Ultra-processed foods can lead to debilitating bouts of intestinal disease, a new study has found.
Poor diet has long been associated with the onset of Crohn’s disease, but now researchers have discovered that there are specific high-risk food groups that can cause a serious relapse.
The study, presented this week at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) conference in Vienna, Austria, found that ultra-processed products such as bread, pastries and starch, as well as oil and spreads, increased the risk of the disease will return.
Around half a million Britons suffer from Crohn’s disease, which causes agonizing pain, diarrhoea, exhaustion and extreme weight loss.
The disease can also cause the intestines to narrow, making it difficult for food to pass through.
A new study presented at the United European Gastroenterology conference has found that ultra-processed foods can lead to debilitating flare-ups of intestinal diseases (file image)
Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are foods that have a large number of ingredients not commonly found in home kitchens.
About a third of patients suffering from this condition, in which the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed, will need surgery.
However, this latest research found that the diet is likely to cause severe symptoms to return even when controlled with medication.
The study followed more than 100 people with Crohn’s disease for a year and marked when they suffered a relapse, a flare so severe that it led to a change in medication, hospitalization or surgery.
More than double the number of participants who ate ultra-processed foods ended up relapsing.
The study authors also noted that a “Western diet” is associated with the recurrence of symptoms. They also said more research needs to be done into the link with emulsifiers, which are found in ultra-processed foods, as that may be the real cause of the problem.
Last year, a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journal found that a diet rich in ultra-processed foods increases the chances of developing Crohn’s disease by 70 percent.
However, the latest research is the first to show the impact after treatment. Experts are now calling for the research to inform the treatment of people with Crohn’s disease.
“In addition to treating active inflammatory bowel disease, we want to maintain long-term remission,” says Dr. Chen Sarbagili Shabat, a clinical dietitian at Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel.
‘It is very important that we know that environmental factors are associated with the disease, which is why we can treat active disease with diet. Likewise, we can control Crohn’s disease in remission with diet.’