Looking for advice on a healthy diet

[bumble_bee]

This might sound a bit all over the place but I'm dealing with a multitude of things right now (which might just be the root of my problems!) Hoping for some knowledgable insight from the wealth of experience on here!

I had surgery 5 weeks ago (sml bowel resection due to old Crohn's damage and scar tissue causing stricture & blockages) and that all went good. I've been on Remicade for about a year and will remain on it. Doctor was very happy with surgery and said that all my remaining parts are 100% healthy. So now I'm looking at ways to live an overall healtheir lifestyle...new beginning kinda thing!! :dance:

I want to give myself the best chance at having many years of health and remission through healthy lifestyle (diet mainly & exercise) and Remicade. I've been researching all the different diets out there and have been trying to figure out if I want to go full out Paleo or just try cutting out gluten, dairy, processed foods and sugars for the most part. I love breads so this is difficult for me but I figure so many people have issues with gluten and dairy (I've been tested for both and don't have celiac or lactose intolerance) that maybe it would be beneficial. I also wonder if just eating whole foods and cutting out processed and high sugar would be enough. Any thoughts on this?

I've started implementing a few things over the past week since I've felt healed enough to start trying them out. I've added a good omega 3 fatty acid supplement & continue to take 2000mcg Vit D/day. I've tried to cut out most gluten and dairy with the exception of a small snack or meal here and there, and I've been making mostly Paleo friendly meals except I do a lot of gluten free stuff rather than cut out all grains completely. I started taking a 50 billion CFU probiotic at night before bed (2 hours at least after eating), I'm eating a lot more veggies, drinking lots of water and I make a shake every morning with coconut milk, kale & hemp protein powder with added fibre. I've only taken the probiotic 4 times as I just started it on Saturday.

I'm not sure how to interpret the results so far. I've noticed I have lots of foul gas all day, occasional mild lower abdominal cramping/burning and sometimes, mild bloating by the end of the day. It's nothing serious, just abnormal for me...especially the foul smelling gas! I've never been a very gassy person but it's bad right now, I can feel it building up in my gut and when I let it out, I feel better but it's sort of non-stop! I don't know what this could be from. BM's are good for the most part, going usually 1-2 times per day, 3 at most and its usually formed...sometimes a bit loose and sometimes diarrhea but not often. I know the intermittent diarrhea/loose BM could still be due to surgery but I'm wondering if maybe it has more to do with the other changes I'm trying to make. I definately think the gas is somehow related! :stinks:

I know its only been 1 week that I've been trying this stuff but I just wondered on opinions/thoughts regarding what might be causing the foul gas, mild cramping and sometimes loose BMs. I'm wondering if its my body getting used to the probiotic or if its the hemp protein powder with fibre...I've also heard coconut milk might not be good as well as certain fruits if you have issues with fructose. I can't really pinpoint when the gas etc started, mostly because I've implemented so many things in a short time & having recently had surgery, I just don't know what's stemming from what. Maybe I'm trying to make too many changes at once....I just want to incoporated a healthy diet into my healing and hopefully feel great for a long time with that and the Remicade! I'm confused and overwhelmed with all the info out there and I'm really hoping for some helpful advice!

Any thoughts are appreciated Thanks for reading!

 

[Price]

Depending on the vegetables you're eating, that could be the cause of the gas. It usually is.

What are your reasons for cutting out grains anyway? If they don't do you harm then you may as well eat them (so long as you don't do something really odd! ). Like most pasta/noodle/rice dishes are good for you, and before the food police arrest me, it does depend on what you have with it of course

Cutting out sugar benefits everyone, so there's not really any reason to add that back in. Some fruits are high in sugar still but there's a difference between an apple and a chocolate bar Still, there are ways of getting your 5-a-day without eating lots of sugary fruit.

My favourite bit of advice I like to give people though is to avoid unnecessary supplements. Like the omega-3 one you're taking. It's much better to just eat food that contain it rather than rely on a pill, since it'll usually mean healthier meals too. Obviously you can't not take any supplements since some are needed if your levels are low, but omega-3 can be added into your diet in many ways (sardines for one are great). Just keep getting your stuff checked and you shouldn't fall behind on things.

I don't really know what you're asking though so I just posted lots of general advice, since I think that's what you're after

 

[bumble_bee]

I guess I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on beneficial dietary changes now that I've had surgery and I'm 'healthy'!

Thanks for your thoughts on the omega 3's, that's kinda what I'm looking for although I don't like sardines much uke_r:

You just read and hear so much about things you should or shouldn't eat or take (supplements) that I want to get some insight on it all so I can make informed decisions about my health going forward!

Thanks again for your reply

 

[Price]

Well lots of people here take supplements, and it is better to take them than to go without that vitamin. But the more you incorporate them into your diet the better your diet will be, generally.

 

[Jam300]

Price is spot on, in my opinion.

What I would suggest is that you write down what you eat on an average week and see what you're lacking nutritionally. You can then supplement/alter your diet accordingly. For example, I really don't like most fish and as a student I can't really afford to eat it 2-4 times a week either, subsequently I do use an Omega-3 supplement.

