Diet and crohns

Just curious about the majority of opinions on here and who has tried and either succeeded or failed with diet modifications.

I didn't like any of the choices in your survey. I suspect that we all have different bacterial balances based on our environment, diet and genetics and there doesn't seem to be one diet that works for everyone. I think we are a long time away from figuring it all out. I know for me, that when I am in remission, I can eat a lot more foods than when I'm in a flare. I don't know what sets off my flares, but I seriously don't think it's my diet. Certainly there are foods that bother me, like I'm a little lactose intolerant, but that isn't true for everyone with Crohn's.

For my own curiosity I was just trying to get a picture of where people stand on diet as it possibly relates to CD symptoms. I notice some strongly believe that diet plays a major role, while others are adamant that it has nothing to do with it. While others still are kind of on the fence and are curious but don't want to try fanatical changes only to be disappointed once again. I also notice that many of the diet related threads have lots of views, which shows curiosity in information, but generally few posts. So I thought a poll might be an easier way to get some response without anyone feeling they were required to explain their position. Which I guess was inaccurate seeing as how I believe as of right now this post has generated 86 views but only 6 votes lol.

For me my personal theory is that it begins as a bacterial imbalance (for reasons that vary from person to person), which leads to leaky gut, which leads to larger particles of foods entering the bloodstream and the body developing intolerances to those specific foods, which leads to symptoms from the body trying to fight off perceived invaders. I think that is why there is no specific diet, or any single food that everyone or no one can tolerate. And possibly why the elemental diets work, bc it isn't as far as I know whole foods, threfor our bodies haven't developed an intolerance and by eliminating the specific foods, the body is allowed a chance to heal without aggravation.
Again, jut my opinion and curiosity. Thanks for your votes and responses.

I was just told today I have crohns, I am going in to grill y doc more. In the mean time, I have noticed that high fructose corn syrup and spicy food trigger bad flares.

I wish I kept a list, but there are certain foods that many CD patients are intolerant to, not all of us are intolerant to all of them so it is sometimes hard to figure out. I know some are citric acid, MSG, Yeast, wheat and or gluten, dairy, guar gum, eggs, tomatoes and sorry, I know there were more but I don't remember them at the moment. Yeast intolerance is found in 60-80% of us and is far reaching, it is everywhere. I don't think msg specifically has been studied but if you ask anyone who can eat a Dorito without paying for it you will find there are very few, if any, that is another hard one bc it is in so many foods whether listed or hidden in ingredients such as gelatin, anything autolyzed or hydrolyzed, yeast extract etc. I have the same issue with broccoli, however I have found that I am not intolerant of the broccoli itself only the tops and my belief is that it is due to yeast hiding in the little crevices of the florets.

I was able to get the IgG test to find out what my intolerances were, Have you tried SCD or paleo ?At the least I think everyone should try the SCD starter diet and phase one then if it is too restrictive to keep up add other foods back slowly and keep a detailed food diary. And try to have atleast a 4day rotation diet(don't eat the same foods more than one day in every four days) and try to switch it up, if you eat chicken and carrots on Monday, the next time you make chicken eat it with green beans or another vegetable so it will be easier to find patterns. They are very restrictive diets, but also they might be restrictive enough to keep you from some of the things you are reacting to. A nutritionist may be helpful as far as teaching you what kinds of foods you should be eating for health in general but like everyone will tell you there is no single diet that works for everyone, you have to find out which foods do not work for you. To make it a little easier, if you are sick all of the time then obviously it is something you are eating all the time, could be margarine or something in packaged foods or drinks? I used to think there was something amazing about ginger and rice bc everytime I would eat it for dinner I would feel so much better the next day, I later realized it wasn't so much the rice and ginger I was eating it was the stove top, rice a roni, bread etc that were regular staples in my diet that I did NOT eat the night before. It may be one single thing or many things. For instance I tested positive for 14 diff foods, and only two of them were things I never really eat, the others were on a daily or weekly basis. If your Dr knows a good nutritionist that is very familiar with Crohns it might be worth a shot, otherwise it is probably a waste of time.

I was diagnosed in 2007 with CD after having two massive rectal fistulas. I refused remacade and opted to try the SCD diet with pentassa.  In 8 months, both fistulas were completely healed.  I am still following the SCD diet (not as strict as before), and taking pentassa 1000mg 3xday,   and I have been completely symptom free since 2007.