We can help

At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), our Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) recognizes that good nutrition can lead to better disease outcomes. Adequate nutrition is necessary for growth and development for management of inflammatory bowel disease. Our registered dietitians support patients with IBD and their families by addressing nutritional concerns and providing individualized recommendations to help manage their inflammatory bowel disease. 

Who are we?  

Gastrointestinal (GI) registered dietitians

Pediatric registered dietitians with the Center for Pediatric IBD provide customized dietary counseling to meet the medical and cultural needs of your child. Our dietitians are experts in evaluating nutritional needs and can help guide IBD patients and families toward healthy eating habits while maintaining good nutritional status.

For your convenience, we are able to schedule a coordinated visit with your gastroenterologist and dietitian. To learn more, please call the IBD Center at 215-590-7423. 

Nutritional therapy

Certain diets can be used to help treat IBD and should be discussed with your doctor before trying. Enteral nutrition therapy (ENT) is a dietary treatment that may be used for some patients with inflammatory bowel disease, most often Crohn’s disease. Enteral nutrition therapy uses formula as medicine. The goal of enteral nutrition therapy is the absence of signs and symptoms of disease (remission) and healing of the GI tract. 

If you are interested in discussing nutritional therapy and other diets for your child, it is very important to consult your pediatric gastroenterologist.

What to expect at your visit with an IBD dietitian

Registered dietitians in the IBD Center provide in-depth nutrition assessment and counseling which includes:

• Assessment of nutritional and growth status
• Management of tube feedings
• Evaluation of special or restrictive diets
• Difficulty gaining weight
• Obesity counseling
• Replacement of nutritional deficiencies
• Very early onset nutrition counseling

Nutrition and its role in IBD research

Diet and IBD continues to be a very active area of research here at CHOP. View a list of highlighted research and clinical trials. 

Recipes

View a list of recipes created by team members at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and partners.