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revamping your diet with UC?

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Posted 3/15/2011 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed with mild to moderate UC.....right now I'm normal and still tapering off Pred (down to 25mg). I am eating normal, but healthy. Is it necessary to change my entire diet? I read so much on here about diet and non-fructose, and no grains, and gluten-free, SCD, etc etc. Is that necessary for everyone? It it the only way to stay in remission for a long period of time?
Posted 3/15/2011 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
I tried a few things early on and it made no difference for me at all. My doctor's all told me diet does not usually play a role in this disease but I tried some diet modification anyway. When I saw that it did not affect me I stopped restricting my diet. I have always been focused on healthy eating. I have never eaten much red meat or high fat foods. I am currently in remission and eat a good balanced diet (just as I did prior to begining diagnosed). I do not follow any of the diets discussed on this board. While it may help some people it does not help me. So yes, it is possible to eat normally and be in remission. I know many others on this board do not follow any special diet.
Posted 3/15/2011 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
It's certainly subjective. I don't follow a specific diet, I do eat grains and fructose is in a few things I eat. I eat balanced. I don't like to drink my calories, I eat them preferably. I wouldn't eat many foods others here eat...partly because I just don't and the other is that some of those foods would cause me symptoms of discomfort.
Many are lactose intolerant...cutting back on that can be helpful for discomfort and other symptoms.


I think changing diet for symptoms is a good thing...but food won't make your inflammation worse or better. If you eat foods that can cause you more diarrhea, cut back on them. The same goes for gas, cramping, nausea, etc. ARtificial sweeteners I don't consume except one kind in my gum which I don't chew daily unless I'm out.  

Common sense rules, eat as balanced and nutritiously as possible. If foods bother you, note it and don't eat them for a while. Some foods you can increase if you have a bit of constipation or increase if you have diarrhea..etc.

You're tapering pred...you'll have lots of symptoms.

Eventually you'll get the hang of it.
q
Posted 3/15/2011 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your response. Can I ask what is keeping you in remission currently? And how exactly you got to this place? I am still in the "experimental" stage with my meds...currently tapering off Pred (down to 25mg) and my doc had me start taking Lialda yesterday. I was normal for weeks now but this morning (after Lialda) had some D... kind of discouraging. My husband and I are planning to conceive asap, but would you recommend waiting? I see you had your 2nd baby after being diagnosed so that is an inspiration to me! Thanks for any input/advice you have for me!
Posted 3/15/2011 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
If I eat some bread, rice, or potatoes right now, I can guarantee I will be bleeding in the next 6 hours. If I drink a beer, I will have cramping and runny diarrhea. Diet has nothing to do with it? I seriously challenge that statement. That's almost like denying that lactose intolerant doesn't exist. These doctors make you wonder sometimes. Of course, they don't have the disease and mostly understand it from reading textbooks, looking at powerpoint presentations, or talking to their collegues. Of course diet is individual, but the cause of many problems. To overlook food as a cause of problems in my mind is denial.
Posted 3/15/2011 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
Quincy, you said since I'm tapering Pred that I'll have a lot of symptoms...what kind of things are 'normal' for tapering?
Posted 3/15/2011 8:17 PM (GMT 0)
What dosage are you on at this point and from what?

I'm curious why the doctor didn't originally set you up with oral and rectal 5ASA meds.

Normal for tapering would be return of some UC symptoms.
Therefore, the tapering is possibly too high of a jump, you're steroid dependent, the steroids aren't working or you shouldn't be tapering quite as of yet.

Alternating tapering can be helpful..such as 10, 5, 10, 5....5, 5, 5, 5......2.5, 5, 2.5, 5, 2.5.....etc.

q
Posted 3/15/2011 8:20 PM (GMT 0)
I highly recommend keeping a food/symptoms journal since this disease seems to affect us all differently.
Posted 3/15/2011 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
Well, scd diet andno fruits at all toghether with mesalamine helped me acchieve remission. Diet has a lot to do with my condition. Never used prednisone, even when was prescribed to me.

Maybe for some diet change has no effect. But for me it does. I know the difference everytime i eat some bread or rice or poatoes.
Posted 3/15/2011 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
The only reason many of us modified our diets is because Rx medicine was not helping our symptoms. If pills or other treatments worked would we take the trouble to do it? Duh. It works for me. It may not help you but most people don't alter their diets until they've run out of alternatives. If the drugs you're taking are working for you then congratulations you are lucky.

I also do not agree that food won't make your inflammation worse or better. I know that I was bleeding heavily, had constant D and urgency and life was hell. The only thing that made me better was diet modification.

