Which diet is easily tolerated for patients who have gastrointestinal disorder?

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Food Preparation and Meal Planning
Eating When You are in a Flare
Eating When You are in Remission

It’s not always easy knowing what foods best fuel your body, especially when you have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Your diet and nutrition are a major part of life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), yet there is no single diet that works for everyone.

Nutrition affects not just your IBD symptoms, but also your overall health and well-being. Without proper nutrients, the symptoms of your Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can cause serious complications, including nutrient deficiencies, weight loss, and malnutrition.

We have several tips for a healthy diet that’s well-balanced and nutrient rich. These tips are for educational purposes only. You should work with your doctor or a dietitian specializing in IBD to help you develop a personalized meal plan.

Watch our Facebook Live conversation with Emily Haller, registered dietitian at Michigan Medicine! Tune in to hear Emily review diet facts, debunk myths, speak about restrictions, and highlight ongoing research.

Food Preparation and Meal Planning

While there is no one-size-fits-all for meal planning, these tips can help guide you toward better daily nutrition:

Eat four to six small meals daily.
Stay hydrated — drink enough to keep your urine light yellow to clear — with water, broth, tomato juice, or a rehydration solution.
Drink slowly and avoid using a straw, which can cause you to ingest air, which may cause gas.
Prepare meals in advance, and keep your kitchen stocked with foods that you tolerate well (see list below).
Use simple cooking techniques — boil, grill, steam, poach.
Use a food journal to keep track of what you eat and any symptoms you may experience.

Eating When You are in a Flare

There are certain foods you may want to avoid when you are in an IBD flare, and others that may help you get the right amount of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals without making your symptoms worse.

Your healthcare team may put you on an elimination diet, in which you avoid certain foods in order to identify which trigger symptoms. This process will help you identify common foods to avoid during a flare. Elimination diets should only be done under the supervision of your healthcare team and a dietitian so they can make sure you are still receiving the necessary nutrients.

Some foods may trigger cramping, bloating, and/or diarrhea. Many trigger foods should also be avoided if you have been diagnosed with a stricture, a narrowing of the intestine caused by inflammation or scar tissue, or have had a recent surgery. Certain foods can be easier to digest and can provide you with the necessary nutrients your body needs.

Potential Trigger Foods	Foods IBD Patients May Tolerate
Insoluble fiber foods that are hard to digest: fruits with skin and seeds, raw green vegetables (especially cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, or anything with a peel), whole nuts, and whole grains	Low-fiber fruits: bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and cooked fruits. This is typically recommended in patients who have strictures or have had a recent surgery
Lactose: sugar found in dairy, such as milk, cream cheese, and soft cheeses	Lean protein: fish, lean cuts of pork, white meat poultry, soy, eggs, and firm tofu
Non-absorbable sugars: sorbitol, mannitol, and other sugar alcohols found in sugar-free gum, candy, ice cream, and certain types of fruits and juices such as pear, peach, and prune	Refined grains: sourdough, potato or gluten-free bread, white pasta, white rice, and oatmeal
Sugary foods: pastries, candy, and juices	Fully cooked, seedless, skinless, non-cruciferous vegetables: asparagus tips, cucumbers, potatoes, and squash
High fat foods: butter, coconut, margarine, and cream, as well as fatty, fried, or greasy food	Oral nutritional supplements or homemade protein shakes: ask your doctor or your dietitian about what supplements may fit your nutritional needs
Alcohol and caffeinated drinks: beer, wine, liquor, soda, and coffee
Spicy foods: “hot” spices

Eating When You are in Remission

It’s important to maintain a diverse and nutrient-rich diet even when you are in remission and your symptoms have subsided, or even disappeared. Introduce new foods slowly. Remember to stay hydrated with water, broth, tomato juice, and rehydration solutions. Consult with your doctor or dietitian before making any changes to your diet.

These foods can help you stay healthy and hydrated:

Fiber-rich foods: oat bran, beans, barley, nuts, and whole grains, unless you have an ostomy, intestinal narrowing, or if your doctor advises you to continue a low-fiber diet due to strictures, or recent surgery
Protein: lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, and tofu
Fruits and vegetables: try to eat as many “colors” as you can, and remove the peel and seeds if they bother you
Calcium-rich foods: collard greens, yogurt, kefir, and milk (if you are lactose intolerant, choose lactose-free dairy products or use a lactase digestive enzyme)
Food with probiotics: yogurt, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, and tempeh

From the moment you put food in your mouth, your digestive system is hard at work. Think of it as a choreographed ballet in which your body performs the many steps needed to break down the foods you eat and unlock the vitamins, minerals, calories, fats, carbs, and proteins you need. It then efficiently clean sweeps what’s left and sends it out of the body.

