16 August,2026 07:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
Australian supermodel and wellness entrepreneur Miranda Kerr has recently spoken about living with proctitis, an inflammatory condition affecting the rectum, and the highly personalised diet that helped her reach remission after a six-year struggle. Pic/Instagram@mirandakerr
Food as medicine has long been one of wellness culture's most comforting ideas. But Miranda Kerr's recent dietary revelations show just how nuanced that relationship can be.
The Australian supermodel and wellness entrepreneur recently spoke about living with proctitis, an inflammatory condition affecting the rectum, and the highly personalised diet that helped her reach remission after a six-year struggle. Her routine includes noni juice, marshmallow tea, coconut yoghurt, and game meats such as bison and venison, while avoiding grains, dairy, eggs, and several mass-produced vegetables.
Her comments have sparked an intense conversation. For some, her diet reflects the reality that chronic illness often demands deeply individual solutions. For others, it highlights a wellness culture that increasingly equates restriction with health.
The discussion, however, is much bigger than one celebrity's eating habits. At a time when gut health, anti-inflammatory diets, and bio-hacking dominate wellness conversations, Kerr's food choices raise an important question: when does personalised nutrition stop being personal and start becoming advice for everyone else?
Never, say experts.
Dr Sanil Parekh, Additional Director, Interventional Endoscopy, Institute of Gastrosciences, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, cautions against blanket food restrictions. "When the gut is inflamed, the intestinal barrier becomes compromised, which is why certain foods such as eggs, wheat, soya, and peanuts may temporarily need to be restricted. But diet alone isn't the answer. Medical evaluation and treatment are equally important. Once the inflammation settles and the gut heals, many of these foods can often be reintroduced," he says.
Proctitis, the condition Kerr has spoken about, is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dr Parekh says proctitis was once considered a Western disease, but we're now seeing a significant rise in cases in India. "Genetics, autoimmune disorders, infections, processed foods, and changing dietary habits may all be contributing factors," he adds.
Celebrity wellness trends often reduce gut health to a simple formula: remove grains, cut out gluten, and avoid anything that might trigger inflammation. But the science is far more nuanced. The International Organisation for the Study of IBD found insufficient evidence to recommend restricting wheat, gluten or complex carbohydrates in people with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
Nutritionist Tanvi Bole Shah believes the debate shouldn't centre on whether grains are essential, but on what their absence means for the body.
"Whole grains are among the most accessible sources of dietary fibre, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and prebiotic compounds that support the gut microbiome. Eliminating them doesn't cause an immediate problem, but over time, reduced fibre intake can alter the gut environment and affect the beneficial bacteria that support digestion and overall health," she says. In her TMK Pantry® kitchen, where she calculates macros for every client meal against USDA and IFCT data, the pattern is unmistakable; the clients who remove grains without a replacement plan routinely land at 12 to 15 grams of fibre a day. "That is the real cost. Not the absence of roti, but the absence of what roti was carrying," she warns.
If you wish to go grain-free, Shah explains that the fibre, B vitamins, magnesium and the carbohydrates that feed gut bacteria have to be replaced through legumes, dals, pseudocereals such as rajgira, kuttu and quinoa, along with vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and tubers.
Dr Parekh also warns against treating a grain-free diet as a cure-all. "In a country like India, where grains form the foundation of most meals, eliminating them shouldn't be the first line of treatment. Dietary restrictions should be tailored to the individual and used only when necessary. Overly restrictive diets can create an entirely new set of problems, including nutritional deficiencies and inadequate calorie intake, especially when the body is already dealing with inflammation," he adds. Instead, research increasingly supports a Mediterranean-style diet centred on whole foods rather than wholesale elimination. Dr Parekh recommends a more targeted approach. "One of the most evidence-based dietary strategies for managing gut symptoms is the low-FODMAP diet, which temporarily restricts foods known to irritate the gut, including cabbage, cauliflower, raw onions, raw garlic and apples. We also evaluate common triggers such as wheat, eggs, peanuts, soya and shellfish," he says. The emphasis, however, is on temporary.
Experts also caution against self-diagnosing food intolerances. "Digestive symptoms can be caused by inflammation, infection, stress or food intolerance. The first step is to identify the underlying cause rather than immediately blaming a particular food," says Dr Parekh. He recommends keeping a food diary to identify patterns instead of reacting to isolated episodes. Allergy tests can help, but they should be used selectively to avoid unnecessarily restricting the diet.
Shah is equally cautious about self-diagnosis. "Unstructured self-observation is where belief masquerades as data," she says. Rather than eliminating entire food groups, she recommends removing one suspected food at a time, tracking symptoms for a few weeks and then reintroducing it. "One bad day proves nothing. A food becomes a meaningful trigger only when symptoms consistently return."
She also warns against relying on social media for answers. Conditions such as coeliac disease, for instance, need to be tested while gluten is still part of the diet. Her advice is simple: Did your symptoms lead you to the food, or did the internet lead you to your symptoms?
When it comes to gut health, both experts agree on one thing: don't overlook the basics. Naturally fermented foods such as curd, yoghurt, kimchi and sauerkraut can support the gut microbiome," says Dr Parekh. "But probiotic supplements should be taken only when they're medically indicated, not simply because they're marketed as âgut-friendly'."
Shah says diversity still matters. "Different plant foods nourish different strains of beneficial bacteria. The goal isn't to eat perfectly, but to build a varied, minimally processed diet that supports the gut over the long term," she adds.
. Breakfast: Soft vegetable oats upma or dalia with carrots, peas and ginger, finished with a spoonful of ghee, paired with homemade curd for a combination of fibre and beneficial bacteria.
. Mid-morning: One seasonal fruit, eaten whole rather than juiced, along with a handful of soaked almonds or walnuts.
. Lunch: Dal, a whole grain such as hand-pounded rice, millet or phulka, a serving of seasonal vegetables and a simple kachumber salad with lemon.
. Evening: A warm cup of chicken bone broth or light vegetable broth. For vegetarians, a thin rasam offers a similarly soothing option.
. Dinner: A simple moong dal khichdi tempered with cumin and hing, served with sautéed greens or lauki. Ideally, dinner should be eaten two to three hours before bedtime.
. Throughout the day: Stay hydrated, eat slowly and avoid rushed, standing meals. How we eat can be just as important as what we eat. This is a general template, not medical advice, and is designed for someone without an active flare, diagnosed intolerance or bowel stricture.
