Diet chart
Diet chart for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease
Diet does not cause or cure IBD, but it helps you stay nourished and comfortable. During a flare, softer, low-residue food is easier, and protein needs rise. In remission, most people do best on a varied, balanced diet with plenty of fresh food and less ultra-processed food. In Crohn's disease, it matters whether the bowel has a narrowing (stricture): if it does, low-residue food is needed for as long as the narrowing is there, even when the disease is quiet.
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Key goals
- Enough protein and calories, especially during a flare
- During a flare: soft, low-residue food, with fluids and ORS if motions are frequent
- In remission: a varied, mostly fresh diet with fibre as tolerated
- Crohn's disease with a stricture: soft, well-chewed, low-residue food for as long as the narrowing is present
- Iron, calcium and vitamin D as your doctor advises
Crohn's disease: do you have a stricture?
Crohn's disease behaves in three main ways: inflammation only; narrowing of the bowel (stricturing disease); or tracts and abscesses (penetrating disease, such as a fistula). Your stricture status changes what you can safely eat, so ask your doctor which type you have. A narrowing is usually seen on MRI or CT enterography, colonoscopy or enteroscopy.
At a narrowing, fibrous, stringy or skin-on food can get stuck and block the bowel. A low-residue diet with soft, well-chewed food is advised for as long as the narrowing is present, even in remission. Some strictures are mostly inflammation and improve with medicines; short scarred strictures can often be widened by endoscopic balloon dilatation; others need surgery. Once a stricture is treated, your diet can usually be widened again.
If you have a known or suspected stricture, tell your doctor before any capsule endoscopy: a dissolvable patency capsule or a scan is done first.
Food that can get stuck
- Whole dals with skins, rajma, chole, roasted chana and sprouts
- Raw salads, corn (bhutta), peas, and stringy vegetables such as beans, cabbage and leafy stalks
- Fruit skins, seeds and pith: guava, pomegranate, orange and other citrus segments, dates and dried fruit
- Nuts, seeds, popcorn, and tough or gristly meat
- Isabgol and other bulk-forming fibre supplements
What helps
- Chew every mouthful well and eat slowly
- Peel, deseed and cook vegetables until soft; mash or purée them if needed
- Small, frequent meals rather than large ones
- Ask for a dietitian review and nutrition drinks if you are losing weight
Crampy belly pain with a swollen belly, vomiting, and no stool or gas passing can mean the bowel is blocked. Stop eating and drinking and go to an emergency department.
A sample day during a flare
When motions are frequent, loose or bloody, or there is pain.
Pick one option for each meal. Portions are for an average adult; adjust them to your hunger and weight.
VegEggNon-vegWestern
- Water, coconut water, or ORS if motions are frequent
- A banana
- Idli, plain dosa, poha or upma with curd
- Boiled eggs or a soft omelette with white toast
- Papaya or banana
- Hung curd or chaas, if dairy suits you
- Soft rice or roti, strained or moong dal, well-cooked peeled vegetables such as lauki, and curd
- Fish curry or soft chicken with rice
- Clear vegetable soup or a small bowl of khichdi
- Chicken soup
- Khichdi or curd rice, with paneer
- Steamed fish with rice and lauki
- Curd or a banana if hungry
Daily targets during a flare
- Protein
- 1.2–1.5 g per kg of body weight (about 72–90 g, 60 kg)
- Fibre
- not a goal for now
- Fat
- under 60 g
- Vegetables
- 2 or more katoris
- Fruit
- 1–2 servings
- Water
- 8–12 glasses
- Fried food
- none
- Sugary food and drinks
- at most 1 a day
- Salty food
- at most 1 a day
- 5 or more small meals a day
A sample day in remission
When symptoms have settled and there is no narrowing of the bowel.
Pick one option for each meal. Portions are for an average adult; adjust them to your hunger and weight.
VegEggNon-vegWestern
- Water; tea or coffee in moderation
- A few almonds or walnuts
- Vegetable oats, dalia or chilla with curd
- Vegetable omelette with a whole wheat roti
- Overnight oats with fruit Western
- A fruit: guava, apple, orange or papaya
- Chaas
- Roti or rice, dal, a vegetable, salad and curd
- Fish or chicken curry with roti or rice and a vegetable
- Sprouts or roasted chana if they suit you, or makhana
- Tea with little sugar
- Roti with dal or paneer and a vegetable
- Grilled fish with vegetables
- Grain bowl with quinoa or rice, vegetables, and paneer or chicken Western
- A glass of milk or a bowl of curd, if it suits you
Daily targets in remission
- Protein
- 1–1.2 g per kg of body weight (about 60–72 g, 60 kg)
- Fibre
- at least 25 g
- Fat
- under 60 g
- Vegetables
- 4 or more katoris
- Fruit
- 2–3 servings
- Water
- 8–10 glasses
- Fried food
- at most 1 a day
- Sugary food and drinks
- at most 1 a day
- Salty food
- at most 1 a day
A sample day with a narrowing (stricture)
For Crohn's disease with a narrowing seen on MRI or CT enterography, colonoscopy or enteroscopy, even when the disease is otherwise quiet.
