Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis need a diagnosis and medical management, and they should keep both. Alongside that care there is a great deal a naturopath can contribute to IBD — to diet, to the microbiome, to the nutrient losses nobody warned you about, and to how you feel between flares.
Inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome get confused constantly. However, they are not the same thing. IBS is a disorder of gut function — genuinely disruptive, but it does not damage the bowel wall. Inflammatory bowel disease, meaning Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is immune-driven inflammation that does. As a result, it shows up on a colonoscopy, and it comes with a diagnosis, a specialist and usually a prescription.
If doctors spent years telling you your symptoms were stress or anxiety before someone finally scoped you, you will know how that feels. It is not “all in your head”. Indeed, it never was.
After diagnosis we hear the opposite problem: the specialist started the medication and booked the appointments, and nobody said much about food, energy, iron or bone health. In other words, that gap is where we work.
The gaps around your medical treatment: nutrient depletion, a diet that suits flares and remission separately, the microbiome, inflammatory load and the conditions that overlap with IBD. Two people with the same diagnosis can have very different disease behaviour, so we start with a long history, your recent pathology and specialist letters, and testing where it will change the plan.
The areas we most often work on:
First, your gastroenterologist leads. We do not diagnose or monitor inflammatory bowel disease, and we will never suggest you stop or reduce a prescribed medication — that decision belongs to you and your specialist, and stopping medication here carries real risk. In practice, what we do is work in the space around that care:
Similarly, symptoms that continue in remission deserve investigation rather than resignation. There is more in our piece on when your tummy feels not quite right.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
Inflammatory bowel disease can become serious quickly. Please contact your gastroenterologist, GP or an emergency department rather than waiting for a naturopathic appointment if you have significant rectal bleeding, severe or worsening abdominal pain, fever, persistent vomiting, unexplained weight loss, or a flare that is not settling. Regular specialist monitoring, including colonoscopic surveillance, continues regardless of how well you feel.
If you have gut symptoms but no diagnosis, the first step is a doctor, not a supplement. After all, getting the diagnosis right is what makes everything after it useful (healthdirect outlines the diagnostic process for IBD), and we would rather send you back for proper investigation than treat around a question mark.
No. Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional disorder — the gut behaves abnormally but the bowel wall stays intact. Inflammatory bowel disease, meaning Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is immune-driven inflammation that damages the bowel wall and is visible on colonoscopy. They can feel similar from the inside. That is exactly why diagnosis matters.
No. A naturopath does not treat IBD and does not replace your specialist. We work alongside your medical team on the things nutrition and naturopathic medicine can genuinely influence: nutrient deficiencies, diet, the microbiome, inflammatory load and general wellbeing between flares.
No, and we would not ask you to. Medication decisions in inflammatory bowel disease sit with you and your gastroenterologist. In addition, we check everything we prescribe for interactions with what you are already taking.
There is no single IBD diet that suits everyone. What is tolerated during a flare is often quite different from what serves you best in remission, and the location and behaviour of your disease change the answer. The aim is the widest, most nourishing diet you can comfortably manage, not the most restrictive.
We cannot promise remission or prevent a flare, and nobody honestly can. We can address the modifiable inputs — nutritional status, diet quality, microbiome diversity, sleep and stress load — which is worth doing on its own terms.
If you are managing Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis and nobody has addressed the nutritional side, we would like to help. Our naturopaths and nutritionists consult from Geelong CBD and Drysdale, in person or by telehealth, six days a week. Bring your recent pathology, and we will start by listening.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
