I have discovered something that I think will help you too. PART 1

Gosh, I surely hope that people do not think I am “bashing” a suggestion just because I am saying that it did not work for me.  It is not my intention to dismiss any comments here. 

 

I am obsessed with information and data.  I always welcome new information, and I am glad that this thread is here.  Unfortunately, my own data does not support the effectiveness of this approach, since I have always consumed a high amount of beta carotene and magnesium and I am not cured.  I am absolutely supportive of the original poster sharing a success story.  I feel that it is just as important for me to share my experience, so others can understand that this is not 100% effective. 

 

This is certainly not the only post I have made questioning the effectiveness of a treatment.  I have also regularly had negative things to say about all of the mediations I have taken.  I am not saying that spinach is bad, and 5-ASAs are good (especially since the 5-ASA I was taking would have killed me if I continued taking it!).    

 

I am less skeptical of natural treatments than I am of pharmaceutical treatments, and I think that one day we will find a cure, and that it will be natural.  Unfortunately, this is not the one for me.

 

But I will continue to eat and enjoy spinach! 

Hi all, any good ideas or recipes to incorperate spinach into my diet......I hate it.....tastes just awful.  Any ideas of how to get it down without it wanting to come back up?  I have been eating a lot of carrots and looked up foods high in beta carotene, and will  get those at the store this weekend, but I am thnking spinich is the best one, and I just am having the worst time with it.  Any ideas???

Spinach can be added to everything. I put in in just about evey meal. When I can do fresh I eat baby spinach leaves like potato chips. Spinach is great with eggs, pasta, rice, peirogis, stir fry, pizza, really anything. If you don't like the bitterness of spinach try adding somthing sweet with it or using lemon juice to help with the bitter taste.

Spinach is my very favorite food. I eat lots of it everyday. Frozen is easier to use for me than canned but canned has a nice texture right out of the can. Fresh is easily cooked down. You can dump a whole bag of it into a pan, put a lid on it, and in a few minutes it will be nicely cooked.

While it has never done anything for my UC (please don't say i haven't eaten enough. You don't know me or what i eat. Some therapies just don't work for everyone) I would tell everyone to eat as much as possible. It is so good for you in so many ways.

Hey Colby,
Thanks for this thread, I usually post in the Crohns forum as I have CD but enjoy reading the posts in the UC forum too.
I love spinach and would eat from 3 - 4 leaves that I have steamed each day. I was just wondering if that was maybe equivalent to a can, as I cant find canned spinach in Australia.
Thanks
Joanne

Hey Severin,
Thanks for the info, I once had this argument with my mother re silverbeet vs spinach, wish I had of thought to show her via the net!
It is spinach I eat and I cant seem to find it in cans anywhere - does this exist here? Hows beautiful Queensland today?
Jo

For those looking to incorporate spinach, which is a valuable food and I believe does have a positive effect on my colitis, particularly when mixed with brown rice Simple recipe from I believe "Diet for a Small Planet". I would use fresh spinach, organic if possible though frozen works, canned spinach while it does have the Popeye vibe would be third choice and I have never used it. Quantities of ingredients can vary. 1 cup brown rice (I like basmati variety) 1 lb of fresh spinach, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (could be soy but I have never tried it) 1 egg. Cook brown rice, wash spinach well (very important) mix cheese, spinach and egg into the still very hot rice. Place in an uncovered casserole bake for about 45 minutes at 350 the original recipe calls for wheat germ to be sprinkled on top before baking, a nice but not needed touch. I use soy sauce as the only condiment. This has always had a positive effect on my UC

Mmm, sounds good rdm! I'm going to give that a try. Thanks for the recipe!

Found another article on magnesium and IBD. As I have stated before I eat a lot of Ceasar salad with loads of garlic in the dressing, but maybe it is the lettuce that helps me and not the garlic. I swear when I am in a flare and eat tons of salad (with garlic) my urgency decreases significantly, so much so that I can go for a long walk after supper.

As this article states, magnesium helps with tenany.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3294519

I did some raw spinach leaf salad. Hours later I had massive diarrhea. Cooked spinach works better. Havent tried it long enough yet for any results pos or neg. But the raw leaves definitely were negative for me.

I did actually eat sunflower seeds too but i dont know which gave me the symptoms - the seeds or spinach....neither worked.

love4cats, lettuce salad does not contain all that much magnesium. It is my guess that it is the beta carotene in the salad that is helping you.

I dont have a specific amount but usually three to six handfuls a day and if a have a salad i dump a bunch on there. I buy the ones without shells

I'm very interested in increasing my intake of beta carotene and magnesium, in hopes of helping my UC, whether it be canned spinach or another method, but have often been told to stay away from all canned vegetables.  Has anyone else been told this?