Autoimmune Diseases and the Anti-Inflammatory Diet Connection

4. Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease includes other diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn’s disease typically affects the lower part of the GI tract, while ulcerative colitis affects the large intestine. In these two conditions, the digestive tract is chronically inflamed, causing symptoms such as rectal bleeding and diarrhea. People with these conditions can benefit from following a diet high in animal protein and low in vegetables that are FODMAP or “fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides, and polyols”; in other words, short-chain carbohydrates some people are not able to digest.