Staying Healthy if You Have Crohn’s DiseaseIf you have Crohn’s, one of the best ways to prevent complications and live a long, healthier life is to stick to your treatment plan and make good lifestyle choices. Here are a few tips to try.Take medication, if needed. Ask your doctor if you’re a candidate for medication for Crohn’s disease, which can help quell underlying inflammation, says Ananthakrishnan. “People with poorly controlled Crohn’s wind up with a lot of bowel damage and repeated, resistant, or undertreated inflammation,” he says.Letting your Crohn’s disease go untreated can also cause nutrient deficiencies, he says, and research shows that malnutrition among people with Crohn’s can lead to increases in hospitalizations and mortality rates.Eat a Mediterranean diet. This type of diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, fish, and extra virgin olive oil. A study published in 2021 by researchers from Harvard and coauthored by Ananthakrishnan found that eating a Mediterranean diet — along with exercising regularly and limiting your alcohol intake — can increase your life span by almost 30 percent.Quit smoking. Kicking your cigarette habit after diagnosis can help lengthen your life span, according to a study published in 2022 in the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. The researchers found that people with Crohn’s who stopped smoking experienced a 72 percent drop in mortality rate.Get regular osteoporosis screenings. About 30 to 60 percent of people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have lower-than-average bone density, including osteoporosis, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. (Osteoporosis, which includes having thin, weak bones, can lead to fractures that can then cause disability or death.)Osteoporosis can be detected with a test for bone mineral density, such as a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Talk to your doctor about how often you should be screened: People who are postmenopausal, have been taking steroids, or are over age 60 may need to be screened more regularly.Get regular colonoscopies. People who have Crohn’s disease in the colon — especially those who have had the disease for more than eight years — have a higher risk of colorectal cancer than the general population.Luckily, colorectal cancer is highly treatable if it’s caught early, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. For people who’ve had Crohn’s for eight years or longer, they recommend getting a colonoscopy once every one to two years.Schedule cervical cancer screenings. People who take immunosuppressive medications for IBD have a higher risk of cervical cancer compared with those who don’t take these medications, according to a study in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.It’s thought, for example, that people who are on immunosuppressive medications can be more likely to catch the human papillomavirus, a common cause of cervical cancer. Ask your doctor how often you should get a cancer screening.Shore up your vitamin D intake. Everyone with IBD needs to get an adequate amount of vitamin D, according to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, as it can help control intestinal inflammation. The vitamin can be found in foods such as salmon, tuna, sardines, milk, and fortified yogurts and cereals, and you could also ask your doctor about starting a supplement.Taking vitamin D can also help your body absorb calcium, which helps you maintain healthy bones.The bottom line: It’s important to keep your Crohn’s in check by getting the recommended tests, including blood, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scans, and colonoscopies — even if you’re symptom free.“People are most concerned about how they feel,” says Ananthakrishnan, but even if you don’t have symptoms, you could have underlying inflammation that still needs to be treated.