Inflammatory bowel disorders and fat-soluble vitamins

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a group of chronic, relapsing, and highly problematic conditions that affect the gastrointestinal system. The course of IBD, encompassing symptoms like diarrhea, blood in the stool, and abdominal pain, forces the limitation of oral intake. Therefore it poses a real danger to the patients’ nutritional status, and results in deficiencies of micronutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). In this chapter we discuss the involvement of fat-soluble vitamins in many possible aspects of the etiology and in the course of IBD, with particular attention on vitamin D.