Fasting-Mimicking Diet Beneficial in Mild-to-Moderate Crohn Disease

THURSDAY, Jan. 15, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- A fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) is beneficial for induction of clinical response and clinical remission in patients with mild-to-moderate Crohn disease (CD), according to a study published online Jan. 13 in Nature Medicine.Chiraag Kulkarni, M.D., from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues conducted an open-label, randomized trial to examine the effects of FMD in 97 adults with mild-to-moderate CD. Participants were randomly assigned to FMD, consuming a fasting-mimicking diet for five consecutive days per month and their regular baseline diet for the remaining days in the month for three consecutive months, or to control (baseline diet; 65 and 32 patients, respectively).The researchers found that 69.2 and 43.8 percent of patients in the FMD and control groups, respectively, met the primary outcome of clinical response (a reduction in the Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] of at least 70 points or CDAI ≤150 after the third five-day diet cycle). In addition, 64.6 and 37.5 percent, respectively, achieved the prespecified secondary outcome of clinical remission. Compared with the control group, the FMD group had a significant decline from baseline in fecal calprotectin (−22.0 versus 8.0 percent). Post-FMD decreases were seen in key inflammatory lipid mediators and immune-effector transcripts."We were very pleasantly surprised that the majority of patients seemed to benefit from this diet," senior author Sidhartha R. Sinha, M.D., also from the Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a statement. "We noticed that even after just one FMD cycle, there were clinical benefits."One author disclosed ties to L-Nutra and has filed patents related to the fasting-mimicking diet.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Beneficial in Mild-to-Moderate Crohn Disease

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