Newly diagnosed. I don't know what to eat.

Hi

I can't concentrate all all. Why is this so hard to swallow that I have been perfectly healthy or so I thought and now I find out I have Ulcerative Colitis?  Logic tells me "hey.. you treat cancer patients it could be much worse so get over it"   Did anyone feel like this?  Tonight I had broccoli, pork and some bread with a little but and not much milk. What is the best way and the easiest way for me to learn quick what not to put in my mouth and what to eat more of?  Thank you!!!

Quincy is right. One size does not fit all. For me, I avoid certain foods but am not sure if they really cause the problem or if the problem is there anyway. I can be just as sick if I eat oatmeal or if I have pepperoni pizza at some points during this illness. Human nature is such that if you become sick around the time of eating a certain food, you get an aversion to it. Good luck and I hope you get well soon!

When you're still in a full-out flare, it might be hard to figure out what's ok to eat. I mean, stuff that went in my mouth was guaranteed to come back out as diarrhea, no matter what it was. I did avoid "scratchy" foods (raw veggies, etc) and spicy stuff, but that was because I thought that stuff hurt more coming out.

I'm in a compltely symptom-free remission right now. I avoid MSG and artificial sweetners, and do my best to avoid processed stuff, but that's how I ate pre-UC. If I were having problems here and there, I'd keep a food journal to figure out what was bothering me.

You've also got to move past the "Why did I get this" stuff. I know it's hard to, but it's not productive. It's nothing you did or didn't do. It's just crappy luck.

You can't reply so that one member would only see a response. Everyone sees everything, assuming they open the thread, that is. If you want to address things that each one of us said, just do it in the same post, and "call us out" by name. For example, if I want to respond to both you and quincy, I'd do this:

Cisl4him: blahblahblahblahblah
quincy: yaddayaddayaddayadda

It's generally regarded as a "bad" thing to create separate posts in a thread to address different folks.

If you have a question that you want to ask quincy specifically, and are afraid she won't see it in this thread, you can always create a thread with a title of "quincy" or "question for quincy"

Trust me, nobody expects you to respond to what each of us has to say! :)

How would you describe processed food?

Yes. Start with a food journal. The first day, try just eating one ingredient, such as white rice. If all goes well, add something else the next day, such as chicken. Keep doing this, eliminating any foods that you find that bother you.

Please note that it is more difficult to pinpoint what foods you should and should not be eating when you are taking medication, because the medicine can skew the results.

Possible foods to be on the watch for:
pro-inflammatory foods - http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm
yeast
gluten
wheat
sugars (especially fructose)
dairy

Also, you might find that some foods bother you more when you are flaring.

For me, it's fructose that I have trouble with the most.

Here are the foods that are best for me:
Water
Ginger teas (no added milk, no added sugar)
Spinach
Rice
Chicken
Turmeric added to my rice, spinach, and chicken.
Bananas dipped in sunflower seed butter.

These beverages/foods will actually help improve my symptoms, and I will for the most part drink/eat only these when flaring badly. Ginger and turmeric are anti-inflammatory. Spinach and sunflower seed butter have been known to help many.

Everyone is different though. Some of the foods that I tolerate well, you might not, and vica versa. There is no guarantee.

oops, already answered above. disregard this post :(

Hi and welcome! I'm sorry for your diagnosis.
Food is a hot topic around here, because we're all different and - we all eat, so we've all had experiences as to what has "sat" better and what has not.
I love coconut, but it makes me hugely uncomfortable when I'm flaring.
When flaring, I stay away from scratchy foods (raw fruits and veggies - other than bananas, avocados.... ) corn, popcorn, greasy things, gassy foods.....
I think what foods cause us each gas might in small part be a result of what we are accustomed to. Broccoli is a safe, non-gassy food for me, but - I've served and eaten it at least twice a week for at least 20 years because my family likes it! (I started thinking about this once when my MIL mentioned carrots to be such a gassy food, and that had never been the case for me - another food we eat frequently in this house.)
I have no trouble with dairy or gluten... pasta has been a safe food for me in a flare. I do eat a lot of yogurt, nut butters (peanut, almond, sunflower seed....) spinach is good for me..... I don't do fried or highly spiced.
A food journal to find out your particular comfort foods would be a good thing.
Also, with UC, sometimes new food sensitivities seem to crop up for some folks - UC tends to change the rules and to keep changing the rules. So, the best thing to do is to learn to really tune in to your digestive system.
Again, welcome! This is a great place to ask questions. I have learned so much from the good folks here!

Thank you all so much. You are so helpful. I skimmed through each of your posts.

today I had a bagel, 2 eggs with white bread, 4 eggos with tiny amount of syrup, no milk today, some cherios and that's it. I did attempt a small coffee and usually have a extra large, one sip and off to the toilet. I know I will be ok but it's so nice to have support. Thank you!

Try decaf coffee or tea. The caffiene can stimulate the colon.  I do like a warm beverage in the morning...it does get the bowels working .

Cheese is OK as long as your not latose intolerant.

I tried a latose free diet for a week then went back to dairy and nothing happend...so hense..I'm not latose intoerant. This is how you learn.

umm..the dish sound good...what time should I be over for dinner?  lol

Bon appetite!

songlady thank you very much. I hope I'm not repetative in trying to narrow down food choices for me. Is it ok if I throw out foods I would like to eat for a heads up over the next few weeks until I get this down? Forinstance, I eat a lot of cheese. Is cheese ok? I always thought cheese can bind. I eat a lot of cereal. What are some fairly safe cereal choices that do contain some sugar or maybe they won't be safe for me at all? Is gingerale a good choice for soda?