People with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), need to follow a specific diet and give up various foods, a condition that can hinder socializing, making it difficult to convivially eat meals, as well as going out with family, friends and colleagues. Considering that, in 95% of cases, to avoid the acute phases of the disease it is necessary to make further food sacrifices, it is easy to understand how this can lead to a sense of frustration, isolation and social-relational difficulties. With the spread of the disease, which, according to the latest epidemiological estimates, continues to increase, it is essential to shed light on the needs of those who live with this condition that affects approximately 200 thousand people in Italy, with a peak prevalence among young adults between 20 and 30 years old. This is precisely the goal of the awareness campaign ‘Crohnviviamo’, promoted by Nestlé Health Science in collaboration with the patient association Amici Onlus.
The campaign – as stated in a note – helps to show the impact of Crohn’s disease on different aspects of daily life, both physically and psychologically, with a focus on the central aspect of nutrition. From interviews with patients, the strong impact of nutrition on the symptoms of the disease emerges and patients are constantly looking for information on diet. This is how ‘Faq: Nutrition and Crohn’s disease’ was born, which collects answers to the most frequently asked questions and doubts. The pamphlet, edited by Camilla Fiorindi, dietitian-nutritionist at the Careggi University Hospital in Florence, with the patronage of the Association of Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Amici) Onlus, is available free of charge, in digital format, on the Nestlé Health Science website.
Here are 10 tips for those with Crohn’s disease – also aimed at family members and caregivers – that can be explored in depth by consulting the vademecum edited by Dr. Fiorindi: opt for 3 small meals and 2 snacks a day, instead of 3 larger meals; in the active phase of the disease, favor vegetables rich in soluble fiber – small portions of potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and cooked courgettes – as indicated in the CDED diet (Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet) which excludes all pro-inflammatory foods; for fruit you can opt for cooked or grated apple, without peel, ripe bananas, citrus juices, centrifuges or fruit extracts; the consumption of saturated fats, simple sugars, food additives and emulsifiers can increase ongoing intestinal inflammation: limiting or excluding them, therefore, can have a positive impact on intestinal health.
Regardless of drug therapy – the list continues – a healthy and balanced diet improves nutritional status and the effectiveness of the drug. If someone in the family has Crohn’s disease, it is advisable to favor boiling and steaming. The deficiencies to pay particular attention to are: vitamin B12, vitamin D and iron. For pregnant women, it is important to regularly monitor the level of iron and folic acid. In addition, CDED represents a valuable therapeutic strategy for children, adolescents and adults with this pathology. In phase 3 of CDED, you can consume – once a week and in moderation – even foods that are not allowed.
The handbook edited by the dietician is designed to accompany people on a path aimed at improving the management of the disease through nutrition and is aimed at everyone, both those who have just received the diagnosis and those who are in remission.
“A balanced and healthy diet – explains Fiorindi – plays a fundamental role in the homeostasis of the intestinal microenvironment, so much so that it can influence its composition and correct functioning. However, during a flare-up of the disease, the diet must often be modified based on any symptoms present, the location of the relapse and the previous surgical history. According to recent data – continues the expert – the majority of those who have IBD have not received any dietary advice, and misinformation pushes people to seek information from various sources, finding general advice “not always with solid scientific foundations”. For these reasons and not only, the support of a nutrition professional is essential in all phases of the disease to ensure the maintenance of an adequate nutritional state, but also to educate the person with IBD by guiding them in their daily food choices and at the same time promoting a better quality of life related to nutrition. The handbook that I edited together with Amici Onlus and Nestlé Health Science provides all people with Crohn’s disease with the information they need to help them navigate doubts and questions regarding the diet to follow.”
To support doctors and dieticians, Nestlé Health Science has also created a platform on the CDED (Modulifexpert) that allows doctors to constantly update themselves and to make an App (Modulife) available to patients that simplifies diet management. “The fact that nutrition plays a crucial role in the management of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – underlines Mara Pellizzari, president of Amici Onlus – is now a well-known fact and the scientific evidence to support it is absolutely numerous. Not only that, it is something that people with these diseases experience first-hand: from the very beginning, in fact, those affected try to identify foods that could induce an exacerbation and try to avoid them. However, it is very important that this task is not carried out ‘alone’, but is guided by experts, for a diet that is as helpful as possible in the daily management of the disease. Initiatives like Crohnviviamo serve precisely to provide answers and resolve the most frequent doubts regarding nutrition”.
The Crohnviviamo campaign, during 2024, promotes – in addition to the dissemination of the vademecum edited by Dr. Fiorindi – the organization in the territory of a series of meetings between doctors and patients, together with Amici Onlus, with the aim of raising awareness on the importance of a care that puts the needs of those living with chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases at the center and, first and foremost, with Crohn’s disease. At the same time – the note concludes – underlining the effectiveness of the Cded exclusion diet, a consolidated and proven effective dietary therapy based on the exclusion of pro-inflammatory foods and the integration of Modulen – a food for special medical purposes – into the diet to manage the disease on a daily basis and to induce remission in the acute phases in both children and adults.
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