Can a liquid diet induce remission of Crohn's Disease

[seligsoj]

I have Crohn's disease and I started having symptoms about 8 weeks ago that got progressively worse including indigestion, severe abdominal cramping and some diarrea. My issues began after trying to eat increasingly healthy and upping my fiber intake.

I take asacol every day. My doctor put me on entocort but that didn't provide any relief as it has in the past. Out of desperation, and as I wait for test results, I am currently eating a very limited, low residue, modified liquid diet and my stomach feels great when I stick to this regime..... chicken, bread, bananas, ensure, rice, eggs, and noodle soup are the main staples of my diet...if I try to vary from this.....the indigestion, abdominal cramping, and diarrea comes back. However, I've waited only about 4-5 days at a time before trying to reintroduce foods and it probably needs to be much longer

I've read that a liquid diet can put you into remission if done over an extended period of time. If I stick to this diet for 6-8 weeks, is it possible that it could put me into remission? Or does it depend on the nature of the presenting problems (i.e. is it inflamation vs. a stricture that is causing the stomach issues).

 

[Jennifer]

I've read that a liquid diet can put you into remission if done over an extended period of time. If I stick to this diet for 6-8 weeks, is it possible that it could put me into remission?

NO.

Or does it depend on the nature of the presenting problems (i.e. is it inflamation vs. a stricture that is causing the stomach issues).

YES. You have to know what's going on in there. It doesn't matter how many daisies you eat or don't eat, you need to treat the problem and food is not the problem (although I wouldn't increase fiber if I already had diarrhea). Knowing how certain foods work is one thing so you can avoid unnecessary symptoms like gas, constipation diarrhea etc. (symptoms that affect everyone even if they don't have IBD) but thinking that avoiding certain ones (or food entirely) will put you into remission is false.

Gut rest can be helpful for some people but it depends on what's happening in there. I'd suggest speaking with your GI and see if they'd like any tests done to see what's really causing all this business and ask them if they think gut rest would help in your case. If they say yes then give it a try but doing it by yourself hoping that your problem will go away on its own is not a good idea. I do hope you start feeling better soon though. There's no guarantee that gut rest will help especially when you don't know why this is happening so I'd hate for you to needlessly go hungry.

 

[Rebecca85]

I would be concerned that if the entocort isn't helping you might have a stricture. No diet will heal a stricture! As for inflammation, the reason a liquid diet helps is because the nutrients are absorbed by the time it gets to the bad part of the intestines, so it has nothing to do. Bland food, soups and even Ensure type drinks are not the same, and still require the intestine to work, so won't put you in remission on its own. However a diet like this does provide symptom reluef while you wait for meds to work, basically because the food is soft and runny it doesn't scratch the inflammation. Hope that helps!