What Foods Should UC Patients Avoid?

Arielle Leben M.S., R.D., C.D.N., a nutrition specialist at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone Health in New York City, explains why certain foods may trigger flares with ulcerative colitis.

Certain foods can definitely trigger or exacerbate symptoms of ulcerative colitis. In my experience, trigger foods vary from person to person, and this is where working with a dietitian could really help you establish yours.

There are more trigger foods that are more common in the diet, such as caffeine, alcohol, greasy fried foods, concentrated sweets, large amounts of lactose, spicy foods, things called sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol - and large amounts of fruits and vegetables, but really for the raw fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

Aside from food choices, there are also certain eating behaviors that can serve as triggers, and that would be mainly overeating or eating too close to bedtime.