The importance of healthy eating
Maintaining a healthy diet is an important part of protecting your overall health, managing your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol, improving your energy levels and boosting your immune system.1
The information in this article is general in nature and may not take into consideration your specific nutritional restrictions or requirements. Before starting a new diet, you should consult your doctor and/or an IBD-specialised dietitian to make sure you are making the right choices to support your health.
Does diet affect ulcerative colitis (UC)?
Diet does not cause or cure UC, though a poor-quality diet may make it harder to control inflammation and your symptoms. You may find that some dietary choices affect your gastrointestinal symptoms, and your overall health.
There is no single trigger for people with UC – some people may find that certain foods or beverages cause gastrointestinal symptoms whereas other people may not. This means what causes increased symptoms for someone else may be perfectly fine for you, and vice versa. You may also find your response varies depending on whether there is inflammation (active disease) or no inflammation (in remission).2,3
Keeping track of your food
Keeping a food and symptom diary is a fantastic way to track your symptoms in relation to your diet and to help you detect any foods that may be contributing to your symptoms.4
You may wish to record:
When, what and how much you eat
Lifestyle factors such as your mood (including feeling stressed or anxious), sleep patterns and physical activity levels
Any gastrointestinal symptoms or observations
This can be a physical notebook or in a digital format such as an online spreadsheet, pre-made templates (many available online for free download), or a specialised food diary app on your phone. Find a tracking method that works for your lifestyle and habits.
Dealing with troublesome foods
If you think your symptoms may be linked to a type of food or drink, it’s important you talk to your care team before eliminating it outright, to make sure you are getting all the nutrition you need. You may only need to modify how much or how often you eat the food, or how the food is prepared.4
If you do need to remove a type of food from your diet, there may be something else you need to introduce instead to support your nutrition, for example changing the types of food you eat or incorporating nutritional supplements, in some instances. An IBD-specialised dietitian can advise you on how to eat to improve your symptoms.4,5
Diets to treat UC?
There is a lot of information in the media and online on specialty diets for UC, but it’s hard to tell what is supported by sufficient scientific evidence. The risks with some of these diets are that they could delay healing, cause more harm, or unnecessarily restrict nutrients. This topic can be confusing, so please discuss this with an IBD-specialised dietitian.2
Some general dietary guidance for people with UC:2-4
Try to eat a balanced diet during a flare and only avoid foods that you feel are making symptoms of inflammation worse.
Patients on RINVOQ should avoid consuming food and drink containing grapefruit, as this may interact with the medication.6
You may be losing fluids through diarrhoea. Replace them by drinking lots of water.
Greasy and fried foods, caffeine, alcohol, and fizzy drinks can cause gas, bloating and diarrhoea.
Eating less red and processed meat may have a protective effect.
You can find reputable online information about diet in IBD on Gastroenterological Society of Australia and Crohn’s and Colitis Australia.
References: 1. National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian dietary guidelines. Available from: eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-09/n55_australian_dietary_guidelines.pdf Accessed: August 2025. 2. Gastroenterological Society of Australia. Diet and IBD. Available from: gesa.org.au/resources/patient-resources Accessed August 2025. 3. Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Managing Flares and IBD Symptoms. Available from: crohnscolitisfoundation.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/managing-flares-brochure-final-online.pdf Accessed: August 2025. 4. Crohn’s Colitis Canada. Eating and drinking with IBD. Available from: crohnsandcolitis.ca/About-Crohn-s-Colitis/IBD-Journey/Diet-and-Nutrition-in-IBD/Eating-and-Drinking-with-IBD Accessed: August 2025. 5. Health Direct. Ulcerative colitis. Available from: healthdirect.gov.au/ulcerative-colitis Accessed: August 2025. 6. RINVOQ Consumer Medicines Information. AC-005092-00. AU-RNQ-250071. August 2025.