Most of the early enthusiasm around calorie restriction and Crohn’s disease came from animal research. Now human studies are beginning to test whether those findings translate to patients, Ivanina says.
In a randomized controlled trial funded by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation published in February 2026, 20 adults with Crohn’s disease who were overweight or living with obesity tested out intermittent fasting by eating within an 8-hour daily window for 12 weeks.
Compared with 15 controls, they saw a 40-percent reduction in disease activity and a 50-percent reduction in abdominal discomfort. They also lost an average of 5.5 pounds (lb) and improved inflammatory and metabolic markers. Because participants did not significantly change what or how much they ate, researchers believe meal timing drove the results.
Circadian rhythm may be a key factor in nutrient signaling, hormone release, digestion and even microbiome function, says Maitreyi Raman, MD, the study’s senior author and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Calgary.
“We hypothesize eating in a specific window when these physiological processes are most coordinated contributed to these positive results,” Dr. Raman says. She noted that fasting periods may improve fat utilization and cut visceral fat, which is a known contributor to systemic inflammation.
Her findings build on Stanford-led research studying the fasting-mimicking diet. In this case, participants followed a low-calorie, plant-based fasting-mimicking diet for five consecutive days each month over three months while eating their usual diets the rest of the time. By the end of the trial, 69 percent of those in the fasting-mimicking group reported a meaningful reduction in disease activity, and 65 percent were in remission.
Another randomized trial published in 2025 similarly found that short monthly cycles of reduced calorie intake were feasible and associated with improved inflammatory and metabolic outcomes.
Read the full article here
