Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
What it is
Inflammatory bowel disease is chronic, immune-mediated inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, comprising Crohn's disease (which can affect any part of the gut, in patches, through the full bowel wall) and ulcerative colitis (continuous inflammation limited to the colon's inner lining). Unlike IBS, IBD causes visible, measurable tissue damage.
Why it matters
IBD is a serious disease that can cause structural bowel damage, hospitalisation, surgery, and increased colorectal cancer risk. It is also highly treatable — modern biologic therapy has transformed outcomes — but this depends on accurate diagnosis and proper medical care. It is emphatically not a condition to manage with supplements.
What BioSignal knows about treating this
What works for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
BioSignal’s clinical summary, most important first.
- Biologic and small-molecule therapy — anti-TNF, anti-integrin, anti-IL-12/23 agents, JAK inhibitors (clinician-directed)
- Mesalamine (5-ASA) for ulcerative colitis
- Corticosteroids for flares — for induction only, never maintenance
- Immunomodulators (azathioprine, methotrexate)
- Exclusive enteral nutrition (well evidenced for inducing remission in paediatric Crohn's)
- Smoking cessation (a genuine disease-modifying intervention in Crohn's)
- Surveillance colonoscopy for colorectal cancer risk
Signal Records relevant to this condition
Interventions and contributing factors — some of these records describe a cause rather than a cure. The rating shown is BioSignal’s confidence in that Signal Record, not a claim about how well it treats this condition. Open any of them for the full evidence.
- ProbioticsLimited evidence
Specific strains help specific conditions. 'Probiotics for gut health' in healthy adults is not supported — fibre has the better evidence.
- GlutamineLimited evidence
A true mechanism stretched into an unproven category. No demonstrated gut benefit in healthy people, and 'leaky gut syndrome' is not a recognised diagnosis.
New to this? Read these first
How this usually unfolds
- Recognize risk factors
- Get diagnosed
- Track key biomarkers
- Lifestyle first
- Evidence-based treatment
- Long-term monitoring
Who is at risk
- Family history and genetic susceptibility
- Smoking (worsens Crohn's disease markedly)
- Western dietary patterns and urban living
- Prior gastroenteritis and antibiotic exposure
- Appendectomy status (differs between Crohn's and colitis)
How it's diagnosed
Diagnosis requires objective evidence of inflammation, not symptoms alone: raised faecal calprotectin and inflammatory markers, confirmed by endoscopy with biopsy, supported by imaging (MR enterography in Crohn's). Faecal calprotectin is the key test separating IBD from IBS.
Key biomarkers
Lifestyle
Explore this condition across BioSignal
Related Foundations
Related Signal Records
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between IBD and IBS?
They are entirely different diseases that unfortunately have confusingly similar names. IBD is immune-mediated inflammation that visibly damages the bowel and requires medical treatment. IBS is a disorder of gut–brain signalling with no tissue damage. Faecal calprotectin is the test that separates them.
Can diet or probiotics treat IBD?
Not as a substitute for medical therapy. Exclusive enteral nutrition genuinely induces remission in paediatric Crohn's disease, and nutrition matters throughout. But probiotic evidence in IBD is weak and inconsistent, and treating active IBD with supplements instead of proven therapy risks permanent bowel damage.
Does BPC-157 heal the gut in IBD?
There is no human trial evidence that it does. BPC-157's gut-healing reputation comes from animal studies. Using an unapproved peptide in place of therapies proven to prevent bowel damage and surgery is a genuinely risky trade.
Evidence summary
Biologic and small-molecule therapies have strong randomised evidence for inducing and maintaining remission in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Exclusive enteral nutrition is well evidenced for paediatric Crohn's. Smoking cessation modifies the course of Crohn's. Probiotic evidence is weak overall, with the partial exception of pouchitis. No supplement is established as a substitute for medical therapy.
References & sources
- ECCO guidelines (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
- ACG Clinical Guidelines: Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease in Adults
- Biologic therapy randomised trial programmes
Educational information — not medical advice
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