Crohn’s Exclusion Diet
A whole-food diet that removes suspected gut irritants while formula supplies part of the day’s calories.
Compiled by Nidari Nutrition from the Atlas dataset · pending clinical review by Maryam Shabbir, DN.
This is an Atlas entry — a short reference overview, not one of our long-form diet guides. Educational, not medical advice; personalized and clinically reviewed at your consult.
What is Crohn’s Exclusion Diet?
Crohn’s Exclusion Diet is a therapeutic and medical eating pattern from Holon, Israel. Nidari rates it hard to keep up day to day, and rates the weight of peer-reviewed evidence behind its main claims as moderate.
Family: Therapeutic & Medical · Origin: Holon, Israel · Era: 2014 · RCT 2019 · Difficulty: Hard · Evidence rating: Moderate evidence
Where does Crohn’s Exclusion Diet come from?
Exclusive formula feeding works for Crohn’s disease, but many people cannot face weeks of drinking nothing else. Levine’s team at Wolfson Medical Center built a compromise: a structured whole-food diet excluding wheat, dairy, animal fat, red meat and food additives, paired with formula for part of the day. It was published in 2014 and tested against exclusive formula in a randomised trial in 2019.
Originator: Arie Levine & Rotem Sigall Boneh, Wolfson Medical Center · Region: Holon, Israel · Era: 2014 · RCT 2019 · Atlas map pin: 32.02° N, 34.79° E
How does Crohn’s Exclusion Diet work?
- Real food, plus part-time formula
- Excludes wheat, dairy and animal fat
- No emulsifiers or processed foods
- Staged: strict phase, then widening
What do you eat on Crohn’s Exclusion Diet?
✓ Eat freely
- Chicken, eggs and fish
- Rice, potatoes and bananas
- Fresh fruit and vegetables
✕ Limit or avoid
- Wheat and dairy
- Red and processed meat
- Emulsifiers and additives
Who is Crohn’s Exclusion Diet for?
The goals this pattern is most often used for. In a consult we confirm whether it actually fits your body and life.
Is there good evidence that Crohn’s Exclusion Diet works?
Nidari rates the evidence behind Crohn’s Exclusion Diet’s primary claims as moderate — that is the current weight of peer-reviewed research for those claims, and nothing more.
In the 2019 randomised trial of 74 children (Levine et al., Gastroenterology), the diet plus partial enteral nutrition was tolerated by 97.5% against 73.6% for exclusive formula, with 75.6% in steroid-free remission at week 12 against 45.1%. A 2022 adult trial was an open-label pilot, and the 2025 maintenance trial was underpowered.
Is Crohn’s Exclusion Diet safe, and who should avoid it?
A medical diet for mild-to-moderate luminal Crohn’s, to be run with a gastroenterologist and IBD dietitian. Untested in severe, stricturing, penetrating or perianal disease, and not a substitute for prescribed medication. Children need growth monitoring throughout; the formula is part of the therapy, not optional.
How does Nidari adapt Crohn’s Exclusion Diet?
The wheat exclusion is the hard part in a roti household, so we rebuild the plate around rice, and lean chicken or fish in place of red meat — but only alongside your gastroenterologist and IBD dietitian, never instead of them.
Book a free 15-minute intro callReady to discuss Crohn’s Exclusion Diet?
Fifteen minutes with one of our dietitians. We’ll tell you honestly whether Crohn’s Exclusion Diet fits you — or point you to the diet that does. Halal and home-kitchen ready. No pressure.