 

[mnsun]

If you are taking that much probios for the first time, it is best you drink plenty of water. That might be a source of the gas. 50 bill is pretty high, considering that much are actually present in the final product; some like to claim crazy amounts but the end result may have a few bill, which is not always the case.

Probiotics are trial and error. My favorites, which I take at very least two a day of, are Jarrow EPS and Garden of life Ultra, as well as Living Streams (7 drops original formula per day). Another brand, which at first caused me problems, that has been in my fridge for months is Kyodophilus 9--this I take on full stomach or with prebiotic fibers, like a cap of New Chapter Probiotic Cleanse. The first two I listed, EPS & Ultra, I take on empty stomach.

The effectiveness of probiotics depends on the location of inflammation and your personal microbiome balance. I know some people say that quality probiotics don't help whatsoever; that is definitely not the case with me. I MUST take these daily, usually three times a day (morn/afternoon/night w/LDN). If I don't, I get unformed stools. I haven't had prescriptions--other than LDN--for over 7 years.

On that note, I also require 4 ENTERIC capsules, or about 3.5 grams of actual omega 3s a day. 3-4 grams a day is a good range unless you are taking something that thins blood or have occult blood loss. Otherwise, again, I will have unformed stools in a couple days.

The noticeable smell might be due to the surgery which may have shortened your bowel and contributed to this change. Ask the doc, they should have told you this.

Dietary changes and "intolerances", again, depend on specific segments of the digestive tract affected. If you think your in the clear, clean slate, then when it comes to good fiber/prebiotics, use it or lose it. Definitely cut out all the things that feed bad bacteria (sugars, fake sugars: acesulfame potasium/sorbitol/aspartame/HFCS..., refined grains, preservatives, GMOs, carrageenan, maltodextrin and its occult names, hydrogenated/trans fats, etc.). Experiment with removing high lactose dairy (kefir and aged cheeses have little lactose), maybe avoiding hard to digest red meats, maybe limit gluten/gliadin in grains and generally watch out for what could be allergy-like responses (low FODMAP diets, may or may not be necessary).

So what do you eat? Well it is highly individualistic. I eat high protein diet: eggs (hard boiled/coconut oil slow-fryed sunnyside), hummus, guacamole, chicken. Raw foods and juices with enzymes intact. Apples daily, for pectin (maybe sprinkle cinnamon--adjust your pallate to like herbs/spices: ginger, cilantro, tumeric, coconut curry). I make homemade kefir smoothies with banana/raw cocao powder/chia/hempseed/stevia or honey. Butternut squash and sweet potatoes--sweetened with date syrup and cumin with walnuts on top--are my lifetime friends. Juicing is hassle but awesome at the same time; the vege fibers should probably be strained while apples/fruit fibers are great, in my book. Rent a book from the library about traditional foods: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon or look at the recipe section of Rubin's Makers Diet (& his other back page recipe sections in other books--his supplements are alright but not magic cures).

Occasionally, like once a month, I might fast slightly and get a greens mix powder (like Perfect Food by Garden of life, for ex.) or juice it up, and take a tblsp of calcium bentonite clay (not sure on brands but Sonnes #7 seems alright) with some fiber supplement, like acacia fiber, to reset my system, in addition to ginger teas and probios. I do this for like 24 hrs straight and maybe meditate or yoga for a bit. Again, don't overdo this, maybe once or twice a month in my opinion.

I could go on and on, but I couldn't disagree more with the above opinions.

(Emboldened to reflect clearly the fact that I have not been inducted into the white-coated priest class, and all I offer are my experiences and opinions)

 

[bumble_bee]

Thank you mnsun for all the info! I really appreciate it! Basically cutting out known allergens is what I was aiming for and I might go see a naturopath to get tested for any food intolerances just to be sure i'm not adding something back into my system that disagrees with me! I'm hoping I can find a probiotic/prebiotic that works well for me with little trial and error but I guess these things will decide themselves. I'm going to try and taper down the one's I just started to one every second night rather than every night and see how that goes. I'm thinking I'll do the same with the omega 3 supplement as I think I noticed a bit more action in my gut when I started taking those at 2 high potency tablets a day last week. Maybe I'm just starting off too fast and high for my body!

I've actually just found out about the harms of carageenan so that's a for sure watch for on my list now! Hard to find some kind of dairy substitute that doesn't have that in it tho

 

[mnsun]

Yea, fish oil may cause problems in some (bloating/indigestion/bad breath, etc.) but, on the whole, it helps keep people in remission better than placebo. ENTERIC coated fish oil that is, specifically. Something like 59% were kept in remission versus 26% who took placebo.

I think it is a matter of degree just how allergic or intolerant individuals are to all the possible trigger foods/ingredients. You gotta find your balance without being too paranoid. But gradually eliminating all possible preservatives/triggers by process of substitution with whole foods will gradually train your pallate to like whole foods.

