A new study from the University of British Columbia Okanagan challenges the long-held practice of reducing fiber for inflammatory bowel disease patients.
The Centre for Microbiome & Inflammation Research at UBCO is rethinking fiber intake.
Her recent research examines whether Crohn's disease & ulcerative colitis patients' diets should be reconsidered.
Crohn’s and colitis cause gastrointestinal inflammation. Dr. explains that despite millions of North Americans living with IBD symptoms and daily misery, scientists don't know the cause.
Dr. says she wants to engage with the Centre for Microbiome and Inflammation Research to investigate how nutrition therapy can help people control their diseases.
“We think it’s a combination of genetic, immune system, microbiome, and diet factors.”
She says Westernized diets—highly processed, high sodium, & sugary foods—have reduced fiber consumption & increased the prevalence of digestive illnesses like IBD, partially through microbial composition changes.
Traditionally, doctorsprescribed a low-fibere diet to treat IBD. Dr. Haskey believes the pendulum has swung the other way due to new research onfiber'ss function in microbial health.
“In healthy people, increasing fiber benefits the digestive tract,” she says. “We’ve told these patients to avoid fiber for a long time.
Maybe that’s wrong.” “It's a mindset shift,” she says. You know what works if you've had a disease for a long period.
You're probably afraid to introduce these meals because you don't want to go back to where you were."