You likely don’t think about such complex mechanisms until something goes wrong. Fortunately, you can take steps to avoid issues like cramping, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. One of the easiest digestive health tips is to fuel up with foods that are good for digestion.

“The best way to do that is to have a well-rounded diet, having adequate fiber from a diverse source of fruits and vegetables of different colors that feed different bacteria in the microbiome,” says Suzie Finkel, RD, a dietitian at New York Gastroenterology Associates in New York City. The gut microbiome is where trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi live in the digestive tract.

The body uses the nutrients from food for energy, growth, and cellular repair. But when your digestive process goes awry, whether from overeating or eating foods that disagree with you, it likely means you need to clean up your diet and review the rules of good nutrition again.

The 2020–2025 U.S. federal guidelines on diet (PDF) suggest that all Americans eat a variety of healthy foods, balancing how much food you eat with how much energy you expend so you don’t gain an unhealthy amount of weight.

Suggested foods include:

Fat-free or low-fat dairy products
Fruits, vegetables, unsalted nuts and seeds, and whole grains
Lean meats, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, soy products, and eggs

But what if foods such as dairy cause digestion issues? If you can’t tolerate the lactose in dairy, try lactose-free products, such as soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, and coconut milk.

Lactose is simply the sugar in dairy products that causes GI issues in some people. According to Mayo Clinic, this condition, called lactose malabsorption, is generally harmless, but may lead to:

Bloating
Diarrhea
Gas
Nausea or vomiting
Stomach upset

Fiber is the indigestible part of plant food that helps us stay regular. It passes through the intestines, feeding the gut bacteria responsible for healthy digestion. It also adds bulk to our stool and eases bowel movements.

The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends women eat 25 grams (g) of daily fiber a day, and men eat 38 g. If you’re not getting enough fiber, consider swapping foods high in fat and sugar for fiber-rich foods like beans, legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts and whole-grains like brown rice.

“Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables provides a lot of nutritional density in a small amount of calories,” says Finkel.

High-fiber foods include:

Apple with skin
Artichokes
Baked beans
Barley
Black beans
Bran flakes
Broccoli
Green beans
Green peas
Lentils
Lima beans
Pear with skin
Raspberries
Split peas
Turnip greens
Whole wheat spaghetti

“When thinking of digestion, it’s good to look at avoiding foods that cause inflammation,” says Finkel. She suggests following an anti-inflammatory diet, which is beneficial to overall health, as well as digestion.

And there are more delicious foods good for digestion. Put the following superfoods on your plate and discover how with a little ingenuity, staying “regular” can be delicious.

1 tbsp coarse sugar, divided

Fresh berries, for garnish

Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Prep the grapefruit: Cut it in half, and then slice the fruit into segments. (To help stabilize the fruit, cut a little bit of the skin off the bottom.)

Sprinkle coarse sugar on both halves of grapefruit. Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar. You want the sugar to turn deep golden brown and form a crust on top of the fruit.

Garnish with fresh berries and mint leaves. Enjoy!

You may think of sauerkraut as just something to pile on a hot dog, but chomping on the popular condiment actually helps digestion. That’s because sauerkraut and other fermented foods contain beneficial bacteria that make them easier to digest, and their prebiotic fibers feed the helpful gut bugs living in your colon. Other fermented fare you may want to try are kefir (made from fermented milk), kimchi (Korean pickled cabbage), and miso (a Japanese paste made of fermented soybeans).

“Fermented foods eaten as an appetizer are a staple of different traditional cultures because of how they prepare the GI tract for digestion,” says Finkel.

Word to the wise though: Go easy on fermented foods at first. Too much too fast can lead to a bout of cramping and diarrhea.

Fiber — it’s essential for digestion. Beans, such as navy, kidney, and black beans, are an easy way to hit that daily target. Navy beans have a whopping 19 g of fiber per cup, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Good news for those worried about having too much gas from high-fiber foods: Research published in Nutrition Journal showed that people had less gas than they thought they would when upping black-eyed peas consumption. Only half of participants reported any increase in gas at first and, by the end of the first week, that number had dropped to just 19 percent, making eating black-eyed peas a digestive tip you can live with. The study also looked at tolerance for baked beans and pinto beans and found that tolerance for all of these increased over time.

