Supplementation of vitamins and minerals in the context of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) should be specific to existing deficiencies in each patient (1).
There is little evidence in this context for blind ingestion of over the counter supplements without a diagnostic correlate for, or at least reasonable clinical suspicion of a particular deficiency.
Do guidelines exist for how people with Inflammatory Bowel Disorder should supplement with multiminerals and not risk a flare?
Guidelines exist for management of IBD including treatment of deficiency (for example: 2, 3). The intended audience is physicians. Informational resources for patients are also available (for instance: 4, 5). Patients should consult with their physicians to determine the necessity of taking supplements.
...as their gut is already compromised such conventional supplements are contraindicated.
IBDs are variable in their severity: the function of the gut is not necessarily continuously compromised and different sections of the gut can be affected. As such the choice of supplement and method of administration must be tailored to the individual situation: disease activity, patient tolerance, degree of deficiency and success or failure of a given supplement are relevant factors.
Are there other ways of supplementing?
Application methods depend on the substance. The most common deficiencies in the context of IBD are Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Zinc and Calcium (6). All of these can be administered per os or intravenously (1, 6). As pointed out elsewhere, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D can be administered under the skin or in the muscle (7).
