn Disease--a Prospective Study
• Low-Sugar and Fiber-Rich Diet in Crohn Disease
• Treatment of Crohn's Disease with an Unrefined-Carbohydrate, Fibre-Rich Diet