The relationship between habits of food consumption and reported reactions to food in people with inflammatory bowel disease--testing the limits.

Anecdotally, people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) report that some foods make them feel better and some foods make them feel worse. This paper reports about the relationship between food habits and reactions to foods in people with IBD. A database was designed to incorporate the date of data collection, the IBD disease, food habits, the quantity consumed and a response rating of the subjects' reactions to each food. For each of 122 foods, subjects were asked simultaneously about these five categories. Thirty three subjects with Crohn's disease and 27 with ulcerative colitis completed the questionnaire in two seasons. The focus of the examination was directed to the upper and lower limit of reactions to foods. Foods that affect people negatively and foods that affect people positively were identified in relation to habits of consumption. Foods that affect people negatively were among those never consumed while foods that affect people positively were among the regularly consumed foods. Findings included an increased number of foods that caused problems for people with Crohn's disease when compared with people with ulcerative colitis. Problems with chocolate, dairy products, fats and artificial sweeteners were documented in both groups of IBD. A standard food list generated without the input of individuals with a chronic illness may be inadequate to collect data about their consumption since many of the foods on the list were reportedly never consumed and there may be other foods not on the list that are consumed by this chronically ill population.