Low Microparticle Diet Shows Promise in Crohn’s Disease
This study took patients with Crohn’s disease off of all inorganic molecules, with titanium dioxide being one of the chemicals (titanium dioxide is a commonly used food additive). So, basically, these patients were put on a whole-food, low processed diet. This is ALWAYS a recommendation for just about any health condition; and in Crohn’s disease other nutrients like glutamine and probiotics would be added into the mix.
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2001;13:101-106 A diet low in microparticulate contaminants may promote remission in patients with Crohn’s disease. Dr. Jonathan J. Powell and colleagues, from St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, note that they have recently identified inorganic microparticles within intestinal phagocytes, and that microparticles may induce inflammation in susceptible individuals. To examine the effect of reducing microparticle intake, the investigators randomized 20 patients with active Crohn’s disease to receive a low microparticle diet or a control diet for 4 months. In keeping with current thoughts about Crohn’s disease, fibrous fruit and vegetables were avoided in both groups. The intervention diet excluded foods that could contain microparticles of titanium dioxide and aluminosilicates. Fresh fruit and vegetables were peeled and washed to minimize soil contamination. Filtered water was used for all activities where ingestion might occur and toothpastes and pharmaceuticals that might contain titanium dioxide were avoided. Except for a diminished calcium requirement, the diet met UK standards for energy and nutrient intake. Over the 4-month period, the Crohn’s disease activity index decreased significantly in the trial group and seven patients achieved disease remission, Dr. Powell and colleagues report. This beneficial result did not occur in the control group and none of these patients achieved disease remission. The trial group also showed a trend toward a greater reduction in corticosteroid intake compared with the control group. “This is the first study of the tolerability and efficacy of a diet that is low in inorganic microparticles,” the investigators point out. The beneficial results achieved with this diet may “explain the efficacy of elemental/polymeric diets, although, compared to [the low microparticle] diet, they are more expensive, less palatable and patients would probably be less compliant,” the researchers emphasize.