What was your child's diet like before being diagnosed with Crohn's?

[buchanaj]

DD had what I would call a typical American diet. We cooked at home when possible with the occasional visit to McD's, Subway or Panera on busy nights. She did drink pop but I limited how much she could have. She LOVED having salad, steak and chicken. She didn't much care for hamburger. She would snack on pretzels, string cheese, chips and salsa, fruit smoothies.

How about your kids? I haven't changed DD's diet too significantly since her diagnosis. We completely cut out an pop and most all fast food. I have found I cook at home a bit more.

Jennifer

 

[Tesscorm]

S's diet was similar to what you described, ate at home usually but eating out, including McDs, Subway, pizza, etc wasn't 'uncommon' either.

But, one thing I've realized is that S, ALWAYS a picky eater, preferred a blander, more low residue diet - lots of refined flour foods (toast, waffles, pancakes, pasta, granola bars, etc.), eggs/chicken/fish/meat, potatos, rice, not too many sauces/gravies, and fruits/veggies were a absolute struggle! (Pureed veggie soup was the easiest.) Not sure if his diet in any way contributed to his dx or if it was a very, very early sign that his system just couldn't tolerate high fibre, etc.?? I've read how sugar can cause inflammatory changes in the intestinal system so, while he wasn't a 'sweets' person, did consume lots of sugar in white bread, waffles, etc.

His diet hasn't changed much since dx. Fruits and veggies are still a huge struggle although he now makes an effort to reduce junk food and sticks with whole wheat, when possible. The biggest change has been the addition of nutritional shakes. Not only do they provide him with some supplemental EN benefits but, they often replace an unhealther meal (ie he'll drink a shake instead of grabbing a fast food breakfast sandwich).

 

[Optimistic]

Hmmm. Before diagnosis my son gravitated towards a low res diet, picky, really no sauces, fights to make him have fruits and vegetables.

He is on scd and boosts now, but if given a choice I know he would choose the low res foods again.

Makes me wonder too how long the signs were there.

 

[Gmama]

My son was always low res too!! He always preferred white breads, lots of carbs not many veggies and no sauce. He always ate very plain, a burger has always been just the burger and a bun nothing else on it. Plain spaghetti, butter but no sauce, no soup, no dips, etc.
I have always wondered about his diet & onset as well

 

[Maya142]

My daughter ate a low residue diet too. Plain pasta, plain hamburgers, very bland foods and fruits and veggies were a huge struggle.

She ate better as she got older - learned to love salad and other veggies. Most fish or chicken, not much red meat. No fast food, no soda. But she did love chocolate and sugar and all things sweet!

I always wondered about the low residue/low fiber diet - it works for both Crohn's and Gastroparesis and M has both now.

 

[Tesscorm]

Who knows... kind of which came first, chicken or the egg? But, I was also a very picky eater, my burgers were always just bread and beef, I didn't like veggies until I was in my 20s... and I don't have crohns. So, who knows??

But, interestingly, my daughter eats everything and always has. Two things she always refused to eat were corn and melon. Considering the foods she did like, it was odd that she didn't like these two items. When she was around 5-6 years old, we found out she had a mild allergy to both. When I mentioned her dislike of them to the allergist, he said he wasn't surprised, that she could have instinctively avoided them because they didn't sit well with her system. Using this logic, I have wondered if S gravitated to low res foods because they were easier on his body??

 

[Clash]

C loved vegtables, red meat, chicken, pork, fish and salads growing up. He's never been big on overly processed snacks, cakes or sweets and candy. He did eat fast food but not often. Probably eats more fast food now since college then he ever did before dx.

 

[pdx]

My daughter was vegetarian or vegan for most of her life, with some fish added in for the last few years before diagnosis. Lots of whole grains and organic fruits and vegetables from our garden and local farms. Very little fast food. But also lots of processed foods like margarine, garden burgers, snack crackers, and soy ice cream. All that stuff contains a lot of weird ingredients and emulsifiers, so I do wonder if that had anything to do with her developing Crohn's.

Since her diagnosis, we've been trying to cut out most processed foods and sugars. I make a lot more at home now. She's eating meat or fish once or twice a week, along with lots of eggs, butter, yogurt, olive oil, and cream to help her gain weight. We think she has a stricture, so we're avoiding most whole grains for now, and her fruits and veggies are cooked and peeled (or blended into smoothies). The main processed foods that she still eats are bread and pasta, but I buy ones without the unpronounceable ingredients now.

 

[Pilgrim]

Before diagnosis our daughter ate only home cooked foods. I baked all our bread. Lots of fruit and dairy. Meat was locally grown and butchered. All sweets were made from scratch at home.
Dx at 3.
Now she tends toward very salty foods. She can't or won't eat most breads or crackers. No muffins or bready sweets. She wants rice cakes, cheese, apple slices. She drinks about 50% calories from ensure.No diagnosed strictures.

