Food-Based Therapies in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases is rising both in adults and children, particularly in regions traditionally considered low-incidence, in parallel with the increasing adoption of Westernized lifestyles, especially dietary habits. Growing evidence implicates harmful dietary patterns, such as the Western diet, in the development and persistence of IBD, fueling interest in dietary modulation as a therapeutic strategy to promote disease remission. Beginning with the exclusive enteral nutrition as an induction therapy for Crohn’s disease (CD), several nutritional regimens have been proposed to improve treatment tolerability and adherence by introducing whole-food-based approaches. To date, various food-based therapies focused on excluding potentially pro-inflammatory components and incorporating foods with potential anti-inflammatory components have been explored, mainly in pediatric CD, while their application in ulcerative colitis remains largely experimental. In this narrative review, we summarize the food-based therapeutic approaches proposed for pediatric IBD, discussing both the rationale underlying their use and the current evidence supporting their implementation.