Perceptions, beliefs and behaviors of nutritional and supplementary practices in inflammatory bowel disease

Purpose To gain insight into the behaviors, perceptions and beliefs of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients nutritional and supplementary practices and also to explore perceptions and behaviors in relation to anti-inflammatory supplementation with specific emphasis on Montmorency tart cherries. Methods 80 IBD patients completed a 16-item close-ended questionnaire which was divided into three sub-sections: baseline/demographic characteristics, disease characteristics and dietary and supplementary perceptions, beliefs and behaviors. One-sample chi-square goodness of fit tests were used for each question and two-way Pearson chi-square tests of independence were used to undertake bivariate cross-tabulation comparisons to test differences in responses to each question between baseline/demographic variables. Results The majority of participants ( N = 40) did not follow a specific dietary pattern or use supplements ( N = 56). Respondents also predominantly rated that diet can both positively ( N = 66) and negatively ( N = 68) influence IBD. In addition, participants rated that supplements can positively influence IBD ( N = 65) and that lack of scientific evidence was the primary mechanism preventing them from utilizing supplements ( N = 34). Finally, patients also strongly reported that they would be willing to take Montmorency tart cherry supplementation ( N = 73). Conclusions The disconnect between behavior and beliefs in both diet and supplementary practices, indicate that interventions designed to translate beliefs/knowledge into behaviors are warranted. There is also a necessity to undertake well-designed intervention trials examining the efficacy of food supplements, and with patient’s willingness to take Montmorency tart cherry, there is a strong rationale for future randomized trials examining the efficacy of tart cherry supplementation in IBD.