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World J Exp Med. Jan 20, 2021; 11(1): 1-16
Published online Jan 20, 2021. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v11.i1.1
Role of diet and nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease
Marina Moreira de Castro, Lívia Bitencourt Pascoal, Karine Mariane Steigleder, Beatriz Piatezzi Siqueira, Ligiana Pires Corona, Maria de Lourdes Setsuko Ayrizono, Marciane Milanski, Raquel Franco Leal
Marina Moreira de Castro, Lívia Bitencourt Pascoal, Karine Mariane Steigleder, Maria de Lourdes Setsuko Ayrizono, Marciane Milanski, Raquel Franco Leal, IBD Research Laboratory, Colorectal Surgery Unit, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-878, São Paulo, Brazil
Marina Moreira de Castro, Marciane Milanski, Laboratory of Metabolic Disorders, School of Applied Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-878, São Paulo, Brazil
Beatriz Piatezzi Siqueira, Laboratory of Metabolic Disorders, School of Applied Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Limeira 13484-350, São Paulo, Brazil
Ligiana Pires Corona, Laboratory of Nutritional Epidemiology, School of Applied Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Limeira 13484-350, São Paulo, Brazil
Author contributions: All authors wrote this manuscript and contributed to its final revision.
Supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), No. 301388/2018-0 and 140520/2019-8; and the Funding for Education, Research and Extension Support from the University of Campinas (FAEPEX).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Raquel Franco Leal, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, IBD Research Laboratory, Colorectal Surgery Unit, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Carlos Chagas Street, 420, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Campinas 13083-878, São Paulo, Brazil. rafranco.unicamp@gmail.com
Received: June 11, 2020
Peer-review started: June 11, 2020
First decision: October 21, 2020
Revised: November 2, 2020
Accepted: November 11, 2020
Article in press: November 11, 2020
Published online: January 20, 2021
Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are closely linked to nutrition. The latest research indicates that diet and nutrition are significantly involved in the etiopathogenesis of the disease, although their specific role throughout its clinical course still remains unclear. This study reviewed how diet and nutrition are associated with IBD development and management. Even though specific diets have been shown to bring about positive outcomes, there is currently no scientific consensus regarding an appropriate diet that would benefit all IBD patients. We suggest that individualized dietary recommendations are of the greatest importance and that diets should be planned to provide individual IBD patients with specific nutrient requirements while keeping all the clinical aspects of the patients in mind. Further research is clearly necessary to investigate nutritional factors involved in IBD development and, especially, to evaluate the applications of the diets during the course of the disease.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis, Inflammatory bowel disease, Diet, Nutrition

Core Tip: Although inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects the gastrointestinal tract, the role of diet in the course of disease is often underestimated. Many studies have assessed the effect of diet in the risk of developing IBD, and the importance of nutrition in the etiopathogenesis of IBD was confirmed by the fast increase in its incidence and prevalence over the last two decades. We discuss the role of diet and nutrition in the etiology and management of IBD based on the data provided in the literature and set out an agenda for future research.