Pick one option for each meal. Portions are for an average adult; adjust them to your hunger and weight.
VegEggNon-vegWestern
- Water or tea
- A ripe banana
- Idli, plain dosa, poha or upma with curd, chewed well
- Soft scrambled eggs or an omelette with white toast or a soft roti
- Oats porridge with milk and mashed banana Western
- Ripe papaya or banana, or peeled stewed apple
- Hung curd or chaas, or a curd and banana smoothie without seeds
- Soft rice or a well-chewed roti, strained or moong dal, well-cooked peeled vegetables such as lauki, tori, pumpkin or carrot, and curd
- Fish curry, or soft minced chicken (keema) with rice
- Clear soup, or a small bowl of khichdi or soft poha
- Chicken soup
- Khichdi or curd rice with paneer, or a soft roti with dal and lauki
- Steamed fish or soft chicken with rice and mashed vegetables
- Curd, milk or a banana if hungry
Daily targets with a narrowing (stricture)
- Protein
- 1–1.2 g per kg of body weight (about 60–72 g, 60 kg)
- Fibre
- not a goal for now
- Fat
- under 60 g
- Vegetables
- 2 or more katoris
- Fruit
- 1–2 servings
- Water
- 8–10 glasses
- Fried food
- at most 1 a day
- Sugary food and drinks
- at most 1 a day
- Salty food
- at most 1 a day
- 5 or more small meals a day
Choose more
- Enough protein: eggs, fish, chicken, paneer, curd, dal
- Small, frequent meals during a flare
- Fluids, and ORS when motions are frequent
- Fresh home-cooked food in remission
- Fish once or twice a week
Cut down
- During a flare: whole dals with skins, rajma, chole, raw salads, seeds, nuts and corn
- Fried and very spicy food during a flare
- Ultra-processed foods: packaged snacks, processed meats, instant noodles
- Milk, if it worsens loose motions; curd is often fine
- Alcohol, and painkillers such as ibuprofen, which can trigger flares
Good to know
- Low-residue food is for flares or narrowings, not for life
- Weight loss, tiredness or anaemia need review; iron and vitamin levels are often low
- Steroid courses need calcium and vitamin D to protect the bones; ask your doctor
- No single food causes flares in everyone; the diary helps you find yours
If you also have
Diabetes
Steroids for flares raise sugar. Check sugar more often during steroid courses, and keep sweets and juices out.
High BP or heart disease
Keep salt low, especially during steroid courses, which can raise blood pressure and cause fluid retention.
Kidney disease
Dehydration during flares can strain the kidneys. Keep fluids and ORS up, and follow your nephrologist's advice.
Pregnancy
Keeping IBD in remission is the best thing for a pregnancy. Do not stop medicines on your own; plan pregnancy with your gastroenterologist.
Age over 65
Older adults lose fluid and strength quickly in a flare. Seek care early for frequent or bloody motions.
Track today's food
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Common questions
What should I eat during a flare of ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease?
Soft, low-residue food: idli, dosa, poha, khichdi, curd rice, white rice, moong dal, eggs, fish, chicken, paneer, banana and papaya, with plenty of fluids.
Is milk bad for ulcerative colitis?
Not for everyone. Some people get more loose motions with milk; curd and paneer are usually better tolerated.
I have Crohn's disease with a stricture. What should I avoid?
Food that can get stuck at the narrowing: whole dals with skins, rajma, chole, sprouts, raw salads, corn, peas, stringy vegetables, fruit skins and seeds, citrus segments, dried fruit, nuts and tough meat. Eat soft, well-cooked, well-chewed food, and follow your doctor's advice until the stricture is treated.
Can diet alone treat IBD?
No. Medicines control the inflammation. Diet supports nutrition and comfort; a special liquid diet is sometimes used for Crohn's disease under medical guidance.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor promptly for bloody motions, more than 6 motions a day, fever, severe pain, weight loss or signs of dehydration.
Other diet charts
General guidance for adults, not a personal prescription. Food values are estimates for a typical home serving. If you have kidney disease, are pregnant, or have been given a specific diet by your doctor, follow that advice.