Vegetarian Diet in Ulcerative Colitis (LOVUC)

To determine whether a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is effective in improving gastrointestinal symptoms, quality-of-life, intestinal inflammation and gut microbiota composition in mild-to-moderate UC compared to a standard omnivorous diet. This study will review whether a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is an optimal dietary therapy to achieve a clinical response in mild to moderate UC as an adjunctive treatment to current medical therapies. The proposed RCT will be used to evaluate the efficacy of a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet together with its effect on the microbiota to create an enhanced understanding of the role diet plays in the management of UC. Using a socially acceptable diet it is anticipated that food-related quality-of-life measures will improve for participants. Dietary modification could be a more economical, safer and more effective means of reducing symptoms and flare-ups compared to pharmacological therapy. Phase 1: Open labelled, single centre trial (10 patients) Phase 2: Open labelled, single centre, single blinded, randomised controlled clinical trial (n=30).