The fuzzy fruit packed with vitamin C is making waves in the gastrointestinal community since a study published in June 2021 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that people who ate two kiwis a day were relieved of their constipation better than patients who consumed prunes or psyllium. The group assigned kiwis also had fewer negative side-effects and enjoyed their high-fiber food most.

“We really want people to use whole foods to help their digestion and kiwis are a great way to help yourself out,” says Finkel. “They’re tasty, enjoyable, and easy to eat.”

Our digestive tract is full of bacteria, fungi, and even viruses. The collection of these microorganisms live in delicate balance in the gut microbiome, which is why what you feed your microbiome can make a difference. Eating foods like yogurt that contain probiotics — certain microorganisms that reportedly play a role in digestion, support immune system, and manage inflammation. A study published in August 2021 in Nutrients found that yogurt with a specific probiotic strain helped protect the gut microbiome from changes due to taking antibiotics that lead to diarrhea.

“We encourage probiotics,” says the gastroenterologist Peter L. Moses, MD, a professor in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington.

If you’re not a yogurt fan, don’t fret: Dr. Moses says that some supplements contain better strains of probiotics, but he adds a disclaimer. “The evidence for a therapeutic effect of probiotics alone is lacking. Like any nonscientific therapeutic, probiotics are encouraged when they are part of a program that patients find clearly helpful for symptoms. Such a program may include prebiotic fiber and other proven recommendations.”

A review published in June 2021 in Microrganisms found evidence lacking that probiotic supplementation improved digestive health in the elderly, though some small studies did find that probiotic supplementation improved chronic constipation.

Fish oil can benefit not only your heart, but your digestive tract as well because the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil tamp down inflammation. To start, you can try to move toward a Mediterranean diet and add fatty fish like salmon, halibut, and mackerel to your diet.

What doctors and researchers know now is that people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), one of the most common reasons for visiting a gastroenterologist, may not be consuming enough of the omega-3 fatty acids from fish. In a small study published in 2017 the journal Medicine, researchers looked at the level of fatty acids in 30 Asian women with IBS versus 39 Asian women without the disorder. They found that women with IBS not only had higher levels of depression, but they also had higher levels of unhealthy saturated fats in their blood, and lower levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

While a study published in December 2020 in Gut Microbes found that six weeks of taking omega-3 supplements induced small changes in the composition of the gut microbiome, supporting the theory that omega-3 fatty acids could have a prebiotic effect on the gut, but more research is needed to understand its role and mechanism in the gut.

Tumeric, a spice loaded with curcumin, has anti-inflammatory properties shown to help in a range of conditions triggered by inflammation, including heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and even depression, according to a paper published in November 2021 in Drug Design, Development and Therapy. The research also noted that curcumin helps regulate the gut microbiota, bring relief to people with IBD, and reduce inflammation that could likely lead to colon cancer.

“Curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory that can help soothe the digestive tract when you are suffering from an inflammation-related issue,” says Finkel.

A traditional Asian remedy for tummy aches and nausea and a favorite condiment used in Japanese cuisine, ginger is also a powerful anti-inflammatory, making it another good food for digestion and a natural digestive aid.

And there’s research to back up ginger’s benefits: Ginger is a food that helps digestion by speeding up the process that moves food from the stomach into the upper small intestine. A January 2020 review published in the journal Nutrients noted that several studies found ginger was associated with improved digestive functioning. It also pointed to studies that found ginger reduced nausea, motion sickness, and the risk of colon cancer.

Soothing, aromatic peppermint may help ease indigestion as well as some symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, making it a go-to natural treatment for gastroenterologists.

“It’s inexpensive, nonaddictive with little to no side-effects, and it’s highly effective,” says Brian Lacy, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

Peppermint oil can be included in many recipes or even tea, but more often is taken as a coated supplement, which allows it to pass into the digestive tract without causing heartburn, according to the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health. Digestion tip: Taking peppermint oil (in small intestinal release form) for at least four weeks has been shown to significantly reduce IBS symptoms. It appears to work as an antispasmodic, smoothing out and relaxing the bowels, according to a study published in 2020 in Gastroenterology.

Fluids play an essential role in partnership with fiber to get solids through your system since water helps your body break down and digest food, according to Mayo Clinic. “Hydration and water are friends,” says Finkel. In fact, one of the easiest digestive tips to follow is to stay hydrated throughout the day. Water is a great choice to speed digestion, but almost any non-alcoholic fluid will do. Be careful with caffeinated beverages and sodas if you have reflux — they can be triggers for heartburn, and caffeine acts as a mild diuretic.

Additional reporting by Jordan M. Davidson.