By Dr Pranab Gyawali, Consultant Gastroenterologist
If you're managing Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, the food you eat could be silently sabotaging your gut health. In this expert video, Dr. Pranab Gyawali, a renowned Consultant Gastroenterologist in Dubai, reveals three common food groups that can damage your gut microbiome and worsen inflammation in IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).
These insights aren't just informative—they’re potentially life-changing. Backed by clinical experience and current research, Dr. Gyawali explains how diet plays a direct role in protecting (or harming) your gut barrier, mucus layer, and bacterial balance.
Watch the full video below and read on to understand the science—and the smart food swaps you can make today.
What Happens to the Gut in IBD?
In a healthy gut:
- Good bacteria flourish
- Mucus layer is thick
- Gut barrier is strong and intact
But in Crohn’s or Colitis:
- Good bacteria decrease
- Bad bacteria multiply
- Mucus thins out
- The gut barrier becomes leaky, increasing inflammation
Understanding this gut imbalance is key to knowing why certain foods can make IBD worse.
3 Foods That Harm Your Gut in Crohn’s & Colitis
1. Ultra-Processed Foods
Highly processed items like chips, instant noodles, processed meats, and packaged snacks:
- Feed harmful bacteria
- Suppress beneficial microbes
- Disrupt microbial diversity
These foods are often loaded with additives, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats—bad news for anyone with IBD.
2. Omega-6 Rich Oils
Common cooking oils like sunflower, corn, and soybean oil:
- Are high in omega-6 fatty acids
- Can fuel gut inflammation
- May impair microbial balance
Excess omega-6, without balancing omega-3, creates a pro-inflammatory environment—exactly what your IBD doesn’t need.
3. Emulsifiers and Preservatives
These are found in sauces, dressings, baked goods, and many "low-fat" packaged foods:
- Strip away the gut’s protective mucus
- Damage the gut lining
- Disrupt the barrier and allow harmful bacteria through
Smart Gut-Healing Swaps (Backed by Research)
Instead of pro-inflammatory foods, Dr. Gyawali recommends:
- Whole, unprocessed foods: Think fruits, vegetables, lentils, and brown rice
- Olive oil: A heart-healthy fat rich in anti-inflammatory compounds
- Probiotic-rich foods: Like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and fermented vegetables
These changes support the restoration of your mucus layer, microbiome, and overall gut healing.
FAQs by Patients
What foods make ulcerative colitis worse?
Foods high in omega-6 oils, ultra-processed snacks, and those containing emulsifiers or preservatives can worsen ulcerative colitis by damaging the gut lining and increasing inflammation.
Can diet help manage Crohn’s disease?
Yes, avoiding inflammatory foods and incorporating whole foods and probiotics can reduce symptoms and support gut healing in Crohn’s disease.
Where can I find a gut health specialist in Dubai?
Dr. Pranab Gyawali is a trusted Consultant Gastroenterologist in Dubai, offering personalized care for IBD, gut microbiome issues, and digestive disorders.
Why is gut mucus important in IBD?
The mucus layer protects your gut lining and prevents harmful bacteria from reaching it. In IBD, this layer becomes thin—making it easier for inflammation and flare-ups to occur.
Recommended Guides:
FMT, Probiotics and Next-Generation Microbiome Therapies
- AI in Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis: Can Machine Learning Predict IBD Treatment Response?
- FMT and infliximab in IBD: could the microbiome help biologics work better?
- Fecal microbiota transplant for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
- Probiotics for Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis: what actually works?
- Probiotics in ulcerative colitis: what does the MB310 trial mean?
- Engineered probiotic for ulcerative colitis 2026
- Probiotics for ulcerative colitis: what actually works?
Gut Microbiome, Diet and Treatment Response
- Diet and microbiome in IBD: how the right bacteria calm gut inflammation
- Gut microbiome in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
- How the Oxygen Trap may be driving your IBD, and why diet still matters
- IBD flare risk, diet and calprotectin
- IBD breakthrough: how gut bacteria unlock natural anti-inflammatories
- Gut microbiome test in Dubai
Crohn’s, Colitis and Biologic Treatment Strategy
- Learn about Biologicals used in UC and Crohn’s in Dubai
- Crohn’s disease specialist care in Dubai
- Ulcerative colitis specialist care in Dubai
- How biologics work in Crohn’s and colitis
- How we choose the right biologic for Crohn’s and UC in Dubai
- New omics research: predicting response to biologics in Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis
Investigations and Procedures
- Colonoscopy for Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis monitoring
- Capsule endoscopy for small bowel Crohn’s disease
- MRI abdomen and MR enterography
- CT abdomen and CT enterography
- Hydrogen and methane breath test for SIBO
If you wish to discuss this further or would like to make an appointment, please use the booking form on this page.