What Are the Worst Foods for Ulcerative Colitis? Here Are 5 to Avoid

People with an inflammatory bowel disease, like ulcerative colitis, often learn through experience which foods make their symptoms worse. 

Ulcerative colitis can cause symptoms like diarrhea, blood in stools, abdominal pain, and weight loss. What you eat doesn’t cause ulcerative colitis, but it can affect your symptoms. Some foods may help relieve symptoms, and other foods may make symptoms worse. 

There isn’t one specific ulcerative colitis diet that works for everyone with the condition. Here’s what the evidence says about which foods to avoid with ulcerative colitis. 

1. High-fat foods

You might already know that dietary fats can affect heart health. But the amount and type of fat you eat can affect digestive health, too. For people with ulcerative colitis, a high-fat diet can hurt the gut by:

• Changing the balance of your gut bacteria: A healthy gut microbiome is important for digestion and protection against infection. But a high-fat diet can change the balance of “good” and “bad” bacteria. 

• Increasing bile acids in your colon: Bile acids help you digest fats. A high-fat diet increases the amount of bile acids in the colon. This can lead to more inflammation and damage to the colon cells.

• Weakening the protective barrier in your colon: The lining of the gut normally stops harmful bacteria, viruses, and other substances from entering the body. Changes in the microbiome and the infection-fighting cells in the gut can make it easier for harmful invaders to enter.

In one study, people with ulcerative colitis who ate a diet high in palm oil, coconut oil, or dairy fats had more flares. Try to limit fried and fast foods. Using olive oil instead of butter may also reduce ulcerative colitis symptoms.

2. Red meat and processed meat

If you have ulcerative colitis, eating a lot of red meat may raise your risk of flares. Red meats include: 

• Beef

• Goat 

• Lamb

• Pork

• Veal 

• Venison (deer meat)

Some red meat also falls into the category of processed meat. This refers to meat that has been preserved or changed in some way, such as by salting, curing, or adding preservatives. Processed meats often contain compounds, like nitrates, which can also lead to colon damage and affect symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

Examples of processed meat are:

• Bacon

• Beef jerky

• Deli meats (such as bologna, pastrami, and salami)

• Ham

• Hot dogs

• Sausage

• Pepperoni

Good to know: Eating red meat, especially processed meat, increases the risk of colorectal cancer. People with ulcerative colitis are already at higher risk for developing colorectal cancer. 

To help lower your risk, try alternatives to red meat, like poultry (chicken or turkey), fish, or plant-based proteins, such as soy, beans, and lentils.

3. Added sugar

People with ulcerative colitis experience inflammation and injury to the lining of the gut. High-sugar diets make it harder for the cells in the gut to grow and repair damage.

In animal studies, mice who ate a high-sugar diet had more severe inflammation and had a harder time healing from injury. A high-sugar diet may also negatively affect the balance of bacteria in the gut.

Foods with lots of added sugar include: 

• Cookies and cakes 

• Ice cream

• Condiments (like ketchup and barbecue sauces)

• Drinks (like sodas or electrolyte drinks)

• Sweetened yogurts

You can replace high-sugar foods with fruit, unsweetened yogurt, and low-sugar condiments (like mustard). Swap sugary drinks with unsweetened tea, water with lemon, or water infused with fruit.

4. Ultra-processed food

There’s evidence that eating ultra-processed foods can damage the gut microbiome, increase inflammation, and weaken the protective barrier in the gut. 

Some research has shown that diets low in ultra-processed food and high in fiber are associated with symptom relief and improvement in ulcers in people with ulcerative colitis. But other studies didn’t find a strong link between ultra-processed foods and the risk for ulcerative colitis.

You can limit how much ultra-processed food you eat by preparing meals at home with fresh ingredients, replacing sweetened cereals with oatmeal, skipping soda in favor of fruit-infused water, and picking whole-wheat bread, rather than white bread. 

5. Alcohol

Alcohol can directly injure the lining of the digestive tract. And, like other foods on this list, alcohol can impact the ratio of “good” to “bad” bacteria in the intestines. 

In people with ulcerative colitis, alcohol use has been shown to worsen symptoms. One study of people hospitalized with ulcerative colitis found that alcohol use was associated with increased infections, greater use of antibiotics, and more colon biopsies.

Many medications that are used to treat ulcerative colitis can interact with alcohol. Alcohol may decrease the effectiveness of common ulcerative colitis medications, like mesalamine and cyclosporine. Drinking alcohol can also increase the risk of liver damage if you’re taking methotrexate.

What are the best foods to eat if you have ulcerative colitis?

Focusing on what not to eat can be stressful and take the joy out of eating and cooking. Although there’s no single “best” food for ulcerative colitis, there are lots of tasty options to choose from. What works best (and is most appetizing) will be a little different for each person and will depend on your nutritional needs and other health conditions. 

In general, these foods have benefits when it comes to gut health:

• Fruits and vegetables: A diet full of fruits and veggies may be particularly helpful. Plant-based diets can help reduce inflammation, improve symptoms, and lower the risk of malnutrition. 

• Olive oil: Olive oil may help prevent intestinal inflammation and lower the risk of cancer.

• Yogurt: Yogurt is a source of beneficial microorganisms and may help reduce flares. But make sure to check the ingredients of your yogurt. Look for options that contain probiotics and don’t have added sugar.

• Eggs: Eggs prevent the formation of inflammatory chemicals and increase production of anti-inflammatory chemicals in the body.

• Turmeric: Turmeric is a spice that may help lessen flares and relieve symptoms.

Is there an ulcerative colitis diet?

There’s no single ulcerative colitis diet that works for everyone. Eating patterns that may be helpful for people with ulcerative colitis include:

• Mediterranean diet: The Mediterranean diet prioritizes plant-based foods, seafood, olive oil, and fresh herbs. It limits highly processed foods, saturated fat, and sugary foods and drinks. Research has found that it can help improve quality of life and lessen malnutrition in people with ulcerative colitis.

• A low-FODMAP diet: FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are a type of carbohydrates that are hard to digest. A low-FODMAP diet may help lessen symptoms in some people with ulcerative colitis. 

• Ulcerative Colitis Exclusion Diet (UCED): Small studies have suggested that UCED may help lessen symptoms in some children. But more research is needed, especially since exclusion-based diets can make it challenging to get adequate nutrition. 

Keep in mind: People with ulcerative colitis are at risk for developing malnutrition. It’s best to work with a dietitian who has experience working with people with ulcerative colitis. This way you can be sure your diet plan works for you and is safe to follow in the long term. 

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Written by:

Amy Walsh, MD, MDP

Amy Walsh, MD, MDP, has worked as an emergency physician for 15 years, including care at both rural hospitals and trauma centers. She is the former Global Emergency Medicine fellowship director at Health Partners.

Edited by:

Alex Eastman, PhD, RN

Alex Eastman, PhD, RN, is a California-based registered nurse and staff medical editor at GoodRx, where he focuses on clinical updates and Latino health.

Reviewed by:

Farzon A. Nahvi, MD

Farzon Nahvi, MD, is an emergency medicine physician and author of “Code Gray: Death, Life, and Uncertainty in the ER.” He works at Concord Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire, and teaches at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

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