kretinist said...
Do you eat things like raspberries, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, etc? What I've read indicates that the small seeds in these can irritate the bowel. Is this the case for you?
Do you eat meat? If so what kinds are 'okay' for you?
Do you consume dairy? If not, what, if anything, have you used to 'replace' it?
When your son is flaring, he may not do well with fruits or vegetables that have tough skins (like grapes) or small seeds (like the berries). In general, fruits and veggies that have been peeled, seeded and cooked - to further breakdown the fiber in them - are the easiest for a compromised digestive system to assimilate. Personally, I found baked apples and pears, natural applesauces in different flavors and very ripe bananas to be the easiest fruits to eat when flaring.
With meat, tender white meat of chicken or turkey that's baked or roasted is easier to digest. Mild white fish - like cod or tilapia - can be a good choice, too. Red meat can be proinflammatory, as others on the forum have mentioned, although I do eat it occasionally. When it's eaten, look for lean cuts and bake, grill or broil until tender.
Soups with tender cooked meat and veggies can be a good choice and can even be pureed to make digestion even easier.
You may be interested in the book The New Eating Right for a Bad Gut which basically covers what foods are found to be safe for most IBDers and what foods are most often reported to be problematic. There's also excellent information on the pro- and anti-inflammatory process and the use of omega3 in the diet to reduce inflammation in the gut.