Diets for Crohns

[saralynn]

Hello,

So, here's what's going on. My boyfriend's Crohn's has got a lot worse over the last year. Anyway, He is not on a special diet and he does not avoid any foods. His doctor has told him many times that his diet does not bother his Crohn's and that avoiding foods will not help him. We are trying to figure out what to do to help even just a little bit. It seems that he's in pain almost all the time especially right after he eats.

I guess the questions are, what kind of diets are out there that could help? what has helped you? and what were your doctors thoughts on diets? Do certain foods have any effect on crohn's? What about a gluten free diet?

 

[lblair]

Hi Saralynn

Everyone is differnt as far as tigger foods. I was told that you need to change your diet to control your symptoms. You want to avoid greasy food I also notice raw veggie for me. I have a gluten allergic so I'm on a Gluten Free diet. Which is hard but makes the bloating not as bad. Also I eat small meals so I'm not so stuffed. I'm newly Dx so just learning myself. Also maybe start a food diary that way he will know what brothers him and then he can avoid them foods.

This is a good message board and others will respond to you that have had it longer.

Good Luck

 

[Jennifer]

During flares I always go on the Low Residue Diet. It helps a lot with my symptoms. I'm not aware of any particular food causing inflammation or flares in general but some can irritate an already irritated gut. Avoiding foods that bring on symptoms is a start. As mentioned keeping a food diary may help you figure out what your boyfriend's trigger foods are. Common ones are raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, fatty foods, salty foods, fiber etc. Yet everyone is different so some may be able to eat a salad with no problems while others claim to be in pain for hours-days afterwards.

If he tries any supplement drinks or powders make sure it doesn't contain Carrageenan as that may make things worse. http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Carrageenan

All of my doctors over the past 22 years have said that food is not a trigger for a flare yet my most recent GI feels that its possible yet there isn't enough research out there to back it up (he thinks wheat is a major issue which I don't deny, I'd just like more proof personally). It is known though that TPN and EN can help get people into remission but its not permanent. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6526690

 

[Beach]

Two of the more popular diets those with IBD conditions try are the SCD and paleo diet. Some have good success improving their condition following them, and others unfortunately don't see much improvement.

There is a subform for those writing their progress on the SCD or Paleo diet, which can be seen at:

http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=288

 

[Trevor]

His doctor, just like mine, is very wrong. On one hand it's what they get taught in school, on the other common sense says a disease that inflames the digestive tract likely has something to do with food or at the very least can be effected by it.

I've done the GAPS protocol a couple of times and then Paleo autoimmune and now just standard Paleo + juicing.

I'm pain free at this point and working towards symptom free.

Good luck there's lots of diet and nutrition nerds around here if you have any more questions.

 

[Poop2Much]

I'm with Trevor. I usually never feel better than when I do a fast/cleanse for a colonoscopy. The obvious difference between my behaviors on those days versus other days is the consumption of solid foods. Over time, your BF will identify certain foods that exacerbate his symptoms. The trick is to try certain things on their own so that you do not have to guess whether an adverse reaction was based upon the milk (lactose) or the cereal (grains); the burger (red meat), the bun (gluten) or the fries (fried food).

At 22 years with Crohn's, I still discover new things on a regular basis. I just started the SCD after a month on the Clean Gut Program. It sometimes is difficult to forego certain foods that you love, but since I have AS to go with Crohn's, and my AS stays quiet if my gut is in check, I have learned to eat properly in order to limit pain in both the belly and back/spine.

He will figure it out. Doctors certainly have their place, but you are your own best advocate. The internet, and this forum in particular, is replete with amazing information about this disease. Read. Experiment. Stay positive.

 

[UnXmas]

His doctor, just like mine, is very wrong. On one hand it's what they get taught in school, on the other common sense says a disease that inflames the digestive tract likely has something to do with food or at the very least can be effected by it.

I've done the GAPS protocol a couple of times and then Paleo autoimmune and now just standard Paleo + juicing.

I'm pain free at this point and working towards symptom free.

Good luck there's lots of diet and nutrition nerds around here if you have any more questions.

I don't think doctors who say diet doesn't help are wrong necessarily, they just see things in a different way. Doctors tend to assess the disease according to test results. Some doctors are not concerned with actual symptoms and patients' quality of life, and sometimes symptoms and test results do not correlate as well as we might expect. So someone could have test results which suggest the disease is not that bad, but still be experiencing severe symptoms. Diet cannot put Crohn's in remission or cause a flare, but it can affect symptoms.

A low fibre/low residue diet helps me best. I don't have trouble with any specific food so much as with the overall fibre content of my diet. I tried a gluten free diet but that didn't help me at all.

 

[Trevor]

Diet cannot put Crohn's in remission or cause a flare, but it can affect symptoms.

Care to explain enteral nutrition then?

 

[Mattie]

If you are serious about wanting to try diet for Crohns, I can do no better than to send you the link to Professor Hunters site. This man's treatment of choice is diet and he explains all about it on the site and in his books.

www.crohns.org.uk

 

[UnXmas]

Care to explain enteral nutrition then?

