what's the deal with popcorn?

Some people can eat it just fine. It all depends.

The hulls don't digest and can be dangerous for people w/ narrowing or strictures. I think others just feel sick from it. I have severe strictures in my TI, but once I was in remission I started eating small amounts of popcorn and was fine. After years without it, though, it wasn't as good as I remembered.

I've always been up and down with popcorn. For years, I could eat it and the only side effect might be gas. Sometimes, I would eat it and get terrible cramping. But right now I can't eat it at all. But I do have a hot air popper and I'm hoping that in a few weeks, I can use it again.

Try a little at a time. You might find microwavable harder to digest than hot air and movie popcorn very greasy. See what works best for you.

Hope you get to enjoy it.

I can't eat popcorn or corn on the cobb.

i eat popcorn with no problems...usually stove top popped in olive oil, topped with a little parmesan cheese, organic butter and sea salt

yum!

I was eating the microwave kettle corn popcorn a couple times a week before I suddenly got my first crohn's flare, and I'm terrified to eat popcorn ever again.  I'm worried about the little kernels poking and scraping and irritating my insides, and since they aren't digested they can also cause blockages in narrow places like other people have mentioned.  Popcorn is yummy but be careful with it!

My daughter ate popcorn just before the worst flare of her life...woke up later that night with writhing pain, vomiting. Because of the stricture. She won't touch the stuff, now.  

crohnie1985 said...
I myself love popcorn, and at the show forget it I am helpless. So I thought up an idea, I eat all the popcorn I want, just I bring along a small plastic lunchbag and chew up the popcorn and enjoy, then I spit out the chewed leftover, then decreetly toss the bag (gross) but works. So that's my two cents, enjoy.

Oh wow that's actually a pretty good idea. I don't know about doing that if I go to the movies with friends, but maybe I'll go with my mom one day and try that. I'll see what happens...I haven't really eaten much popcorn since having the Crohn's, but I had some at home (the ones from the store in a bag) and I don't think it really bothered me. We usually go as a family to the circus every year and get the box of popcorn..that's coming up in about a week so I guess I'll see how that goes. It's sad to think that I'm actually worried about going to something that was always enjoyable and to have to think about what foods might do me harm...having to think about those kind of things really makes you regret how you took it for granted when life was normal, you know?

I don't know if anyone else has tried the hullless popcorn. It doesn't bother me, it's a little more
expensive than regular popcorn and comes in regular and cheese flavored.

i love movie popcorn and it is hard to resist but i find that milk duds take my mind off it ;) popcorn and corn tear my stomach up! the pain is unbearable and i assume it's because it irritates (scrapes) the ulcers in my intestines. i find it is not worth the pain!! maybe when i'm in remission (which is rare) it wouldn't bother me, i am not sure. good luck! and sorry to hear what you have to go through at such a young age! don't be afraid to explain to your friends what is wrong with you because my friends have been very understanding and helpful!!
jacquie

Please try not to eat popcorn. There is clinical evidence that--even if you don't FEEL bad the next day--popcorn (and other things with hulls, seeds, and skins) irritates the lining of your intestine and colon. Doctors believe that this irritation prompts a reaction from your immune system, causing inflammation. Eventually, the inflammation can cause a buildup of scar tissue and may result in stricture, blockage, or surgery. So I'm always skeptical of people with CD who say they can eat popcorn. What you feel on the outside may not reflect silent damage being done on the inside.
Most of us really really miss the popcorn. Try to develop another movie routine. My savior has been caramel apple pops, since they take forever to eat and require lots and lots of chewing. They keep my mouth busy through a long movie, without my actually eating pounds and pounds of, say, jelly beans to satisfy my movietime oral fixation. I now can't imagine seeing a movie without caramel apple pops--but at least I've substituted a harmless craving for a harmful one.

here is an analogy that might make sense to you. Ever had a really slow flowing drain? Maybe you've lived in an old house or in a town whose water system has been around for, maybe a hundred years? So imagine this rusty, corroded pipe. It isn't smooth anymore on the inside. It is pitted and there are eruptions of rust on the inside that have nearly closed the opening in a couple of places. Most of the time it still runs ok, because you only need a pinhole for water to get through. But, suppose a guest comes over and they don't know about your old house and its equally sensitive plumbing. they graciously offer to clean up the fablulous meal you all have just enjoyed while you trek off to the bathroom. By the time you get back, they're standing over the sink with a sheepish look on their face. The water just isn't draining and there bits of the salad and a piece of meat or two swirling in the water. Immediately you know what's wrong. That piece of tomatoe and the corn and the meat grissle have gotten stuck somewhere in those old rusty pipes. Sometimes it will clear itself with just a plunger, but sometimes you gotta call in the plumber because the force of trying to clear the drain has blown one of the fittings and there's a mess spilling into your basement.

That's what the bowels of many crohn's patients look like. Think of the scar tissue as the rust in the pipe. Now do you see why corn, nuts, celery, and other coarse stringy foods can cause us so much misery? Of course you can eat all these foods. And sometimes you will get away with it. Maybe even most of the time, but if you are prone to obstruction or have been told you have a stricture best to avoid them. Unless you are prepared to suffer the consequences. Mom, you were able to ride it out at home. Boy I can understand that. Nothing I hate worse than going to the ER when I'm at my most vulnerable. Still, most people don't have a doc at hand and, having done it many times on my own, I've come to believe that it's probably not the best judgement I've ever demonstrated. dehydration, exhaustion from fighting the pain and the very real possibility of perforation have finally convinced me to park my pride and go to the ER until it passes.

I found out the hard way that I cannot eat popcorn! One great night at the movies ended up with me in the bathroom vomiting. I haven't tried it to eat it since, to me, its just not worth it! I stick to the junior mints instead! :)