Confused about fiber

So is fiber a good thing for one with Crohn's...or a major no-no?  My daughter is sticking pretty closely to a low fiber/low res diet.  She does better on it than not or so it seems. But then I keep reading about how important fiber is to your overall health, and a close friend of mine with pretty severe colitis is now in remission since she started taking Benefiber. So then I think..okay, I'll add Benefiber to my child's diet. And THEN, I see a morning program where a woman is promoting fiber (even saying its good to prevent flares of diverticulitus...and IBD!) but in the next breath she's saying it promotes weight loss which is the LAST thing I want since my daughter is rail thin at this point and can't seem to gain an ounce (let alone maintain her weight.) So...what to do. Fiber good, or Fiber evil?  Anyone care to weigh in here? (no pun intended of course.)

 

Its very individual. For anyone who has any type of narrowing fiber can cause pain or a blockage. But for some people fiber is necessary. Personally I follow a low residue diet at all times and that works for me. If I cheat and eat something with fiber, I pay. Something with a lot of fiber and I could be at the hospital.

So if it is working for your daughter, then don't mess with it at this point. When and if she gets to the point that she is feeling great and wants to experiment a bit, go very slowly and see how she does. She may be able to tolerate some fiber, but you want to make sure she is stable first.

As long as your child isn't constipated, I wouldn't worry about a lack of fibre. Calories sound like the most important thing to concentrate upon right now, and fibre has zero calories. It also has zero nutrients. Depending on the type of fibre (insoluble or soluble), it serves to either bulk up your stools and make them easier to pass or to regulate blood sugar levels and lower your cholesterol. I doubt any of that would be critically important to your child, unless she got constipated as a result of a low-fibre diet.

For me personally, I do quite well on fibre. I eat it because I have the tendency these days to get constipated at the drop of a pin if I don't. It almost makes me miss the days of chronic diarrhoea...