Thinking about going Vegan

[Sam07301985]

I went to my local health food store called Basic foods and the owner had crohns disease as well. She told me about this book that helped her called "Self Healing Colitis and Crohns". The author promotes a complete Vegan lifestyle to help with Crohns. He also has Crohns and has been in remission for 15 years with no medication. What do ya'll think of the Vegan lifestyle? Im half way through the book Im pretty excited about trying the Vegan lifestyle out at least to the best of my ability lol I figured since Im hurting so much right now and Im on medications that dont seem to be helping its at least worth a shot.

 

[moogie]

I don't believe any diet whatsoever can cure our plague. However I do believe in trying everything to try and minimize our symptoms. Meaning using medication and being careful what I send my gut will help in making my life easier.

So go ahead and give it a try, however if you are using medication I strongly suggest you do not stop it.

 

[UncleChuckSucks]

I have tried every "diet" out there (although I'm UC, not Crohns) and none of them ever worked--however, a special diet may work for you. I think they do work for some people, for others there's a placebo effect, and for others there's bupkis. If it interests you, I say check it out. Eating healthier might make you feel better overall, or you might find new foods you like that you can still eat when you don't feel good.

One thing to watch for with vegan--my two vegan friends are skinny as wires. They have crazy poops because of all the fiber they eat. The last time we ate dinner at their house, I woke up at 3 am and had to run to the toilet because it was ALL vegetables. Just check the actual contents of what you're throwing down, since it may be really fiber heavy. Good luck, and enjoy your culinary exploration!

 

[bangarang]

Kudos for thinking outside of the box. I've spoken to actual people who have followed the book exactly and have found great success. I bought the book acouple years ago, I was already in remission but thought it'd be a good read. To my surprise I was already eating about 80% of the diet he recommends so following his diet 100% I believe can help those who are truly determined.

 

[PKA]

Hi, I don't really post much but I thought I'd chime in since I'm vegan and have Crohn's. I've never heard of a vegan diet being used to help or cure Crohn's though. I know I still have problems even though I've been a vegan for seven years. But I've been diagnosed for only about 6 months or so, so I can't say if I'm better off because of it or not. Who knows, I might be worse off if I wasn't vegan. It's impossible to know. I've heard red meat and dairy can worsen symptoms, so maybe there's something to it. I say go for it

If you do become a vegan be very careful about getting enough vitamin B12. You will almost certainly need a supplement. I asked my doctor if being a vegan was okay with Crohn's and he said that was the only thing I really needed to be careful about. Also the extra fiber thing doesn't really bother me, but that might be because I'm just used to it.

Good luck!

 

[Gianni]

Hey Sam, I went Vegan a year after my diagnosis and although i never did read that book i have bunched a bunch of information on my own that is probably on par with the book. I couldn't be happier with my diet change and i 100% believe this disease is cure-able through diet. Check out my Juicing as a Viable treatment option thread, i go over my opinion on why juicing and a vegan diet can cure this disease

All the best

Gianni

 

[DustyKat]

Hey Sam,

I can't recount from first hand experience as it is my daughter that has Crohn's and now follows a raw vegan diet.

Sarah had surgery 6 years ago and has been in remission since that time so I don't know if the diet makes a difference or not IYKWIM.
She says it agrees with her and she feels energised on it so it must be making some sort of a difference in her life. She also juices but since trying to avoid too much sugar is another change she has made she very rarely juices fruit as it concentrates the natural sugars too much.

Sarah was left with the legacy of bile salt malabsorption following surgery and eventually happened upon psyllium as a way of controlling it. Since going to raw vegan she swears that it has improved things even further, to point that she goes once a day and her stool is normal.

I know many people cant tolerate this sort of diet so whatever changes you make I hope they work for you. Good luck!

Dusty. xxx

 

[Sam07301985]

Thanks everyone for their input. Ive been doing well with the Vegan lifestyle so far it hasnt been very hard cutting out the meat. I feel better except Im having more pain in my side for some reason it might be from all the veggies Im eating. I went to a local health food store and they have quite a few Vegan people that work there and they introduced me to Garden of Life Supplements specifically the Perfect Food Raw suplement since Ive started taking that and a one a day vitamin from the same company Ive been having more energy. I also started drinking aloe vera juice my grandfather drank that his whole life and he swore it was what kept him healthy. The only problem I think I may have is that Im trying to do a gluten free vegan lifestyle Ive found that I hurt more when I eat wheat products. I am definintely limiting the food I can eat lol but I am enjoying eating all the fresh fruits and vegtables. I didnt realize until I started researching vegan recipes how much breads and pastas are incorporated into the recipes.

Gianni thanks for posting the thread about juicing Im going to read it today Ive been wanting to juice for a while now but dont know a whole lot of ideas of what to juice.