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Have you done the Paleo diet? and did it help?

Hey Everyone!

So i am posting a 4 part series talking all about the paleo diet, written by a guest writer.
(here is part 1 of 4 "What is the Paleo Diet": http://thecrohnsjourneyfoundation.org/blog/)

I would like to add a "Part 5" to this series that will share what my fellow IBDers feel about the diet...

I would love to know if you tried the Paleo diet? and if yes, did it help? and how long after starting it did you notice a difference in your health?

I try to cover all the various "diets" suggested to us Crohnies and to my friends with Colitis. All peeps IBD are so individual, so what may work for some, may not for others. I hope you can find the diet that works for YOU. As for me, I am still in a quest to figure that out... that is why i focus on writing various posts on all the diets and getting YOUR feedback...

Thank you!
 
I am paleo for Hashimoto's and not for IBD.

Here are some paleo members that come to my mind and I will tag them in this post for you.
trevor
hugh
resistnz (very new to the diet, I think?)

I am sure there are more. SCD and Gaps are very similar to paleo too. E has had great improvement on the SCD.

KWalker is on SCD

MomRocksOut (her son is having success with SCD too)

I know there are more, but they just aren't coming to mind immediately. If I think of them, I will come back and tag them too.
 
Hello, I am thinking of trying one of these diets, I see how they are very similar in certain ways. But what do you eat when your flaring? My meds are not working and my docs an a$$ (I cant really just go see another one because i am overseas on a military post) Last week I felt like I could only tollerate potatoes, vs bread, boiled chicken, salmon, overcooked veggies. Dont get me wrong, I am def not as bad as it could be. But I feel at a loss of what to eat. Should you start these diets if your not flaring?
 
Hello, I am thinking of trying one of these diets, I see how they are very similar in certain ways. But what do you eat when your flaring? My meds are not working and my docs an a$$ (I cant really just go see another one because i am overseas on a military post) Last week I felt like I could only tollerate potatoes, vs bread, boiled chicken, salmon, overcooked veggies. Dont get me wrong, I am def not as bad as it could be. But I feel at a loss of what to eat. Should you start these diets if your not flaring?
We started the SCD with the intro diet. The book Breaking the Vicious Cycle explains it. Also, the website www.pecanbread.com gives an example of an intro diet with the introduction of foods in stages. E had a very limited and bland diet for the first few weeks. As he healed, we could add in more fruits and veggies.
 
I've been eating a paleo low fiber diet, in some form or another, for around 6 years at this point (I tend to be good about avoiding grains. I'll often eat dairy from time to time.). The diet has helped my GI symptoms considerably. I can still become ill, having flares, but have not experienced anything to the painful debilitating degree I used to in the past.

If my memory is correct, it took around 3 months to notice a considerable difference after I began the diet.

Going outside of IBD, something I notice this morning that might be connected to the paleo diet that I thought to mention. I've seen the paleo diet or SCD diet sometimes referred to as being anti-inflammatory. I might be noticing that anti-inflammatory effect this morning.

Yesterday morning I had an oral procedure done. An old root canal tooth broke off & I needed an oral surgeon to dig out the remaining broken tooth. The procedure was an ordeal, with a good deal of yanking done using pliers and along with drilling into the gums. When all was done my gums were beat. I was stitched up, prescribed painkillers, with the mention that I should be hurting for the next week, with my gums being inflamed and bleeding.

To my surprise, yesterday afternoon, and now this morning there is little to no inflammation. There isn't pain where the tooth was extracted, nor bleeding. Can't say for sure if it is the diet that is keeping my inflammation down to this extent, but suspect it is.

Another paleo mention, saw in the news the other day that it appears LA Laker NBA star Kobe Bryant has begun to eat a paleo/ primal diet.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/weekend-link-love-228/#axzz2KJSIUaSi
 

nogutsnoglory

Moderator
I did the paleo diet for 6 months for a while I didn't have pain and had normal stool but it went downhill fast. I lost nearly 50 lbs and became incredibly weak, got joint pains and my disease progressed. I had a mixed experience and regret going paleo.
 

