Dr. Prabhat AryaMBBS, MD (Internal Medicine) · DMC Reg. No. DMC-83759drprabhatarya.com

Reviewed by Dr. Prabhat Arya, MD (Internal Medicine) on 29 September 2026

Diet chart for IBD

Food does not cause IBD and cannot cure it; medicines control it. But the right food keeps up your strength, and eating differently during a flare eases the gut.

½ Vegetables (soft and peeled in a flare) ¼ Dal, paneer, curd, egg, fish, chicken ¼ Roti, rice, dalia, suji
  1. During a flare (loose motions, pain): eat soft, low-fibre food in small meals. Go back to a normal varied diet once it settles.
  2. Do not lose weight. Eat enough protein every day: dal, paneer, curd, egg, fish or chicken. Weigh yourself every week.
  3. Keep a food diary. Stop a food only if it troubles you again and again, not because someone said so.

Eat more

  • Protein at every meal: moong dal, paneer, curd, eggs, fish, chicken
  • Soft grains: rice, suji, poha, idli, dalia, thin rotis
  • Peeled, well-cooked vegetables: lauki, tori, pumpkin, carrot, potato
  • Fruits: banana, papaya, chikoo, stewed apple; in remission, all fruits
  • Curd and chaas; milk too, unless it gives you gas or loose motions
  • Plenty of fluids: water, dal water, chaas, coconut water; ORS in a flare

Eat less, during a flare

  • Raw salad, fruit skins and seeds
  • Whole dals and pulses: rajma, chole, lobia, sprouts
  • Coarse fibre: bran, whole-grain atta with chokar, oats in large amounts
  • Nuts and seeds: grind them into food instead
  • Spicy food and heavy masala
  • Cooking oil and ghee together: 4 to 5 teaspoons per person for the whole day

Avoid

  • Fried and very oily food: samosa, pakora, puri, bhature
  • Street food and cut fruit from outside: infection can start a flare
  • Processed meat, instant noodles and packaged snacks
  • Cold drinks and packaged juice
  • Alcohol and smoking (smoking badly worsens Crohn’s)
  • Painkillers like ibuprofen or diclofenac: they can trigger a flare

A sample day

Vegetarian first; the swap is for those who eat eggs, fish or chicken.

On waking
Water. Tea or coffee with a little milk. 4 or 5 soaked, peeled almonds
Breakfast
Suji upma, vegetable poha or two idlis, with a katori of curdSwap: Two eggs, boiled or scrambled, with one roti or toast
Mid-morning
One banana or a bowl of papaya
Lunch
Two rotis or rice, a katori of moong dal, soft peeled sabzi, curdSwap: Chicken or fish curry in place of dal
Evening
Lassi or a glass of milk, with a bowl of paneer or sweet daliaSwap: A boiled egg
Dinner, by 8 pm
Moong dal khichdi with curd, or rotis with paneer and sabziSwap: Soft stewed fish or chicken with rice
Bedtime
A glass of milk or haldi milk, if it suits you

Common myths

A special diet can cure IBD.
No diet cures it. Medicines control it; food keeps you strong.
Stop milk and curd for life.
Stop them only if they trouble you. Curd usually suits.
Eat as little as possible so the gut rests.
Starving causes weakness and slows healing. Eat small, frequent meals.
Stop the medicine once you feel well.
Medicines keep it quiet. Stopping them brings the flare back.

Dr. Arya’s note for you

Call Dr. Arya at once if you have blood in the stool, fever, severe belly pain or swelling, more than 6 loose motions a day, or you feel faint. A flare needs medicine, not only diet.

This is general advice for adults. With a narrowing (stricture) in the gut or past bowel surgery, you may need a stricter low-fibre diet: ask Dr. Arya. With diabetes, kidney disease or heart failure, that chart's limits on sugar, salt, fruit and water come first.