Category 02
Replenishing the nutrients Crohn’s depletes
Crohn’s affects how your body absorbs key vitamins and minerals. Rebuilding those stores is one of the most empowering, well-supported steps you can take for energy, bones and gut-lining health.
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)
Cobalamin · Cyanocobalamin · Methylcobalamin
B12 is absorbed almost entirely in the terminal ileum — the area Crohn’s affects most. Replenishing it can transform energy, mood and nerve health.
Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)
Cholecalciferol · 25-hydroxyvitamin D · Vitamin D3
Low in a majority of people with Crohn’s, and unique among nutrients because vitamin D actively supports immune balance and gut barrier health.
Iron
Ferrous sulfate · Ferric carboxymaltose · Ferric maltol
The most common nutrient challenge in Crohn’s. Rebuilding iron stores is one of the most noticeable ways to restore energy.
Zinc
Zinc sulfate · Zinc gluconate · Zinc picolinate
Around half of people with Crohn’s are low in zinc, a mineral essential for gut-lining repair and shown to help tighten a “leaky” gut.
Folate (Vitamin B9)
Folic acid · Vitamin B9 · Methylfolate
About 29% of people with Crohn’s are low in folate, which is essential for healthy cell renewal throughout the gut lining.
Vitamin K
Phylloquinone · Vitamin K1 · Menaquinone
Often overlooked, vitamin K helps direct calcium into bones — key for the many people with Crohn’s who have low bone density.
Calcium
Calcium carbonate · Calcium citrate · Bone mineral density
Calcium is the foundation of bone strength, and Crohn’s, steroid courses and dairy avoidance can all quietly deplete it.
At a glance
Why each nutrient runs low in Crohn’s, so you know what to ask your care team to test.
| Nutrient | Prevalence | Primary driver in Crohn’s |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) | ~33% | Ileal or ileocolonic Crohn’s disease (as opposed to colonic-only disease) |
| Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) | 22–70% | Extensive small bowel disease or resection |
| Iron | ~1 in 3 | Active mucosal ulceration with ongoing occult blood loss |
| Zinc | ~54% | High-output diarrhoea, enterocutaneous fistula or high-output stoma |
| Folate (Vitamin B9) | ~29% | Sulfasalazine therapy — inhibits folate absorption directly |
| Vitamin K | 22–77% | Ileal disease or resection with bile salt depletion |
| Calcium | 7–15% | Cumulative corticosteroid exposure — the single strongest modifiable risk factor |
Phase 2 — in development
Where traditional research stops, our community begins
Natural compounds can’t be patented, so they rarely get the multi-million-dollar trials that drugs receive. That leaves people with Crohn’s without answers to the questions that matter most: what actually helps, at what dose, and for whom? Our Community Symptom Tracker will crowdsource those answers from real people living with Crohn’s, and our upcoming wellness store will make it easy to find quality, third-party-tested products.
- Log your symptoms, supplements and doses in a private daily tracker
- See what’s working for people with the same disease location and medications
- Contribute to the largest real-world dataset on natural Crohn’s support
- Shop curated, third-party-tested protocols from our upcoming store
Be one of the first to join
Early access is opening soon. Bookmark this page and check back — we’ll announce sign-ups here first.