I have a general interest college certificate in nutritional medicine and food fundamentals.
I don’t know everything and don't pretend too. But I do know enough to know (and advise) that you are doing yourself damage with drinking coke to put on weight.
You need to make sure that your calorie intake is as nutrient-rich as possible.
Consuming soft drinks (coke) and other processed foods, is a terribly unhealthy way to put on weight, strengthen bones or repair tissue.
And using coke and such like, is dehydrating and can have other serious health issues in the short and long run.
Eating lots of animal protein and excessive refined white sugar (16 teaspoons in your average can of coke!) will leach nutrients from your body and put unnecessary pressure on your body, especially your kidneys. This sort of pressure on your kidneys can also lead to the formation of kidney stones - which I have been told are very painful to pass.
Personally I would avoid dairy with IBD but that is just me. If you can tolerate dairy then stick to things like full fat butter and full fat plain Greek yoghurt. Or have something like silken tofu or chia seed gel pudding instead - chia seeds contain calcium but you need to have them in the soft gentle gel form for IBD.
I cannot have dairy like cheese and milk without pain, but I can have a little butter. But it has to be real old fashioned full cream certified organic butter; and not those crappy artificial butters or margarine spreads.
If you can tolerate scrambled eggs then you can add full fat butter to them………….and if tolerable you could also add full fat milk, full fat cream or full fat cheese as additions mixed into the scrambled eggs during cooking. Full fat dairy will help you put on weight but should not be used long term. It is certainly healthier than coke but not necessarily healthy in the long run. You could also try poached and boiled eggs, but avoid fried.
Other easy to digest foods would be things like: brown rice pudding with apple sauce, blancmange, full fat custards, smoothies, juices, chicken potassium broth and liquid meal replacement supplements.
Obviously most of these things need to be homemade – anything processed from a tin, bottle or packet needs to be avoided simply because they won’t contain the necessarily nutrients your body needs to heal and repair itself.
A few simple recipes to start you off:
1) Fruit smoothie
Blend together:
Frozen fruit OR fresh fruit
Half an avocado OR a handful of pre-soaked raw nuts / linseeds / sunflower seeds
* Coconut water OR almond milk
* If using coconut water depending on the age of the coconut you can also scrape out some of the flesh from inside the coconut as this can also be added to the smoothie for extra thickness, nutrition and an additional healthy fat.
A nice gentle nutritious smoothie is: frozen ripe banana, fresh ripe papaya, ripe avocado and coconut water. Things need to be ripe to ensure full maximum nutrition and of course taste.
You can buy Thai drinking coconuts from most wholefood stores and supermarkets now, and the water inside is absolutely excellent for the bowels because coconut water is a wonderful electrolyte replacement.
Homemade celery juice will also do this but coconuts are cheaper than celery.
You could also include a “superfood” in the smoothie which would be rich in vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants. Maybe a ½ a teaspoon of Maca powder which has successful been used in treating IBD. Go easy with Maca as it can give you LOADS of energy and is a potent aphrodisiac……and yes I am speaking from experience
It is important that IBD sufferers stay hydrated. And the cheapest way to do that is with filtered water. It needs to be non-bottled and non-tap; so a filter on your drinking water supply to remove impurities is a must. Another good way to hydrate is with coconut water, vegetable juices or homemade flavored water:
2) Watermelon Water
4 cups watermelon, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
3 cups filtered water
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar, or other natural healthy sweetener
Buzz up in blender and strain to remove any pulp. Serve with a sprig of mint if you like. Do not serve over ice as iced drinks should be avoided.
I normally add a teaspoon of L-Glutamine powder to a glass of water once a day because it can heal the gut. I am currently using a brand called Musashi. Lots of body builders and gym junkies use it after exercise. C&UC lower the body’s glutamine levels and so you need to replenish those levels. Glutamine has also been shown to protect the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.
3) Homemade Chicken Broth
1 whole raw chicken (free-range and certified organic if possible)
If your pot is big enough you can put it in whole; but best to chop first. YouTube videos will show you have to properly breakdown a bird or just get your butcher to do it for you. You must use chicken on the bone as opposed to chicken breasts, as the bones contain all the nutritious minerals which are going to leach into the broth and you will drink.
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar – use a brand that contains the mother
3 organic carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
3 organic celery sticks, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
3 organic kale leaves or organic broccoli
2 organic shitake mushrooms
½ bunch of organic parsley or watercress – I also like to use coriander / cilantro
2 - 3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
1 large strip of dried arame or wakame (sea vegetables)
1 bay leaf
5 - 8 black peppercorns
1 burdock root
Grated ginger root
Sprinkle of sea salt (optional) – I use Himalayan pink salt.
You could also use wheat-free tamari instead of salt
If you cannot use organic vegetables then don’t stress. But they are highly recommended for several reasons, main reasons being: free from pesticides and they contain more nutrients than conventional produce. If you cannot source everything in the list then just make a simpler version and use what you can.
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in your stockpot or crockpot. Cover ingredients with cold filtered water, plus a bit more for later evaporation. Let stand for 30 minutes whilst the vinegar works it magic to help extract additional minerals from the bones.
Bring to a boil and remove any scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for a minimum of 4 hours. You can simmer up to 24 hours. I suggest 8 hours in a slow cooker as that way you don’t have to watch it.
Once cooked, remove the chicken. You can use the chicken pieces in other food if you want. I normally throw it away or feed it to my cat, since meat gives me bloating, pain and wind.
Strain the broth into a bowl. Discard the vegetables and bones. Allow broth to cool and then refrigerate. Once it is cool, remove any fat that has congealed on top. And store in the fridge or freezer until you want to use it. It will last several months in freezer and about a week in the fridge. You can gently warm this or even drink it cold as a nourishing mineral rich drink or meal replacement.
Other ideas could be mashed potatoes or parsnips and a knob of butter. Yesterday I had stomach ache so I just had juices and smoothies all day and today had boiled then mashed sweet potatoes, knob of real organic butter and mashed avocado. This is plain nutritious food and healthy fats.
More ideas here:
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/cat-ulcerative-colitis.html
(Above and below link are for all IBD)
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-crohns-disease-and-cow-juice.html
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-l...ating/expert-answers/underweight/faq-20058429
http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/nourishing-strengthening-foods-for.html
I do actually have more information to help you, but since you are not interested I won't bother to type it up.
Good luck with everything.