I meant "diet" as in what doctors expect their patients to eat when they advise them on dealing with Crohn's - I don't think doctors expect patients to put themselves on enteral nutrition.

 

[enfilade]

I've not noticed my Crohns being worse because of one food or another. What does help me is having smaller meals spread across the day rather than a huge lunch and dinner in single servings. Maybe it goes easier on the system by giving it less to do in one go. Just how I approach it anyway.

 

[wild_one353]

ohh, dietary changes will help immensely, the doctor is wrong.

Reduce lactose and sucrose and dramatically reduce # of bowel movements.

this will starve the bacteria, but may not cause full remission.

This is basically the Specific carbohydrate diet, but the actual diet is a bit more complex, but these two facts are the most important to the diet, according to me.

 

[Beebop]

My doctor says the same thing... He believes my diet does not impact on my crohns and that I should just take all the medicine. It is so frustrating!

 

[UnXmas]

Reduce lactose and sucrose and dramatically reduce # of bowel movements.

this will starve the bacteria, but may not cause full remission.

Cutting out lactose entirely and only eating sugar in fruits did absolutely nothing for me. Dairy's one of my staple foods now.

 

[hugh]

I guess the questions are, what kind of diets are out there that could help? what has helped you? and what were your doctors thoughts on diets? Do certain foods have any effect on crohn's? What about a gluten free diet?

"To say that diet “doesn’t matter” – a common medical teaching in Crohn’s – is to vastly overstep the boundaries of our knowledge."
Lee Hieb, M.D.

Gluten free is a good start and many will feel an improvement just with that.[1]
Then i'd move to the 'perfect health diet'[2] (paleo based but with white rice), then paleo, then SCD[3] (but including paleo principles (no peanuts or processed vegetable oils, etc), then GAPS, and then paleo auto-immune protocol[4]

[1] http://mobile.wnd.com/2013/07/medicines-arrogance-makes-people-suffer/?cat_orig=health
[2] http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/0...i-healing-the-gut-by-eliminating-food-toxins/
[3] http://eugenia.queru.com/2012/12/08/the-gut-and-paleo-scd-gaps-fodmaps/
[4] http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol

 

[Vincent311]

Hi saralyn.

I had crohns for 5 years. I'm from Malaysia, sorry if my English is bad. I don't know any type of diets but for this 5 years even when I'm not in flare, my doctor tells me I need to avoid high fibre foods, spicy, deep fried foods and also oily foods.

So when not in flare, most of the time I eat white rice, pasta, noodles with low fibre veggies. Breads are ok too. I avoid milk and cheese because they made me run toilet most of the time.

During flare, I eat plain porridge with soy sauce and nutrition yeast so I won't feel bored by just eating plain porridge. Lol. If I get better then I can continue eating rice. The reason I eat porridge during flare is because my doctor told me to let my intestine to rest more so I can recover from flare faster. But my flare duration always more than 3 months.

I hope it helps.

 

[wild_one353]

Cutting out lactose entirely and only eating sugar in fruits did absolutely nothing for me. Dairy's one of my staple foods now.

you are supposed to cut out lactose AND sucrose, including from fruits. fruits have sucrose, reduce fruit intake.

 

[Justanothercp]

I think a lot depends on what subtype of Crohns you have. I have stricturing Crohns. I can eat spicy, greasy, dairy - no problem. What gets me is food that is not easily digestible. For example I absolutely cannot eat skins (apples, peaches, potatoes) I have to peel everything. I have to way overcook my veggies. I can't eat nuts/seeds, or lettuce. I mean one big yummy salad or apple peel and I'm gonna end up in the hospital. And i cant eat big meals, quantity or portion control is key. I don't suffer with diarrhea.
I think people that have more inflammatory/diarrhea problems probably have different food restrictions.
Either way, I think diet plays a big role. You just have to find what works for you.

 

[UnXmas]

you are supposed to cut out lactose AND sucrose, including from fruits. fruits have sucrose, reduce fruit intake.

Supposed to according to whom? I lost a ton of weight when I was trying to follow sugar-free diets, I was terribly underweight. I just couldn't eat enough with so many foods cut out, and my digestive symptoms only got worse when I'd cut out refined food, dairy, gluten, etc.

 

[UnXmas]

I think a lot depends on what subtype of Crohns you have. I have stricturing Crohns. I can eat spicy, greasy, dairy - no problem. What gets me is food that is not easily digestible. For example I absolutely cannot eat skins (apples, peaches, potatoes) I have to peel everything. I have to way overcook my veggies. I can't eat nuts/seeds, or lettuce. I mean one big yummy salad or apple peel and I'm gonna end up in the hospital. And i cant eat big meals, quantity or portion control is key. I don't suffer with diarrhea.
I think people that have more inflammatory/diarrhea problems probably have different food restrictions.
Either way, I think diet plays a big role. You just have to find what works for you.

I'm quite similar in the foods that make things worse for me, but I'm very different from you in terms of symptoms (almost always diarrhoea) and I don't get strictures. I don't eat much spicy food, but that's due to taste, I'm not sure how my symptoms would react. But dairy is fine, and small portion sizes is also a must for me.