Suggested Reading for IBD, Crohn's and Colitis

A useful IBD reading list needs more than medical explainers. It should also make room for practical guidance, patient organisations and the individual voices that describe parts of life a clinical overview may miss.

This page brings those kinds of reading together so you can choose what is useful to you. Last reviewed: 20 August 2026.

Links are included for information and do not imply that Mirae endorses the organisations, authors, communities, products, services or views on the linked pages. Mirae does not control their content, accuracy, availability or privacy practices.

This guide is for education and support, not diagnosis or individual medical advice. Do not start or stop medication, alter steroid doses or begin a restrictive diet based on a blog or forum post. Discuss treatment and major dietary changes with an IBD gastroenterologist or IBD-focused dietitian.

Best places to begin

• All About Crohn's and Colitis — Crohn's & Colitis UK — An accessible overview of symptoms, testing, treatment, surgery and food.
• Crohn's Disease — NIDDK/NIH — Government health information on Crohn's disease.
• Ulcerative Colitis — NIDDK/NIH — Government health information on ulcerative colitis.
• Newly Diagnosed — Crohn's & Colitis Foundation — A roadmap covering treatment, nutrition, mental health and working with an IBD team.

Medical articles and professional guidance

These are written mainly for clinicians but can help patients prepare informed questions for their gastroenterologist.

• 2025 ACG Clinical Guideline: Management of Crohn's Disease in Adults.
• 2025 ACG Clinical Guideline Update: Ulcerative Colitis in Adults.
• Clinician-written summary of the 2025 ACG ulcerative colitis guideline.
• AGA Living Guideline for Moderate-to-Severe Ulcerative Colitis.
• ECCO Guidelines — European professional guidance covering treatment, surgery, monitoring, pregnancy and complications.

Practical patient guidance

Food and nutrition

• Food and Crohn's or Colitis — Crohn's & Colitis UK — Balanced guidance that does not promote one universal IBD diet.
• What Should I Eat? — Crohn's & Colitis Foundation — Hydration, meal planning, food texture, flares and stricturing Crohn's.

Fatigue and mental health

• Fatigue and IBD — Crohn's & Colitis UK — Medical explanations and practical suggestions from patients.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing — Crohn's & Colitis UK — Anxiety, low mood, coping, relationships and finding support.

Travel and everyday life

• Traveling With IBD — Crohn's & Colitis Foundation — Bathroom planning, medicine, insurance, emergency preparation and packing.

Personal blogs and individual voices

• Lights, Camera, Crohn's — Natalie Hayden writes about Crohn's, hospitalisation, surgery, biologics, work, pregnancy and motherhood.
• Own Your Crohn's — Tina Aswani-Omprakash covers surgery, mental health, travel, cultural stigma, advocacy and the South Asian patient experience.
• Kimberly M. Hooks — A Black woman's experience with ulcerative colitis, delayed diagnosis, colectomy, ostomy and J-pouch surgery.
• The Spoonie Mummy — Crohn's, an ileostomy, parenting, teaching, disability, travel and mental health.
• The Crohnoid Blog / Wrestling the Octopus — A long-term account covering operations, hospitals, appointments, records, work and adaptation.
• Rasheed Clarke — A long-term perspective on life after ulcerative colitis and J-pouch surgery.
• Pouch Heals — A personal account of ulcerative colitis, surgery and more than 16 years with a J-pouch.
• IBD.wtf — A personal IBD site combining candid lived experience, plain-language explainers and an interactive anatomy explorer.
• Toby Howls — Literary and candid writing about Crohn's, disability and mental health. Start with Toby's Crohn's story.

Patient-story collections

• Crohn's & Colitis UK Stories.
• Finding My New Normal After a Colitis Diagnosis.
• Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Patient Stories.
• Girls With Guts — Patient-written stories focused largely on women, IBD, ostomies and J-pouches.
• IBD Relief Stories.
• Got Guts — Crohn's & Colitis Australia.
• Ride4IBD: Reflecting on 18 Months With a J-Pouch.

Podcasts and audio

• About IBD Podcast — Patient experiences and expert interviews on surgery, family, careers, travel, relationships and mental health.
• Wrestling the Octopus — The IBD Patient's Podcast.

Peer support and discussion communities

• Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Support Groups.
• r/CrohnsDisease.
• r/UlcerativeColitis.
• r/ostomy.
• r/jpouch.

Forums are useful for very specific lived experiences, but they naturally overrepresent people currently experiencing difficulties or seeking help. Treat personal suggestions as conversation starters, not medical recommendations.

Advocacy organisations

• Crohn's & Colitis Foundation — US-based education, support, research, stories and advocacy.
• Crohn's & Colitis UK — Education, support, community, research, stories and advocacy.
• EFCCA — European Federation of Crohn's & Ulcerative Colitis Associations.
• IFCCA — International Federation of Crohn's & Ulcerative Colitis Associations.
• Girls With Guts — Community and advocacy focused on women and people living with IBD, ostomies and J-pouches.