What should my diet be?!?

[Solidsam]

I'm so confused dunno what to do! My original problem was rectal bleeding and multiple anal fissures together with constipation, for this i was originaly told i should be on a high fibre diet! However now i also get crazy abdominal pain in three places and since it all may be symptoms of ibd i've been told to have a low fibre diet! Can anyone help me?? What should i be doing?! Low fibre or high fibre?

 

[hugh]

Many people have good results from Paleo/SCD/GAPS style of diets,
-plenty of threads on this site.
These diets change many factors so the reasons that they work (or don't work) are not fully understood.

The 'Perfect Health Diet'[1] is a paleo based diet but much easier to follow as it allows (paleo) carbs and white rice.
-It is a good starting point but you may need to engage in carbohydrate restriction to starve out 'bad' bacteria (as practised in the other previously mentioned diets).
-Also SCD/GAPS/Paleo A/I and FODMAPS have an introductory diet that removes most foods and only adds them back after a 'testing' for any reaction.
This step can be very helpful but appears to be the most misunderstood and least complied with part of the diets

[1] Bowel Disorders, Part I: About Gut Disease
"In our view, various dietary and nutritional tactics are critical, with toxin elimination and vitamin D normalization among the most important steps. Most medical treatments are likely to be ineffective if the diet is bad."
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/07/ulcerative-colitis-a-devastating-gut-disease/

Bowel Disease, Part II: Healing the Gut By Eliminating Food Toxin
"Softer soluble fibers from fruits and some vegetables are much more likely to help than wheat bran, but even they may be a good thing only in moderation, or only in a healthy bowel. Fiber feeds pathogenic bacteria as well as probiotic bacteria, and increases the populations of both. When the gut is damaged and leaky, more bacteria mean more bacterial toxins and more pathogens infiltrating the body. A low-fiber diet, leading to reduced bacterial populations in the gut, may be desirable for bowel disease patients."
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/0...i-healing-the-gut-by-eliminating-food-toxins/

Bowel Disease, Part III: Healing Through Nutrition
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/07/bowel-disease-part-iii-healing-through-nutrition/

 

[UnXmas]

You may have to try high and low fibre diets and see which one suits you best (if either of them make a difference). Try each for a couple of weeks and see if you notice significant differences.

Are you diagnosed with IBD?

Many people with IBD and other digestive problems do better on low fibre, but constipation is not usually an IBD symptom, so if you do have both IBD and constipation, you may find the diet that suits you is different to those which suit the majority of IBD sufferers.

You may need to be very careful with testing a high fibre diet if you have obstructions or certain other related conditions. If you find it painful going to the toilet a stool softener may help.

 

[Solidsam]

Thanx for takin the time to reply.... I haven't yet been diagnosed but i suppose i should just keep a check on which foods react and which don't. I keep alternating between constipation and diarrheah so mayb keep changing what i eat depending on what i have....

 

[Charleigh]

At least gluten and dairy free but optimally paleo. We have seen great results with paleo.
It takes discipline and commitment though. It is worth it if you have the willpower

 

[EW8]

Hi there I think you'd find it helpful to check out Professor John Hunter - UK Gastro specialist. You'll find his book on Amazon. The diet is called Lofflex. This explains it - http://nutricia.co.uk/e02/uploads/LOFFLEX_Diet_Diary_Full.pdf

I have very servere Crohn's and this diet has helped me a lot. Prof Hunter pioneered the Lofflext diet and has a lot of success with it, if you are willing to commit to it. It's not that bad once you get into it. And he is here in the UK, so you can relate to it rather than across the pond.

Hope this helps.
Liz

 

[UnXmas]

Thanx for takin the time to reply.... I haven't yet been diagnosed but i suppose i should just keep a check on which foods react and which don't. I keep alternating between constipation and diarrheah so mayb keep changing what i eat depending on what i have....

Changing your diet as your symptoms change sounds like it could be quite tricky, especially if you switch between constipation and diarrheoa in short spaces of time. If you go several weeks of diarrhoea then several weeks of constipation it might be possible, but if its only a matter of days before you symptoms alternate then you'd hardly have time for the effects of your diet to kick in before your symptoms change again.

Fibre is generally recommended for constipation, but diarrhoea can also, in some cases, be helped by increasing your intake of insoluble fibre. This type of fibre can absorb some of the fluid and so make loose stool firmer, and it shouldn't irritate your fissure and whatever is causing the rectal bleeding, which insoluble fibre may do. Porridge is a good thing to eat if you want to increase insoluble fibre.

But getting a diagnosis could be important. Rectal bleeding isn't normal. Is the blood bright red? If you do have IBD, medications should be able to treat your condition and so reduce your symptoms far more effectively than any diet can do.