Ok, so I was diagnosed about a year ago. I went through a lot of pain and misery before I was diagnosed like many on this site. I am finally (after over a year of different meds) starting to feel somewhat human again and so I am trying to get my diet on track. I have 3 or 4 books on IBD, Crohn's etc and I am really confused about what I can or should eat! I know everyone is different, but the moment I try to eat anything remotely healthy (veggies and some fruits) I begin getting terrible diarrhea and cramps. I recently started a new job (after not being able to work for 2 years due to health issues related to this) and we are in a small setting. It is extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing. I don't know how I am supposed to eat better when it seems like the only things that don't give me issues are chicken and rice. I have heard that Breaking the Viscous Cycle is a good start and the key to being able to digest these "healthy" foods is a cleanse that has something to do with chicken broth. This is 3rd or 4th hand knowledge, any advice out there from a fellow sufferer who has had success? Thanks everyone!
Anything to these help books?
- Thread starter Coping
- Start date
Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:
Breaking the Viscious Cycle (SCD diet) is a popular dietary idea people try.
You might take a look at this thread. It is on a Crohn's sight follower writing about her SCD diet along with using Dr. Hunter's IBD ideas to improve her condition.
"Newbie- Trying elemental/SCD route"
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=50080
You might take a look at this thread. It is on a Crohn's sight follower writing about her SCD diet along with using Dr. Hunter's IBD ideas to improve her condition.
"Newbie- Trying elemental/SCD route"
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=50080
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I have some trouble with "healthy" foods too - fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, nuts, seeds, etc.
Eating them in certain forms works ok for me, so while I can't eat masses of fruit, I can have juice, and certain fruits like bananas which are easier to digest. The easiest vegetables for me are root vegetables that are well cooked.
But really I think sometimes with Crohn's you have to have different priorities from the average person, and healthy eating rules are different for us. If you're worried about getting enough vitamins and nutrients, you might want to consider liquid food supplements. I got sent home from the hospital today with bottles and bottles of Fortisip.
Eating them in certain forms works ok for me, so while I can't eat masses of fruit, I can have juice, and certain fruits like bananas which are easier to digest. The easiest vegetables for me are root vegetables that are well cooked.
But really I think sometimes with Crohn's you have to have different priorities from the average person, and healthy eating rules are different for us. If you're worried about getting enough vitamins and nutrients, you might want to consider liquid food supplements. I got sent home from the hospital today with bottles and bottles of Fortisip.
PsychoJane
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Everything is so different from one to another. I can totally understand your wish to eat healthier and the difficulty to actually achieve so. I remember my first year of diagnosis, I was 14 so my mother was taking care of the what and not. I think it took a year after surgery before I ingested raw fruit/veggies. Nowadays I eat plenty of them on daily basis. The course of the disease influence but it also depends a lot of everyone guts. Some can't handle lettuce ever and some almost swear by it during healthy period. So it all depends.
If I was not able to handle my fruits and veggies raw or steam, I would have invested in a juicer (I still consider it but at the moment it seems time consuming for me). You still get the nutrients and seriously, I believe it included in our life way more often. I've never really read negative things about juicing. You get the nutrient but not the hard part that comes with the fiber digestion. So getting your juice along with your "easy food" is already a plus. Might be something to consider?
If I was not able to handle my fruits and veggies raw or steam, I would have invested in a juicer (I still consider it but at the moment it seems time consuming for me). You still get the nutrients and seriously, I believe it included in our life way more often. I've never really read negative things about juicing. You get the nutrient but not the hard part that comes with the fiber digestion. So getting your juice along with your "easy food" is already a plus. Might be something to consider?
UnXmas-The fact that our eating healthy will be different helps. I was just so confused about how most of the diets in the books I have read want me to eat raw, fruits and veggies and nuts beans etc and I can't eat any of these raw or some of them at all! I have managed to eat some of the softer melons and things but not much else. I will try cooking the tougher ones extra well. So the eating well is good, but preparing them differently is the key. I have also never heard of Fortisip before, I see my GI in 2 weeks so I will ask. Sometimes I feel that I am just a number. I am not sure about elsewhere, but in my area it takes about three months to get an apt with the GI (he is a Crohns specialist at a local University hospital) and there is a lot of vagueness with diet.
PsychoJane-I was just given a juicer by my amazing mom so I will be trying that in the next day or two. I am willing to invest the time to get the benefits. I am grey and more tired than I've ever been and just feel like I need this terribly bad.
I completely appreciate this site and everyone's input more than I can express!! I have been to a few dieticians or nutritionists and some have been terrible, most know nothing about the disease so the advice from you all about what has worked for some is better than I've gotten to this point. I wish you all well in your adventures!!
PsychoJane-I was just given a juicer by my amazing mom so I will be trying that in the next day or two. I am willing to invest the time to get the benefits. I am grey and more tired than I've ever been and just feel like I need this terribly bad.
I completely appreciate this site and everyone's input more than I can express!! I have been to a few dieticians or nutritionists and some have been terrible, most know nothing about the disease so the advice from you all about what has worked for some is better than I've gotten to this point. I wish you all well in your adventures!!
SCD works perfectly for my daughter, she doesn't even need any meds, but my son is a different story. He's on it since early May and doing okay, but he doesn't feel perfect. He takes all of his "healthy" foods in the form of smoothies and puréed soups. Today he ate a smoothie with half a cantaloupe, 2 bananas, a handful of almonds, a handful of baby spinach and half a cup of frozen blueberries. His dinner was roasted tomato soup and scd cheese toast. I make a big pot of lentil soup for him every week (has lots of iron) and freeze in single servings, to make it convenient for him. Instead of a salad, he drinks a green smoothie.
