New Evidence on Meal Timing and Crohn’s Disease Outcomes, With Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo, PhD

As interest grows in lifestyle-based strategies to complement pharmacologic therapy in Crohn’s disease, attention is increasingly turning to interventions that target metabolism and the gut microbiome without requiring restrictive diet overhauls.

Among these, time-restricted feeding has emerged as a promising approach. Rather than changing what patients eat, this strategy restructures when they eat, leveraging circadian biology, metabolic remodeling, and immune regulation. In a recent randomized clinical trial published in Gastroenterology, researchers evaluated time-restricted feeding as a complementary strategy in adults with Crohn’s in clinical remission and overweight or obesity, with findings suggesting its impact on clinical disease activity, body composition, and systemic inflammation.

In an interview with HCPLive, Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo, PhD, VP of IBD Ventures and Translational Research at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, examined the clinical significance of recent randomized trial data and what these findings could mean for sustaining remission in Crohn’s disease.

Check out part 1 of the interview with Hurtado-Lorenzo here.

In the trial, over a 12-week period, participants following a 16:8 fasting protocol experienced significant reductions in body weight and visceral fat despite consuming similar calories and foods as the control group. Hurtado-Lorenzo emphasized the importance of this observation: metabolic benefits emerged without dietary modification, underscoring meal timing as an independent variable in disease management.

Symptom improvement represented another key outcome, carrying practical significance in a condition where symptom burden often affects quality of life and treatment satisfaction. Hurtado-Lorenzo framed the findings as evidence that time-based interventions might complement existing therapies by addressing metabolic and inflammatory pathways not fully targeted by pharmacologic agents.

“These findings suggest that by targeting visceral fat, intermittent fasting can break the cycle of inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, making it a promising management strategy for conditions like Crohn's disease and overall metabolic health,” he explained.

The study also explored microbiome dynamics, revealing increases in microbial diversity and enrichment of short-chain fatty acid–producing bacteria among participants practicing intermittent fasting. Hurtado-Lorenzo highlighted this point as particularly relevant to Crohn’s disease, given the role of gut microbiota in immune regulation and intestinal inflammation.

Importantly, the discussion maintained that time-restricted feeding should not be viewed as a replacement for standard medical therapy. Instead, it represents a potential adjunct strategy, low cost and accessible, that could work in synergy with established treatments to help sustain remission.

While he says further research is required to confirm long-term benefits, the results provide early evidence that structured fasting protocols could become part of a broader, multimodal approach to inflammatory bowel disease management.

References

1. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Intermittent fasting cut Crohn’s disease activity by 40% and halved inflammation in randomized clinical trial. February 9, 2026. Accessed February 19, 2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1114988

2. Haskey N, Ye J, Lewis A, Yousuf M, Reimer RA, Raman M. Time-Restricted Feeding Reduces Body Mass Index, Visceral Adiposity, Systemic Inflammation, and Clinical Disease Activity in Adults With Crohn's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Study. Gastroenterology. Published online February 9, 2026. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2025.11.008