These foods linked to inflammatory bowel disease, study confirms

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In a recent study published in PLOS ONE, researchers found foods such as French fries, cheese, cookies, soda, and sports and energy drinks are common in the diets of United States adults with inflammatory bowel disease.

They analyzed the National Health Interview Survey 2015 to determine the food intake and frequency of consumption for US adults with inflammatory bowel disease. The survey assessed 26 foods.

The findings reveal that foods typically labeled as junk food was associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

The study is from Georgia State University. One author is Moon Han.

Inflammatory bowel disease, which features chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, affects three million US adults. There are two types of conditions, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Common symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease include persistent diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding or bloody stools, weight loss, and fatigue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the study, the team found that a greater number of people with inflammatory bowel disease ate French fries, and they also ate more cheese and cookies and drank less than 100% fruit juice compared to people without the disease.

Consuming fries and sports and energy drinks and frequently drinking soda were significantly associated with receiving a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease.

Consuming milk or popcorn was less likely linked to receiving this diagnosis.

While foods typically labeled as junk food was positively linked to inflammatory bowel disease, the team found the eating patterns of people with and without this disease to be very similar.

They suggest it’s important to explore environmental factors (for example, food deserts), food processing (such as frying), and potential bioactive food components that can induce intestinal inflammation and increase susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease.

If you care about bowel health, please read studies about this diet may reduce inflammation by boosting gut health and findings of how gut bacteria may trigger colon cancer.

For more information about bowel diseases, please see recent studies about statins may protect your gut health from obesity and results showing that four of 10 adults worldwide have gut diseases.

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