Role of diet in prevention versus treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

The authors investigate the role of diet in both the prevention and treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), aiming to clarify how dietary recommendations should differ across various disease states: pre-disease, active disease, and quiescent disease. They highlight the complexities and contradictions in existing literature, particularly noting that while healthy eating principles may benefit UC in all disease states, dietary factors for CD show paradoxical evidence, with exclusive enteral nutrition being the most supported treatment despite its association with processed foods. The authors call for high-quality dietary trials to better inform targeted dietary recommendations for these conditions.