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Is anyone a vegetarian and still has symptoms?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 9/25/2008 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
I would like to talk with anyone who is a vegetarian and what your results have been as far as your Crohns disease. I was a vegetarain for 2 years about 6 years ago and was virtualy symptom free...I have decided to eliminate meat from my diet once again...I am still goin to eat fish for the mean time but will eventually cut that out as well.

I started flaring about a week and a half ago. two days ago I stopped consuming meat...
I feel 60% better than I did two days ago. I do not feel like this is a coinsident.

What I would like to do is get a group of people that are willing to try a vegetarian diet together for about 3 weeks and see how are symptoms improve...

Now a vegetarian diet does not mean eating vegetables all the time which I have a hard time with because of the fiber. However there are a lot of tofu products and other things that are good nutrisous and available...for little money.

anyone interested?
Posted 9/25/2008 10:49 PM (GMT 0)
Some meats are harder to digest and may cause problems for Cronnies. Beef and pork are more difficult to digest and eliminating them is a good plan. Tofu and other soy products are questionable. Tofu may be processed enough that the raffinose in the soy beans is removed, but there are still protease inhibitors in it. That is not as much trouble as the raffinose, but you should be aware that it can still cause trouble. Bean lectins are also quite able to damage the gut lining. Wheat and other gluten sources are reported by many to be a problem, so limiting or avoiding them may be necessary. I was a vegetarian for over 25 years, but I had to stop because I reacted to beans and wheat and it was a problem to get enough protein. Extra protein is needed to handle the ongoing damage and tissue repair needs caused by Crohn's.
Posted 9/26/2008 1:08 PM (GMT 0)
I have been a vegetarian for 10 years. At least a few years before I started showing symptoms. I do not eat a lot of vegetables becuase I cannot handle them either. I have a lot of carbs and soy protein foods. I wouldn't expect it to make a huge difference, but who knows, I have never tried meat and CD.
Posted 9/26/2008 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
I fI didn't eat meat and eggs, I would only be eating pasta, canned green beans and 1 or 2 other canned veggies. I would starve to death. Any veggie I eat has to have only a very little fiber or I will be hospitalized.
Posted 9/26/2008 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have stuck with a pretty strict vegan diet (I consume no meats or dairy products) for many years before I ever had any symptoms or was diagnosed with Crohn's. There are many healthy vegetarian/vegan foods that are easy on my gut. I eat a lot of rice and tofu in all different variations. I honestly don't notice that my symptoms react much with what I eat other than raw leafy greens like spinich etc. Any veggie that has been steamed or cooked usually goes over fine for me. Same for fruit in moderation.
Posted 9/26/2008 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
ladybugs...thank you so much for your feed back I would love to get some of your recipes etc...
Posted 9/27/2008 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
I am in a flare right now and not eating all that much at the moment. I went to the health food store and picked up afew brown rice products and afew other things in the thinking that I am going to try and eat a little more healthy than all the white foods that I tolerate so well. No more white bread, pasta, rice, sugar and I am also staying away from wheat as well. I have discovered since I have been sick last April that I cannot tolerate red meat anymore. I actually believe that red meat was part of the cause of my most recent flare. I tried eating some after staying away from it for a year and a half. I will eat chicken occasionall and still eat fish ocasionally as well but I am going to turn to tofu, soy and brown rice products for a while.
Posted 9/27/2008 9:19 AM (GMT 0)
Hi be careful of what veggies you eat!!!!!!
Posted 9/27/2008 10:00 AM (GMT 0)
I believe being a vegetarian is the reason I was diagnosed with Crohn's because I became so sick. I try and try to go back to vegetarianism, but unless I want to have a blockage I think it is not wise.
Posted 9/27/2008 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
I am a vegetarian, and suffer from Crohn's.
Posted 9/27/2008 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
Funny, I was a vegetarian and then vegan for a while before I was diagnosed with Crohn's. I think it was only about three or four months after going off of those diets that I was officially diagnosed.
I can't stay on those diets now though. They would tear my insides apart and/or I would starve.
Good luck to you though. Let us know how it goes.
Posted 9/28/2008 2:57 AM (GMT 0)
I was a vegan when I was (finally) diagnosed with Crohn's and had to have an emergency ileal resection. Eventually, we added nonfat dairy to our diet--and then, about five years ago, added seafood. The only rough time I've had was the three years that my doctor had me on a low fiber/low residue diet. I used to joke to people that I was the only vegetarian on the planet who wasn't allowed to eat fruit or vegetables. I also used to tell people to imagine what they'd have said if someone asked them, when they were four years old, what they wanted to eat all the time--and that that was the diet I was on: mostly carbohydrates and dairy. I think three years of no nutrition whatsoever have probably screwed me up for life! I still have exactly the same symptoms, whether I'm vegan, vegetarian with dairy, or vegetarian with seafood. I do have to be very careful about what fruits and veggies I eat. I don't eat anything with seeds or peels. I have to eat as few uncooked fruits and veggies as possible. I understand that red meat is harder to digest, and I'm happy that I don't eat it.

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