It is well known that some foods are anti-inflammatory foods and others are inflammatory. But these foods don't affect every one the same way. Everyone has to discover what works for them. I know what foods are bad for me and cause symptoms of inflammation in my colon but you will have to find out what your own truth is and who to listen to.
Posted 3/15/2011 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
Quincy.....here is my treatment plan thus far.....started on 40mg of Prednisone and 2 Lialda every morning...it went about 10 days and all my symptoms were gone except for D....in the meantime, my stool came back positive for some bacteria that apparently I picked up in Mexico back in June, so doc perscribed me Flagyl AND Levaquin for 14 days ON TOP of the Lialda and Pred. Ok, so still having D....doc tells me to stop Lialda and finish up my anti-biotics and I have been normal ever since. After being on 40mg for 12 days, i tapered Pred to 35mg for a week, then 30mg for a week, now yesterday I went down to 25mg AND doc had me start up the Lialda again...then this morning - soft first thing, then D an hr later. Ate a good lunch and haven't went again today at all. So that takes us to today. Gastro is on vacation (go figure haha) so the nurse said for me to stop the Lialda until he gets back.... As of now, no stomach pain, no gas, feeling fine...but who knows come morning! So there ya have it! Yeah, I'm a mess! Thoughts?!?! :)
Posted 3/15/2011 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
My GI fed me the same line (pun intended) about diet making no difference. Well, it makes a huge difference for me. I am on the SCD but I can't tolerate even some of the SCD legal foods so I have been modifying it to fit me as I go. My gut is extremely sensitive and even the tiniest amounts of problem foods will cause a reaction for me. For me, that takes the form of increased inflammation in my colon resulting in constipation and increased bloody/mucousy bathroom trips.
Posted 3/15/2011 9:33 PM (GMT 0)
Just a few things:

1. For me personally, diet did not work. I followed the SCD to the letter, and never saw any changes. I also tried another elimination diet to no avail. That said, diet does help some people. You should also know that diet can take a long time to see an effect.

2. Whenever I would taper from pred, I would have a few rough days at first, and then it would level out, so if you just stepped down yesterday, see what happens over the next couple of days.

3. It is possible that the Lialda is making things worse. I believe it is a 5-asa (melsamine)? For me, they never helped and my GI and I both believe they actually make things worse.

See how it goes in the next couple of days, and then if it is still bad, I would drop the Lialda, stay at the pred dose you are at, and call your Dr. next week.

Good luck!
Posted 3/15/2011 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
We're all different in whether or not diet affects our UC..... the only wasy to find out is to try!
I am one for whom eliminating various food groups doesn't seem to make any difference. But, having said that, I do try to eat sensibly and use moderation in all foods.

When I am flaring, I avoid raw or "sharp" foods - coleslaw, corn, popcorn; beans or gassy foods, greasy foods. I had one flare in which tomatoes set me off.... but not again since.

A food journal is really helpful.
Posted 3/15/2011 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
I have experimented with foods -- it seems the better i eat the worse I do! Never did better than over the holidays when I ate constantly! Odd.

Pehaps it was all the pumpkin pie and turnips... only time I eat them. they are loaded with Vitamin B5..aka pantothenic acid which i supplement but supplements are the same as food..
Posted 3/16/2011 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
A nutritionist that I know, and who has tried to help me by getting me off of all things gluten said it best, I think.
She said Dr.'s are there to medicate, it's what they know. They are not versed on diet and nutrition. They know basics and that's it.
I have to believe it's true.
I drink beer, I have a noisy tummy. I drink wine and I'm perfectly fine.
I am convinced that our bodies suffer from some sort of allergy and our UC is the reaction from the allergy. I truly don't have the lifestyle to follow a strict diet as I am out working with horses all of the time and have to grab what I can, when I can. Not to mention it's truly expensive in this day in age to buy the food that is associated with some of these diets.
My plan for this summer is to go completely organic and eat free range chicken, organic beef and only buy milk from local farmers as well as fruit and other groceries.
Posted 3/21/2011 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
Something that I have found beneficial having had UC for awhile ... A Low Flatulent diet. Eating things that don't give me gas. I have found that much of my discomfort when I amflaring is from gas buildup. If I have any type of dairy (I don't do much at all) I take a lactaid. Totally avoid anything with tomatoes (it's not the acid, other chemicals are known to increase inflammation and pain). I poach or boil all my protein, especially red meat as a way to help remove any arachodonic acids ... surprisingly one of the best foods I eat when I'm flaring is poached, lean hamburger, very low on the flatulent scale. I also eat a lot of chicken and fish. Avoid fructose as much as possible, not just HFCS, but any fructose, as much as possible.

