Responses of people with inflammatory bowel disease to foods consumed.

The purpose of this study was to assess the reactions of people with IBD to foods consumed. A database was created to capture the season of data collection, the disease, the food, and the subject's reaction to each food. A 122-item food list was used. Sixty patients with IBD (n = 33 persons with Crohn's disease, n = 27 persons with ulcerative colitis) completed the questionnaire about foods and their reactions to the foods in the fall and spring representing summer and winter consumption. Foods that made the subjects feel better and worse were identified. Although the original purpose of the study was to assess people with IBD as a group, it became apparent that reactions to foods were different according to whether a subject had Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Failure to distinguish between the two diseases and use only the pooled data made the data meaningless. The importance of this finding and themes related to foods that had a positive or negative effect on the subjects is discussed in this article.