Jer

Location
CT
This is something that I've been thinking about lately.

For years now, I seem to flare every winter. I've been trying to figure out why that is. I thought that it might be lack of Vitamin D, but had blood work done and I wasn't THAT low.

Just the other day, while reading various threads on here, it dawned on me........I pretty much have followed a Paleo type diet for the past 4-5 summers. More of a ketogenic diet for dieting/Bodybuilding purposes, but very similar to Paleo.

Come fall/winter, I always began to add carbohydrates to my diet in order to gain more mass in the "offseason". Like clockwork, I flare.

So......I am currently in the process of changing things up to see if in fact that the Paleo diet is a key factor in my wellness.
 
That would be interesting to see.. bc i definitely would not be shocked if that is what is setting it off, if it is consistent every time
 
I have been Paleo for about 6 weeks and I am feeling discouraged. It feels great to eat clean and the energy boost is amazing, but I have had 3 partial blockages in only 4 weeks which is a lot for me, keeps me from work, and totally sucks. My bms are completely abnormal - whereas before, they were more regular and formed. I am starting to feel discouraged but I really wanted this to work! I am seeing my Naturopath today, and I am hoping she can give me more answers and guidance.

Good luck!
 
I started eating Paleo last Sept. after being diagnosed with Celiac disease in August, and I had almost immediate results. My skin cleared up, *most* of my symptoms went away, and I just felt so much better. I don't know how much of that was because I cut out gluten and and how much was because of what I was eating instead though.

Then in late Feb. I started working out with a trainer and at her suggestion I added rice and oats back into my diet, (for the carbs) and I started getting tummy aches not long after. I was diagnosed with Crohn's on March 31st, and I have had 3 hospitalizations and a small bowel resection in the last 10 weeks. I really do think that adding the grains back into my diet set things off with the Crohn's, otherwise its a very strange coincidence. I'm just now getting back into eating Paleo, my surgery was only 2 weeks ago.

One thing I have noticed since changing to Paleo is that I haven't gotten sick. I have 3 mall germ factories, (otherwise knows as my kids), but I've managed to go almost a year without catching a cold or the flu from them.
 
I've been messing around with Paleo fairly seriously since December and it's been very benificial. It does take some adjusting though and things really started getting better when I started eating better but less protien and more veggies.

I also think the fact that I followed the GAPS protocol likely helped in the beginning.

Oh and sunlight, good sleep and less stress...
 
Hello, I am new to this forum, and the "world" of IBS....I had been experiencing diarrhea and abdominal swelling on and off for many months, so I decided to try SCD. The first week, I felt a little better, and the diarrhea started tapering off. BUT, starting on day 10, my stomach BALLOONED painfully with trapped gas, I became exhausted, developed "brain fog" and a nagging pressure in my lower abdomen. I feel AWFUL, worse than ever before! BUT, my diarrhea has stopped, and I've been having formed, brown bowel movements twice a day. I'm on day 15. I haven't done the homemade yogurt yet. Could all this still be die off? I DO feel hungover! As is I'm detoxing. I even have that white, yucky coating on my tongue. What do you think??
 
Hello, I am new to this forum, and the "world" of IBS....I had been experiencing diarrhea and abdominal swelling on and off for many months, so I decided to try SCD. The first week, I felt a little better, and the diarrhea started tapering off. BUT, starting on day 10, my stomach BALLOONED painfully with trapped gas, I became exhausted, developed "brain fog" and a nagging pressure in my lower abdomen. I feel AWFUL, worse than ever before! BUT, my diarrhea has stopped, and I've been having formed, brown bowel movements twice a day. I'm on day 15. I haven't done the homemade yogurt yet. Could all this still be die off? I DO feel hungover! As is I'm detoxing. I even have that white, yucky coating on my tongue. What do you think??
 
Paleolithic eating has been an invaluable boon in combating my crohn's. Namely the omega 3 content, fiber and flawless nutrition profiles of all the foods.

With that said, fasting cycles have also been incredibly beneficial. Typically every saturday and sunday which resets my BMs to solid.
 
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