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Natural Anti inflammatory foods ??

This is my fourth year running with this lovely disease and I have not had any kind of flare or any surgery. Overall I am living my life pretty normal like any other guy in my college and and am very active and and into a lot of exercise , yoga and sports.

So far i have been able to maintain it by just good food and exercise.
I have completely eliminated gluten, lactose, caffeine, sugar ( fructose doesnt bother me). But i do take fibrous food and that doesn't give me any problem. The BM are normal and formed.

during meals I take are rice, wholewheat breads, lot of green vegetables and fish.

Few things I take everyday are : Turmeric tea, aloe vera juice, and other fruit juices.

But while i am able to maintain this, I do not know what going on inside my guts. I am really concerned about inflammation. I really want to take proactive steps to keep the inflammation under control and avoid any kind of surgery in future. I know all the articles on web and doctors say that 80% of CD patient will need surgery at some point of time but I really want to keep this fight on avoid any kind of surgery in future. May be I will need to work hard on this and it will take a lot of money and energy (but am willing to invest that).

I would like to know from members what natural food has helped them lower their inflammation and if they know of any food that is a strong anti inflammatory food.
 
Why aren't you keeping up with your regular bloodwork, colonoscopies and fecal testing? Even when you're in "remission" regular bloodwork is vital to catching inflammation early. "Feeling good" is not an acceptable reason given the often silent nature of gastric inflammation.
 
Why aren't you keeping up with your regular bloodwork, colonoscopies and fecal testing? Even when you're in "remission" regular bloodwork is vital to catching inflammation early. "Feeling good" is not an acceptable reason given the often silent nature of gastric inflammation.
Thanks orchid. Colonoscopy done in december 2013, showed the condition was same as earlier, with no degradation. there are tiny ulcerated parts in the terminal ileum, with no other abnormalities. This was the 3rd time the results are same. blood work was done but not for inflammation. But that seems the best idea. Will definitely do it.
 

vonfunk

Bourbon Bandito
Location
Toronto,
Increase your omega 3 intake. While omega 6 is required for brain function, having an imbalance of omega 3/6 can affect inflammation. A diet disproportionately high in omega 6 can increase inflammation, while omega 3 is linked to a reduction in inflammation.
 

nogutsnoglory

Moderator
I don't think any foods have lowered my inflammation. Medication does that for me but I still try to eat wild caught fish like salmon and sometimes add some spices like turmeric.
 
Increase your omega 3 intake. While omega 6 is required for brain function, having an imbalance of omega 3/6 can affect inflammation. A diet disproportionately high in omega 6 can increase inflammation, while omega 3 is linked to a reduction in inflammation.
thanks vonfunk ...so more fish ?? what else would give me omega 3 naturally other than fish ?
 

vonfunk

Bourbon Bandito
Location
Toronto,
Flax is a big source, either flax seed oil or either ground/milled flax seeds. The content is staggering, a teaspoon of flax seed oil or a tablespoon of ground flax has about 2.5 grams. Milled will last longer than ground. Walnuts are also high in it, but you need 1/4 cup to equal a tablespoon of flax seed.

There are 3 kinds of omega 3s. ALA, DHA & EPA. The body can turn ALA into DHA & EPA, but the process is quite inefficient. Flax is high in ALA,while fish tends to be high in DHA/EPA oily fish is better (mackerel,sardines, herring, salmon etc).
 

Tesscorm

Moderator
Staff member
My son has also been lucky... almost three years with no real flares (although he did have to add remicade to control inflammation). Keep in mind what Orchid said - my son had 20-30 cm of inflammation but no symptoms for two years. But, symptoms or not, that inflammation would have caused damage sooner or later.

My son takes 1000 mg (mcg??? sorry, not sure..) of Krill oil and 2000 IUs of vitamin D. He also drinks 1-2 Boost shakes every day. Exclusive enteral nutrition (formula only diet, 3000 calories/day) was used to induce remission for him and, after the exclusive period, he gradually reintroduced foods and stayed with a maintenance level of enteral nutrition formula (1500 cal/day). I do believe the nutrition he gained from the supplemental nutrition helped control his crohns, however, was not enough to eliminate all inflammation - hence the remicade. Once he started remicade, he gradually tapered down the amount of EN/formula and is now down to 1-2 shakes per day. I very much believe the nutrition he ingests from the shakes have helped maintain his healthy status. There are a number of shakes available - just look for a reputable brand with a solid nutritional content (ie not simply a protein shake). I've also read that supplemental EN can increase remicade's success rate so, in my mind, the nutrition/shakes are doing something! :)

Other anti-inflammatory foods - coconut water, papaya, coconut oil.
 
My son has also been lucky... almost three years with no real flares (although he did have to add remicade to control inflammation). Keep in mind what Orchid said - my son had 20-30 cm of inflammation but no symptoms for two years. But, symptoms or not, that inflammation would have caused damage sooner or later.

My son takes 1000 mg (mcg??? sorry, not sure..) of Krill oil and 2000 IUs of vitamin D. He also drinks 1-2 Boost shakes every day. Exclusive enteral nutrition (formula only diet, 3000 calories/day) was used to induce remission for him and, after the exclusive period, he gradually reintroduced foods and stayed with a maintenance level of enteral nutrition formula (1500 cal/day). I do believe the nutrition he gained from the supplemental nutrition helped control his crohns, however, was not enough to eliminate all inflammation - hence the remicade. Once he started remicade, he gradually tapered down the amount of EN/formula and is now down to 1-2 shakes per day. I very much believe the nutrition he ingests from the shakes have helped maintain his healthy status. There are a number of shakes available - just look for a reputable brand with a solid nutritional content (ie not simply a protein shake). I've also read that supplemental EN can increase remicade's success rate so, in my mind, the nutrition/shakes are doing something! :)

Other anti-inflammatory foods - coconut water, papaya, coconut oil.
good to hear about the progress your son made. I wish him good health. I too think nutrition plays an important role...I personally belive your immune system needs to be strong to keep fighting with crohns (although theory goes that the stronger the immune system, worse our condition gets), so nutrition plays an important part here. I have taken ensure in the past, but it contained too much of sugar so stopped it,
 
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