Select a question to reveal the answer.
Is there one diet for people with IBD?
No. There is personalized medicine and there is personalized nutrition. There is not one diet for everyone with IBD, just like there is not one medication for everyone with IBD. At the Jill Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (JRC), we work closely with our patients to develop personalized nutrition plans that take into account each patient’s past medical history, food preferences, food triggers, disease activity, etc.
How does my disease activity impact what I can eat?
What you eat during a flare can be very different from what you eat when you’re in remission. For example, many people need to avoid high roughage foods during flares but not when they’re healthy. Part of our job is to educate our patients on how to modify their diets based on their disease activity or inactivity while ensuring that they’re eating a healthy diet at every stage.
I’ve heard that what I eat with IBD doesn’t matter, is that true?
No! We don’t know at this time whether or not food causes, prevents, or cures IBD, but we do know that what you eat plays an important role in managing your disease. At JRC, we use food and nutrition to better control your symptoms, to help your medications work more effectively, and to correct or prevent nutrient deficiencies.
Do you provide nutrition services for people without IBD?
Yes. We specialize in providing nutrition services for patients with a variety of gastrointestinal issues, including but not limited to, irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatic/maldigestion disorders, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, food intolerances, gastroparesis, diverticulosis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, constipation and diarrhea.
How do I schedule a nutrition visit?
If you have seen one of our physicians within the past year, call JRC at (212) 746-5077 and ask to schedule a nutrition appointment. If you are not a patient at JRC, contact Ryan Warren at ryw2002@med.cornell.edu, for more information.
Do you accept insurance for nutrition visits?
We do not charge for nutrition visits, provided that you are an established patient at JRC who has seen one of our physicians within the past year.
What should I bring to my appointment?
We highly encourage you to consider tracking your food intake for a few days so that you can review your usual intake with Ryan. Here is a sample food diary you can use either prior to your visit or you may be asked to use following your initial consultation to help track and identify food triggers.