Diet and Crohn's disease: characteristics of the pre-illness diet.

Thirty newly diagnosed patients with Crohn's disease were interviewed about their habitual, pre-illness diet and compared with 30 healthy controls, matched for age, sex, social class, and marital status. The patients ate substantially more refined sugar, slightly less dietary fibre, and considerably less raw fruit and vegetables than the controls. A diet high in refined sugar and low in raw fruit and vegetables precedes and may favour the development of Crohn's disease.