Signs of Inflammation?

[LeafCrAzY]

I'm new to Crohns. I've probably been undiagnosed for awhile but I've never had any tell tale symptoms until I had a bowel blockage.

I've now been diagnosed, and I'm on entocort.

My main question is... does food cause inflammation?

I've been eating fairly normal, just avoiding RAW Fruits and Veggies, and my stool consistency is great. However; I sometimes have a white mucus around my stool. Does this mean that the food is causing inflammation?

 

[ronroush7]

I myself have issues with gluten and diary.

 

[LeafCrAzY]

I may not have phrased it right, but if I eat foods that I have no issues with could they still be causing inflammation unbenounced to me?

 

[ronroush7]

It seems like every once in a while a new food flares my Crohn's. Ask your GI or someone that deals with food allergies.

 

[ncman]

There's a difference between allergy and intolerance, let's not confuse the two.

The short answer is what you eat affects make-up of the bacteria in your bowel. And it is these bacteria that your immune system is wrongly attacking, as in health you have tolerance to these bacteria. What causes it to to turn is, I believe, as yet unknown.

So food itself doesn't *cause* CD, but by changing your diet you can avoid feeding the wrong bacteria. Check out the book in my sig for more info on the dietary approach.

 

[LeafCrAzY]

There's a difference between allergy and intolerance, let's not confuse the two.

The short answer is what you eat affects make-up of the bacteria in your bowel. And it is these bacteria that your immune system is wrongly attacking, as in health you have tolerance to these bacteria. What causes it to to turn is, I believe, as yet unknown.

So food itself doesn't *cause* CD, but by changing your diet you can avoid feeding the wrong bacteria. Check out the book in my sig for more info on the dietary approach.

Interesting stuff.

So, a probiotic is probably a good idea then.

 

[ronroush7]

Yes for probiotics.

 

[LeafCrAzY]

Still I dont think my initial question has been answered...

Is it possible that I am causing more inflammation by the foods I eat without seeing any signs of that inflammation occurring?

If for example I eat say, raw vegetables but felt no negative side effects could I still be causing inflammation?

 

[ronroush7]

Not sure about that. Sorry. Anyone else?

 

[Tuff]

There is no cure for Crohn's, because they don't know what causes it yet. This is a good explanation, but is not proven scientifically:

"What are the causes of Crohn's disease? Experts are not completely sure, although several theories do exist. Unfortunately, none of these theories has yet been scientifically proven. Most experts agree that the immune system of people with Crohn's disease reacts abnormally - it treats good bacteria, foods, and other substances that are good for us as foreign unwanted substances. In other words, the immune system: Attacks foods and beneficial substances. During the attack white blood cells build up in the lining of the gut. The accumulation of white blood cells in the lining of the gut triggers inflammation. The inflammation leads to ulcerations and bowel injury. However, we are not sure whether the abnormal immune system is the cause or the result of Crohn's disease. In other words, does Crohn's disease cause an abnormal immune system response, or does an abnormal immune system response cause Crohn's disease?"

So they don't know if a specific food can cause inflammation. With me, immune suppressing drugs halted this response to foods.

 

[ncman]

Still I dont think my initial question has been answered...

Is it possible that I am causing more inflammation by the foods I eat without seeing any signs of that inflammation occurring?

If for example I eat say, raw vegetables but felt no negative side effects could I still be causing inflammation?

I think you need to look at how foods are absorbed.

For example, you might not tolerate fresh raw apples, with their skins and fibrous residue, as it is more to process. But strained apple juice which is absorbed higher up in the intestines might be ok.

It's really individual, what works for one won't for another; you can only find out by doing an exclusion diet and observing symptoms.

 

[Robrich]

Leaf crazy the short answer is no one knows for sure if certain foods cause inflammation.
You can try an elimination diet and keep a diary and you might come up with an answer, or not.
Best if you keep an eye on inflammatory markers such as CRP, ESR, fecal cal protectin and get scoped periodically.

 

[LeafCrAzY]

I think you need to look at how foods are absorbed.

For example, you might not tolerate fresh raw apples, with their skins and fibrous residue, as it is more to process. But strained apple juice which is absorbed higher up in the intestines might be ok.

It's really individual, what works for one won't for another; you can only find out by doing an exclusion diet and observing symptoms.

Interesting. I've kinda done my own "exclusion diet" over the past few years, just by thinking I was allergic to certain foods.

I ate nuts, had a poor response.
I ate parsnip, had a poor response.
I ate apple skins, had a poor response.

The thing is - after I had a response to these foods I went and got tested and came out allergic to nuts, and foods from trees (The skins of apples). Thus, I thought that was the only thing wrong and I avoided those foods.

The thing that put me in the ER was carrots.

The reason I'm wondering about if foods can cause inflammation and the person not know it is because besides those foods I generally dont have any issues digesting anything else, nor do I have symptoms. Crohns was quite the surprise to me to be honest, and I'm thankful that for this long I've been asymptotic. However; I dont want to be eating foods that are causing inflammation even if I dont have symptoms.

 

[LeafCrAzY]

Leaf crazy the short answer is no one knows for sure if certain foods cause inflammation.
You can try an elimination diet and keep a diary and you might come up with an answer, or not.
Best if you keep an eye on inflammatory markers such as CRP, ESR, fecal cal protectin and get scoped periodically.

Yep, I had a blood test last week to check my current inflammation levels compared to when I was first diagnosed.

I guess that answers my question =)

 

[DEmberton]

I think there's a big difference between short term and long term here. If you eat something and it causes you pain that doesn't mean the thing you've eaten has caused the inflammation, just that it's aggravated the inflammation that you already had. On the other hand clearly what you put into the body affects your general health in the long term and it stands to reason that your diet may affect the course of the disease.