what do you eat if you have diabetes and UC and crohns?

Hi, and welcome! Well, I was diagnosed with UC for 11 years and then they found out I really had Crohn's disease and I'm also diabetic. One thing I could not eat was salad. I really missed that. But I could eat veggies if I cooked them soft. Meat and poultry works but avoid fried foods. I did have to eat more carbs because of the Crohn's but just really watched my blood sugar. Some use spaghetti squash instead of regular spaghetti if they want that. There is a low carb pasta called Dreamfield Pasta, I believe and you can find that in the regular grocery store. Fruit was tricky. I don't think ripe peaches or pears would hurt you but I peeled them. I could eat bananas but they are higher in carbs so get the smallest ones you can find or only eat a half a banana.

Above all, read labels. They give you a lot of good info to help you make good food choices.

Lastly, you will learn how to manage both illnesses. This is all so new to you but you will get the hang of it. I've had Crohn's for 36 years and have been diabetic for 21 years and am doing great! Just take one day at a time right now and before you know it, you will take all of this in stride.

Sherrine

When you are reading labels, be sure to check the carbs. Also, I usually had to have canned fruit. Try fresh, soft fruit and see if you can eat that. If you have to get your fruit from canned fruit, get the no sugar added ones. They taste good and every little bit helps. you could microwave fresh apples with some cinnamon on them and that would be good, too. I've seen apples and pears baked, too, and you could eat those without the skin.

Things like this can be so overwhelming but once you get over the shock of it, you will have a plan of action. Hope you are feeling better about all of this soon.

Sherrine

Hi Debbie, welcome to this forum and I'm sorry! you are here. I'm so glad Sherrine can help you with the balancing of these different conditions. I can only help you with diabetes and food/diet related to this, so if there is any conflict in what I'm writing between diabetes and your other conditions, please understand that you will have to make the food decisions best for you. I can give you information about what food will affect blood sugar.

Essentially, carbs will make your blood sugar rise. Carbs are sugar (of course) and are found in wheat products, corn, potatoes (and other root veggies). Fiber, fats and protein can slow the rise of blood sugar if they are eaten with carbs. For example, if you can eat an apple and if you can cheese or peanut butter, then your blood sugar would behave better if you eat the apple with some cheese or peanut butter.

Please read the stickies at the top of our forum for more information.

If the doctor is not putting you on diabetes meds, then your blood sugar readings most likely can be manageable with diet and exercise. Just know that carbs will keep your readings high, so be careful. Testing will help you know how you're doing. You would probably need to pay more attention to your diet for UC and Crohn's though.

Exercise helps keep blood sugar under control too. If you need to lose weight, losing weight also helps keep blood sugar more in control.

I understand this is a lot to deal with but you will be able to handle it, I'm sure. Sherrine is a good person to ask for advice about all this together!

Don't worry about not understanding everything at first. Come back and ask all your questions!

Hi Debbie, just wanted to say, you are not alone. I also have both diabetes and chrons disease. I was diagnosed with chrons at 21 and then a year later found out I had type 1 insulin dependant diabetes. I didn't have the first clue how to manage them both, after all they require totally different diets. But IT have found that the blander and softest foods that I can find, such as yogurts and smoothies made with splenda instead of high sugared ingredients and lots of apple sauce is good when you are having a flare up is a good diet. Sups are good too. As long as you limit your portion size, to about 1 to 1/2 cup, and chicken or beef broth are a better option than milk based soups for your diabetes. Good luck, I am sure that once the shock wears off, you will be able to manage both just fine. Good luck, and God Bless you during this time.

Judy2 said...
Debbie, I'd recommend keeping a diary that shows your food eaten, blood sugar readings and notes about intestinal symptoms. Over time you'll start to be able to see how various foods affect you.

Great advice! I have ulcerative colitis or possibly Crohn's colitis. Not diabetic yet but I am prediabetic and so for the past 5 years I have been measuring my fasting blood sugar levels first thing every morning. I noticed that when in a flare my blood sugar levels spike even though I am not on any medication such as prednisone that can cause it. But my sugar levels return to normal when the flare ends.

www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=1605296759

In this book, pages 50-56, the author talks about allergy to milk may cause insulin resistance. Pages 57-64 discuss how gluten intolerance can cause insulin resistance. Apparently the same type of tissue changes in the digestive system that cause celiac disease can also raise your blood sugar.

On the ulcerative colitis forum there are many people who swear that a gluten-free diet is key to avoiding IBD symptoms such as bloody diarrhea. I can vouch for that too. I believe it helps with both my IBD and blood sugar.

This is over and above metabolism of carbs. Unfortunately the book is copyrighted and I cannot extract any content. Perhaps you can browse it online. The author says that this is backed scientifically, I dunno. But cutting back on gluten did lower my fasting blood sugar. Cutting back on milk had no effect for me but I only drink lactose free milk anyway. Of course even one glass of soda will elevate my blood glucose for days afterwards.