My Elimination Diet

[BigRedd]

Hey IBD fam,
I wanted to share my experience of trying an elimination diet to find foods that don't upset my stomach. After 2 months of starvation, here's what I found:

I can eat:
White rice (rice and crackers)
Gluten Free White rice based bread
Peanut Butter
Soy Milk
Low insoluble fiber oatmeal
Eggs
Fish
Bananas
Potatoes (in moderation because of hi fiber content)
Apple sauce (in moderation because high sugar content is not so good)

My sister is a nutritionist and says that I'm basically removing lactose, high fiber(especially insoluble), gluten and anything too sugary.

I'm slowly trying to build on this diet, but it's very hard to find new safe foods. Does any of you have suggestions?
I'm looking to try some chicken (gluten free) noodle soup next.

Food is just no longer a life pleasure for me, just an annoying necessity. Help me add flavour into my life!


Diagnosed with UC 3 years ago
Azathioprine daily
Remicade every 2 months

 

[ronroush7]

I am gluten free and eat chicken noodle soup with gluten free noodles all the time.

 

[ronroush7]

Sometimes , I get it from Noodles and Company. Sometimes, it is canned.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi BigRedd, I've been doing a similar diet lately. I was hospitalized in August and did a couple weeks of EEN, and I was told to then transition to a low-FODMAP diet. This diet essentially eliminates garlic, onion, fructose, gluten, and dairy. It's been going well, and I've started adding high-FODMAP foods back in gradually to see what affects me and what doesn't. Have a look at this and see if it gives you any ideas as to what foods to try next:
http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/

Definitely do take things slowly and add one new food at a time, and journaling will also help - keep a journal of what you eat, how many bathroom trips and what consistency, how much pain and any other symptoms you experience, etc. That will help you identify trends over time.

To start with, you might want to try adding some fruit, such as half a banana, to your oatmeal. Or if sushi is okay with you, try some sushi - it's basically just rice, fish, and seaweed, so the seaweed would really be the only new ingredient. Take it slow and just add one new ingredient at a time. Good luck!

Oh, and Ron - I make my own GF chicken noodle soup. I'm making it tonight, in fact. I get the Progresso chicken broth because it has no onions/garlic in it (most broth seems to have one or both). I add gluten-free pasta, cooked chicken, chopped potato pieces without the skin, and chopped carrots. It's yummy and really easy on my belly, I just have to make sure the carrots and potatoes are thoroughly cooked.

 

[Tony71]

Hi BigRedd

Nice to hear your better

I got my Crohn's diagnose 10 days ago, had a nasty 9week flare during the summer, the docs wanted to put me on predsnisol and azatriopin emmediately but i told them i wanted to go with the diet first cause i have read a lot lately and believe a lot that the diet really can make a difference.

Im 7weeks whitout gluten
1week whitout diary
1week whitout lectines and food that my body doesnt like, i dont eat:
Gluten
Diary
Bananas
Eggwhite
Potato only 1-2 times week/lectines
Never tomato/peppers ( there the worst lectines for me after gliadin in gluten)
Nuts & seeds big nono
Soybeans and soymilk
Hot spices
Etc etc

I could write a book but goin with the short version about what i eat and dont eat so what do i eat?

White rice is the best for me
All lean meat and tried red meat yesterday and no problem but wont eat read meat more than ones/week
Ghee and rice milk (making it myself)
Im shotting a boil of ginger/turmeric and a tbs honey every morning
Coconut oil
Switched salt to natural sea salt
Kind veggies (for me)
One week now eating my own chicken/veggie proteinsoup which i mix in the blender.
Doing my own chocolate on coconut oil, cacao, honey
Honey by the way should be fine cause i read it breakes up in the stomach and goes in the blood and never reaches the intestines!? Thats propably why its good for treating candida, it should be 100% honey and nothing else.

I believe everyone is different so this is a trial and error.
For example my stomach can handle french fries 1-2/week but not boiled potatoes !!!??? I believe it has something to do with the structure and the fibers being affected of the deepfry !?

Im going with clean one ingredient food and cooking everything myself now to the amazing part.