But I have really benefited from developing a diet that is very low flatulent ... It not only reduces discomfort, it reduces frequency by not having that gas try and push through.

Once I'm in remission I can pretty much eat anything, but I still try to watch the tomatoes ... and I love spaghetti and salsas.
Posted 3/21/2011 8:37 PM (GMT 0)

Tigerdan said...
poached, lean hamburger,

Isn't that just boiled hamburger?
Posted 3/21/2011 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
I have to agree with Tigerdan about gassy foods. When I have inflammation gas pain is a nightmare! And while I don't follow a special diet, I have noticed dairy, deep fried, sugar and beer bother me. When I'm doing OK I'll have some but when I'm at the end of my Remicade infusion cycle, those are all a big nooooo.... chances are good you will find some food sensitivities if you look for them because it seems most folks on here can't eat something or other.
Posted 3/22/2011 12:11 AM (GMT 0)
My diet is the only thing that keeps me in remission. It has also helped my skin, depression, and anxiety. I'm the only one on this forum who does it, because it's not very well-known and most people won't try it.
Posted 3/22/2011 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
I've been eating exactly the way I ate before being diagnosed. I have always ate pretty healthy though, no fast foods, only meat from cage free, grassfed sources, organic eggs... I eat chips and candy, chocolate, cake, fried food but everyting in moderation. Honestly, I am not sure it would matter if I ate cake everyday.

It seems like there are different cases of UC and some cases respond well to diet while others don't respond at all. The diet advocates would probably say that the people who don't respond didn't try long enough or haven't found the right diet and perhaps that is true but I eliminated so much from my diet and didn't see any positive impact on my UC. I lost a lot of weight during the time I did SCD diet and ended up really unwell. Perhaps if I weren't so sick when I tried it, I may have had better results but whatever the case, I haven't found diet to be a contributing factor in my flares. I wish it were. I would much prefer to eat some turmeric or eliminate meat from my diet or not eat grains than take all these pills. I have no problem sacrificing various foods to feel good and prefer to do so over taking chemicals but it doesn't seem to work for me.
Posted 3/22/2011 2:56 AM (GMT 0)

notsosicklygirl said...
I've been eating exactly the way I ate before being diagnosed. I have always ate pretty healthy though, no fast foods, only meat from cage free, grassfed sources, organic eggs... I eat chips and candy, chocolate, cake, fried food but everyting in moderation. Honestly, I am not sure it would matter if I ate cake everyday.

It seems like there are different cases of UC and some cases respond well to diet while others don't respond at all. The diet advocates would probably say that the people who don't respond didn't try long enough or haven't found the right diet and perhaps that is true but I eliminated so much from my diet and didn't see any positive impact on my UC. I lost a lot of weight during the time I did SCD diet and ended up really unwell. Perhaps if I weren't so sick when I tried it, I may have had better results but whatever the case, I haven't found diet to be a contributing factor in my flares. I wish it were. I would much prefer to eat some turmeric or eliminate meat from my diet or not eat grains than take all these pills. I have no problem sacrificing various foods to feel good and prefer to do so over taking chemicals but it doesn't seem to work for me.

You should check out Aajonus Vonderplanitz's books. I don't mean to push something on you but you seem to be leaning in that direction anyway with grass-fed meats etc. You would probably love the books judging from the food choices you have already made.
Posted 3/22/2011 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
There is one book available at my library called "we want to live". Is this one you would recommend? I mostly eat the way I eat because I feel bad for animals that are raised unhealthy conditions.
Posted 3/22/2011 6:56 PM (GMT 0)

notsosicklygirl said...
There is one book available at my library called "we want to live". Is this one you would recommend? I mostly eat the way I eat because I feel bad for animals that are raised unhealthy conditions.

That must be it. I highly recommend it. I get all my meat grass-fed/free range too. I get my eggs straight from the farm. I don't even trust Whole Foods "free-range eggs because they are fed soy, and that's not their natural diet.

I also drink raw dairy from free-range grass-fed cows. It's so good. I make the milk into kefir because I don't want the lactose.

Anyway, let me know if you read the book.
Posted 3/22/2011 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
Diet can definitely affect your symptoms:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ulcerative-colitis/ds00598/dsection=lifestyle-and-home-remedies

I'm on an anti-inflammatory diet. I also avoid foods/beverages high in fructose because I'm fructose intolerant.
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