Diet

[Sue-2009]

I see alot of posts here for diet. But, does your diet cause flares or does it just irritate your crohns? I'm newly diagnosed....Sue

 

[My Butt Hurts]

I'm thinking that you could see it as a sandpaper comparison.
If you rub your finger with sandpaper, it'll be okay. If you rub it too much, it'll get irritated.
If I eat coleslaw, I might be okay. If I eat coleslaw, onion rings, and baked beans I might not.

It's really hard to answer your question though. It's almost like the chicken and the egg question - what came first?
When I am in a flare, it seems that everything bothers me. When I am feeling healthy, it seems that I can eat almost anything. It's a good idea to still eat cautiously even when you feel well, just in case.
Another reason that question is difficult to answer is because different foods affect people in different ways. Some of us can drink milk, some can't. Some of us are fine with carrots, some aren't.

(Ugh - I just reread that answer and it doesn't seem to make sense. I hope that helped you in some small way.)

 

[Sue-2009]

Thanks...I'm a newby, so I just don't know...I'm still in a flare...But, prednisone thankfully is making me hungry...I'm way to thin...So, I want everything...I did notice that the ham made me sore yesterday....So, I just didn't know if the foods would cause a flare or if the crohns does itself...S

 

[Jennjenn]

Even when I am feeling great I have to stay away from a lot of things. I am not telling you to stay away from ham but I do because I find it hard to digest. I usually stick to turkey or sliced chicken. From the begining when I got sick no matter what meds I am on even when I tried taking nothing I never got my hunger back. I have not felt hungry in years. I do eat but though.

 

[mwb3779]

I love ham, it was the one food in the hospital I could eat and not have issues. Not the sugared kind. I will tell you sesame seeds and almonds are a huge no no for me. Banana are good. Swiss cheese, string cheese and Lactose free milk are good. For some reason, pretzels have been a staple for me. Pudding w/ lactose free milk, yes. Vanilla shakes yes. Chocolate and Strawberry no. Chicken is also very good. Beef no. Bacon no. Sausage huge no. Salads, no. Most veggies at this point are a no. Some potatoes, like mashed yes, french fries yes. Tots no, scalloped no, Baked no. Its weird. What I do now is keep a food diary to help me know what is good and bad. I drink Glucerna (or ensure) when I'm having a rough time. I'll add protein powder and that helps.

I have found it all depends on what you can (pardon the pun) stomach. Try things. Go to www.scdrecipe.com Its all fairly ok for most Crohn's peeps. Hope that helps.

 

[BWS1982]

Well to add, it's technically unknown for sure if food causes a flare up, but science has enough information that Crohn's itself is not caused by "food" per se, but a microbe or bacterium in food, or a virus, etc...that is IN the food, might. Food can make a flare (or even a normal person) worse off, though, but that's individualized.

As for causing flares, food may or may not, it's unknown, and probably individual too, as in where your Crohn's is, and what kind of foods do what to you. More questions and mysteries instead of answers, I'm afraid.