The bowlinflammation is "totally" gone!!?? whitout meds!?
Swollen lymphnodes reduced by 50%
My polyneuropathy down by 60%
All musclepains and inflammation gone
Three days ago i noticed that my swollen wrists that have had a swollen reumalump on both sides are totally gone.
My whole body is healing from eating "poison/toxics" for 45years thats how i see it, cant be any other way cause this is insain, the body improvement list just goes on: belly fat melting of, a lot stronger at the gym on less food/protein, everyones around me have had the flu and nothing here and thats the first time ever going back to the gym after illness and no cold insight Etc etc etc

I cant believe this but its happenning! 14-16 weeks ago with the flare i didnt think life was worth living! Now 7weeks into a whole other approach to food/diet i can say that i havent felt this good in maybe 25 years!!!!!

I will not take any meds at this point, maybe a short asacol cure if i have to.

Good luck......

 

[Susabelle]

I've been doing the same thing recently after EEN got me in remission. I've only just come off steroids and had a bad reaction to azathioprine and am also allergic to mesalazine, so at the moment food is my only 'treatment'.

I've been struggling with the boring diet and wanting a sweet treat, so today I made some banana bread / banana muffins out of my allowed foods that tasted great!

It is gluten and lactose free (as i'm allergic to wheat and lactose intolerant too). The recipe is below - I hope it adds some flavour for you!


Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups Rice Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 6 ripe Bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1/2 cup melted Coconut Oil (could use butter if you tolerate some lactose)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / or 175 degrees C
• Mix rice flour, baking soda, sea salt, baking powder, cinnamon in a bowl
• In separate bowl, mix the eggs, mashed bananas, honey, and melted coconut oil.
• Add banana mixture to dry mix.
• Pour batter into your bread tin or muffin cases
• Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

When I did this it took longer to bake than 50 mins and I needed to cover it with foil to stop the top burning. Apparently it could be that I used too many bananas. The muffins (from left over mixture) turned out great in 20-25 mins though.

 

[Tony71]

Hi and txs for the recipe, im not a " bun" guy more a chips/dip and pizza guy

Have a new favourite breakfast, you can read it in the post: ketogenic diets, any risk? Not lazy but last week low fever, very tired, heard its common when healing hope thats the case and finnally only writing on the phone thats exhausting if any

Good luck and really hope that the diet works

 

[Susabelle]

Haha I've been aiming for pizza when trying to build up approved foods! High quality cheeses apparently have very little lactose, especially hard cheeses.

Not sure where you're based but UK restaurant chain Pizza Express make gluten free pizzas I hear are good. Made with rice and potato flour I think. That's what I'm aiming for.

I've hit a snag with my elimination diet in that my recent tests shows my disease is flaring again . So back on liquids for me for a while. Still, I can try again down the line.

 

[ronroush7]

Haha I've been aiming for pizza when trying to build up approved foods! High quality cheeses apparently have very little lactose, especially hard cheeses.

Not sure where you're based but UK restaurant chain Pizza Express make gluten free pizzas I hear are good. Made with rice and potato flour I think. That's what I'm aiming for.

I've hit a snag with my elimination diet in that my recent tests shows my disease is flaring again . So back on liquids for me for a while. Still, I can try again down the line.

I believe I have had pizza from where you are talking about and enjoyed them.

 

[Tony71]

Haha I've been aiming for pizza when trying to build up approved foods! High quality cheeses apparently have very little lactose, especially hard cheeses.

Not sure where you're based but UK restaurant chain Pizza Express make gluten free pizzas I hear are good. Made with rice and potato flour I think. That's what I'm aiming for.

I've hit a snag with my elimination diet in that my recent tests shows my disease is flaring again . So back on liquids for me for a while. Still, I can try again down the line.

Live in Stockholm sweden so no good glutenfree pizza here maybe try doing it homemade instead . Sad to hear that your flare is back. Mine has whent in remission and whitout meds, whent all in on the diet, now 9weeks glutenfree and a lot of other changes in the diet. My calciprotektin was 2170 in sept-okt and two weeks ago it was down on 6 !!!!!!!

All the best and GL