It just makes sense, in my mind, to stick with softer foods and 100%vege/fruit juices for a bulk of the diet. In my experience, spinach is the more easily digested leafy green of the bunch to stick with. Organic greens probably have less problematic levels of nitrates, or grow your own--of everything possible to have the best, freshest, enzyme dense rawsomeness. See my post in "Success Stories">"MY Supps for MY Dis-Ease" for my unqualified opinions.

 

[Price]

Can you please post some studies when talking about things like this, it helps with understanding

http://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-dis...80407/fish-oil-may-not-prevent-crohns-relapse
For example that completely disagrees with your fish oil theory.

Also you don't find what foods offend you by taking things out of your diet one at a time. You start with almost nothing and add things in.

I know it's only your opinion but you should make it clear that it is just that, your opinion. There's already too much pseudo science on the internet.

EDIT: In fact I found the study you're talking about. It does just look like coincidence, considering it was only that one study that was positive and the rest came to the conclusion that it has no impact on crohns.

 

[mnsun]

Thrust of my posts above are based on my experiences, directly observed, which I later reinforced with studies I came across lately. The fact of the matter is that there are not exhaustive studies done on foods/supplements as a means to treat disease. I think, other than the maybe flawed JAMA one, there is only one other 5 gram a day study-which I haven't looked into yet-that suggests enteric coated fish oil does not improve sustained remission periods. Educational institutions and scientists are rarely funded for such inquiries, just for pharma pseudo science on the whole.

(If you don't mind, Price , would you please point me to "the rest (of the studies that) came to the conclusion that it has no impact on crohns"?)

The study Price secondarily referred to had a few glaring anomalies: a) one of the population groups, EPIC-2, was concurrently tapering down off of prednisone and/or budesonide, thereby this group was only in remission a short time to begin with (if at all, CDAI can be manipulated); b) the "placebo" was actually receiving 4 grams of unlisted medium chain triglycerides (if these were red palm or coconut oil, this alone would have beneficial effects on remission rates, thereby skewing results).

The study Price's link to a summary didn't include: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=181371

The enteric coated fish oil study, published by New England Journal of Medicine, I reference at "MY Supps...": http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8628335

I didn't mean to suggest a specific means to determine your triggers above. I was suggesting to gradually train your taste buds to whole foods and slowly eliminate the tasty crap that the standard diet consists of. Yes, you should be more methodical in your food diary to completely rule out the most likely intolerances. For instance you could come up with an Elimination Diet Plans & Strategy: http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=47465

I hope others will chime in with their personal experience and insights.

 

[UnXmas]

(Probably best I add a disclaimer : This is based mainly on my personal experiences, so it's only anecdotal, I'm not saying it applies to everyone.)

bumble_bee - I think you were probably right when you said perhaps you were making too many changes at once. When I went through a phase of experimenting with diet, I did the same thing and got into a big mess when trying to work out what was causing which symptom.

It turned out the mistake I made was thinking that particular foods effected my symptoms at all. I do get worse if I make more generalised changes to my diet, such as eating larger volumes or eating too much fibre. But I eventually learned that I wasn't intolerant of any individual food or food group, and my symptoms happened all the time, regardless of what I ate, and were varying in response to other factors, not what I was eating.

So I'd be a bit careful you're not doing what I did, which was trying to see patterns and links between foods and symptoms that weren't actually there. It's very tempting if you eat a food and then get pain to suspect that that food caused the pain, but it's only if a food consistently brings on a symptom that you can start to suspect the food.

That's not to say that the particular foods you eat don't influence your overall health in a more long-term, general sense. Personally, I haven't come across any evidence that sugar and other junk foods in moderation are particularly detrimental to your health. I actually find it quite perplexing that there are people who eat only veg, fruit, fish, etc. and manage to maintain a healthy weight. If I didn't eat some fat and sugar my health would be at far greater risk than if I kept only to healthy foods (but I do have a lot of trouble maintaining weight).

The main piece of advice I'd give you is be very careful who you go to if you go for a food intolerance test. Years ago I had tests done at two different places, one a large, well known laboritory, and one by a private nurtritionist. (Not at the same time.) Both gave me different results, neither produced any benefits when I eliminated the foods they said I was intolerant to and implemented their other suggested dietary changes. Both caused my digestive symptoms to worsen (which I later realised was because they told me to eat lots of "healthy" foods containing more fibre than my digestive system could tolerate), and both led to me losing weight when I actually needed to gain. The first involved a blood test for IGG antibodies, the second a "vega" machine.

Sorry for the long-winded explanation, I just wouldn't want to see anyone make the mistakes I did. I would think the best way to maintain health is to follow a balanced diet, have junk food only in moderation, and stick to the trial-and-error method for identifying which foods help you most and which cause you problems.

 

[bumble_bee]

Thank you unxmas, I found this to be really helpful! I totally agree & think I'm just trying to do too much at once! I'm going to just try to eat as healthy a diet as possible for me and keep everything in moderation regarding sugar and 'not so healthy' foods! I think that works best for me because that's sort of what I was doing at first and felt fine then when I started trying to eliminate things & adding others I encountered these other issues! I guess not all things that people claim to be super beneficial for all will actually be what works for everyone.

Thanks again for the helpful advice

 

[hugh]

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