Chiba M, Tsuji T, Nakane K, Komatsu M. High Amount of Dietary Fiber Not Harmful But Favorable for Crohn Disease. Perm J. 2015;19:58.
Relevance: The research team at the Akita City Hospital in Japan compared Crohn’s disease remission maintenance rates in two groups – individuals who adopted a high-fiber, lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet compared to individuals who maintained the more standard lower-fiber, omnivorous diet. The diet used was not only high-fiber, it was especially high-insoluble-fiber (soluble dietary fiber, 6.8 ± 0.7 g; insoluble dietary fiber, 23.3 ± 1.6 g).
The authors found a stark contrast – there were signifantly higher remission maintenance rates in the high-fiber group. To visualize the contrast in remission rates, see Figure 2 in the full text article.
There are other studies that demonstrate a variety of beneficial effects from dietary fiber related to gut inflammation and IBD. However, I single out this study because the researchers used a large amount of insoluble fiber and the diet promoted gut health in individuals with IBD. This finding aligns with my successful use of insoluble fiber to maintain Crohn’s disease remission for decades.
In 2016, it is common to believe that if an individual with IBD eats fiber, it should be soluble fiber, not insoluble fiber. This study discredits the baseless common belief. Hopefully, the team in Japan and others will follow-up this study with more research along these lines.