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Food ideas for Ulcerative Colitis

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 2/23/2010 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys,

Looking for some advise / tips. I was diagnoised with UC in 2008, I am still learning all about it. Lucky for me they keep telling me

my condition is only very mild and at the tail end of my colan. I am currently being medicated and still trying to get the medication right with my specialist. I find when I eat good my symptoms seem really good. I am thinking of visiting a Dietician to get advise about ideas for menu's, as I seem to only stick out being good for a few weeks!! Anyone got any ideas? Or what things I shouldn't eat?

My worst time is first thing in the morning, I need to remain close to toilet & I really want to try & be good and help my condition and eat the right foods..

Thanksrolleyes

 

Posted 2/23/2010 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
I think most people will post that diet is very individual.

But you could always start with researching ....


Anti-inflammatory foods and pro-inflammatory foods

I have a similiar case to yours and I eat pro biotic yoghurts, I take a pro biotic powder called
"Probiotic sticks all natural by Jamieson" which is a plum flavoured powder (like moon dust) you just put on your tongue and it dissolves, great thing with this you dont need water or refrigeration. gives 1 billion cells per shot and you can take 2 a day.
Look to cut down on all processed foods, high sugar high fat items.
As well as diet daily gentle exercise helps too.

This is a big subject but I hope this helps a little.

good luck
Posted 2/23/2010 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
I was dx'd in 2006 with mild UC and when sulfasalazine stopped working about a year later, I started researching diet because I wanted to avoid steroids and what seemed like the inevitable path to surgery. I just knew that my daily chocolate and sweet habit was not helping my UC because every afternoon I would get painful gas and bloating. I would then eat some chocolate to "make myself feel better" - ha ha!

Anyway, I found the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), read the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall, and started the diet in July 2007. The logic made sense to me, which is that there are many foods those of us with IBD are unable to digest properly, consisting mainly of starches and refined sugars. These undigested foods feed the bacteria that causes our symptoms. Probiotics through well-fermented yogurt help build up the good bacteria and restore gut flora balance.

The diet is extremely difficult to follow (no grains, no sugars except for honey and fruit, no prepared foods), but for many, many people, it has brought then back from the brink of surgery. In my case, my symptoms improved rapidly and I was able to totally get off my meds and was completely symptom-free a year after starting the diet. Unfortunately, I got some IV antibiotics last spring and since then, have had some intermittent rectal bleeding that has been really tough to get rid of. I haven't had any other symptoms, though. I'm now on more meds than before (sulfasalazine again plus rectal meds) -- but I read so many posts from people who are diagnosed and run through all the meds with decreasing success in the course of one or two years that I feel like following the diet has helped my UC from getting worse.

It may be too difficult for you to convince yourself to adopt it at this point, but if other approaches don't help, you may want to consider it. There is good info on www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info and www.pecanbread.com.

Kathy
Posted 2/23/2010 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Diet is different for everyone and the best thing you can do is keep a food journal to help you figure out what's bothering you. You can use food that stains poop (like spinach or fresh beets) to figure out your transit time and use that as a base for how long between eating and irritation.

In general, omega-3's and probiotics seem to be the most helpful. In addition, a lot of people do not tolerate insoluble fiber well when flaring (stuff like corn, beans, nuts, many whole grains). I find this to be true for myself as well.

When flaring I like to eat a lot of soups, and many people tolerate oatmeal very well as well. You can easily make stock for soup by boiling bones or connective tissue (or both), skimming the fat, removing any remaining meat from the bones to be added to the soup, and then cooking with veggies, herbs and grains. My favorite is chicken and egg noodle made with carrots and parsnips (and leeks if i can get my hands on some!) Veggie soups are also very easy, veggie stock can be made by boiling vegetables (save ends, skins, and bits you don't use in a bag in the freezer) and then straining.
Posted 2/23/2010 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I definitely agree that keeping a food journal is helpful, especially when you are just starting to find out which foods bother you, and which don't. I found that making dietary changes as well as adding VSL #3, fish oil, and rectal meds has really helped.
Posted 2/25/2010 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
Totally agree with the food journal and the fact that your diet is going to be individualized. I know that when I had my last really bad flare the only foods that sustained my life were pancakes, sugar cookies, peanut butter and scrambled eggs. They helped my weight come up a bit as well. The SCD is very difficult to do but is an excellent guide. best advice I can give is stay away from dairy, nuts and popcorn. Those seem to get me the worst. Good luck!
Posted 2/25/2010 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
Dairy is one of my staples in a flare......
Posted 2/25/2010 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
     I was told to stick with a low residue diet.  You can find one online.  My nutritionist supplied me with one.  I find that my stools are very soft and I have a problem with urgency so looking for something to bulk up the stool.
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