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

My son's diet hasn't changed a lot, except he eats less fibre now. Pre-dx, it was whole grains, fruits and veggies, chicken, beef, some fish. When he went on a low residue diet at dx, he found it hard to switch back to whole grains once he was in remission. He's not a big bread eater, so I allow the white for the little he eats. He has always loved his milk. He has never had much of a sweet tooth and doesn't care for processed or fast foods, except for a slice of bacon once in awhile.

 

[crohnsinct]

slice of bacon once in awhile.

Really?! I was a vegan then vegetarian for a year. For some reason, I had a taste of bacon....Bacon was my gateway meat! :hallo3:

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

My son has willpower (or whatever that superpower is) like my husband-done after ONE slice of bacon, or after ONE cookie, or after THREE potato chips...
"But there's more in the package/box/bag!" It's not fair. It's just. not. fair.

 

[Lady Organic]

I used to eat mostly junk and processed food all of my teenage and early 20's (diagnosis). and same junk regimen for over 10 years after being diagnosed. In my childhood, lots of processed food, my parents were not great cooks and I had never learned how to feed and cook for myself.
its just 5 years ago i decided to take care of my nutrition and learn how to prepare food for me.

 

[Tesscorm]

I really don't think diet before dx plays a role in developing crohns. Certainly a healthy diet is better for you but, crohns-wise, I don't believe it's a deciding factor.

But, post-dx, I do think diet plays a part in control/reduce flares and symptoms. Many must avoid certain foods due to intolerances (whether it be allergies, digestive, preventive, etc.) and certain foods can help symptoms (ie low res when in a flare).

I think increasing organic, clean, nutritious foods while minimizing junk, fast food can only help. But, as parents, you work with what you've got! With S away at school, I have very limited control over what he eats (all I can do is send shakes and homecooked meals) and, even while at home, his pickiness dictates much of his diet. So, I continue the shakes and make what parts of his diet I can, as healthy as possible.

There is value in clean eating, SCD, Paleo, etc. diets (partly because the focus becomes healthier eating, regardless of diet) but, if it's going to be a constant struggle (as it would be with S), then that stress will not be healthy either.

 

[my little penguin]

Yeah Ds had Gi issues since he was two weeks old ( so not diet related at ALL)
Did numerous diets per different docs from birth to age 7.
He was finally dx at age 7 after a scope
Stopped gaining weight by age 5.

He currently is on a GP friendly ( low fiber low fat no raw veggies or fruits ) diet plus avoids his food allergens and crohns triggers and all emulsifiers additives etc.,,.

He has always been on some sort of medical diet

 

[Maya142]

There is some evidence that says that diet MAY have something to with the risk of developing ulcerative colitis.

Abstract
Introduction
The role of dietary fatty acids in ulcerative colitis (UC) pathogenesis has been shown in animal models; however, human studies are rare. We hypothesized that there might be a relationship between dietary fatty acid composition and the risk of developing incident UC.
Material and methods
Overall, 62 new cases of UC and 124 healthy age and sex-matched controls were studied. Information on usual diet was measured by a validated country-specific food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression analysis adjusting for potential confounding variables was carried out to compare dietary fatty acid intakes between cases and controls.
Results
We found positive associations between dietary intake of total fat (P value for trend <0.01), oleic acid (P value for trend <0.01), saturated fatty acid (SAFA) (P value for trend = 0.02), total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (P value for trend = 0.04), and trans fat (P value for trend <0.01).
Conclusion
Our results showed that higher consumptions of total fats, oleic acid, SAFAs, total PUFAs, trans fat, MUFAs, and linoleic acid are significantly associated with increased risk for UC; however, no statistically significant associations were detected between the risk of disease and n-3 PUFAs and cholesterol intake.

That said, in my daughter's case, I feel like it was mostly genetic. We saw symptoms pretty early on too - 3 or so.

 

[Mehita]

Typical American diet here too prior to diagnosis. He was a picky eater, but I thought all kids were that way and didn't give it much thought.

After the Celiac diagnosis and going gluten free, I think his diet it almost worse because he's so limited in what he can eat either due to the ingredients or preparation. We almost never eat out now, mostly because the risks are too high and many processed gluten free foods are high in sugar and other yucky things.

I often wonder why Celiac panels aren't run on all IBD kids.

 

[malorymug]

My CD child always leaned towards fresh fruits and veggies. He was the adventuresome eater that would try crazy seafood and ask to go to exotic restaurants. He loved spicy. Now food is a chore. He dreads mealtime and food.

When he was put on a low residue diet he thought he was going to die.

His younger brother (18 months younger) is the junk food guy and loves the sugar and salt.