Does diet matter?

For me, diet mods have done nothing to help my UC, while in a flare or not. Gluten-free, dairy free, paleo and I had my worst flare of my life. The only benefit of changing my diet was I basically cut out all processed foods as a result so I have a super healthy diet. But as relates to my UC, no help.
But definitely try diet mods, it works for many of us.

Don't forget there are also a lot of people who get better on meds, with no diet, that do not visit here anymore either because they got better and can live their lives now. That's pretty arrogant to suggest that healthy lifestyle dieters got better while the med people are still here.  Let's also not forget the people that are still here that tried dieting and it did absolutely nothing for them.

to answer the op's question /////////


YES ! ................ sometimes,,,er....... mostly !

Diet matters....but again it's semantics.

It's like when someone says....I LOVE your hair!!!! I've learned to ask what part exactly do you love?
Turns out it could be just the way it's styled to how it looks on me, the way it's cut at the front or the colour or the hilighting or the......

q

awesome ld !

it does take time and patience and perseverance - good you found a doc that understands that !

I've said before that i'm lucky because I was at a place in my life that allowed me to work through the difficult part of letting my body heal on IT'S schedule, not mine - most people don't have that luxury -

We'll never really know the answer to this question. Mainly because as gary pointed out, this forum is a small subset of UCers. In fact I didn't join until I had a really bad flare recently, yet I'd had the disease for 6 years by then. There are probably UCers (and IBDers in general) that have great results on diet alone (and I know a few personally). There are some people on here who live and die by diet. But on the other side there are probably people who are just fine on medicine without much diet alteration (again... other than lactose which seems to be a problem for ALMOST everyone, especially those on mesalamines).

Personally, I do sometimes feel like certain foods are better or worse than others... and usually I only notice during a flare. While not in a flare I eat whatever I want without hesitation and I've never had any problems. While in a flare I might be more selective. I've never tried any formal diets because it doesn't seem practical and because it would be too difficult for me to do, but that's just a personal choice. So in the end... the real answer is: We really do not know. And there is no possible way to weed it out because any study or experiment done would not have a large enough sample size and there would be way too many variables to consider.

Experimentation is really what we have. Usually you should be able to figure out, over time, what foods make you feel better or worse! Use that to determine if a formal diet might do you good and log your results.


EDIT: I certainly wouldn't be back on this forum for a while if I got better and was able to stop thinking about my condition; it's kind of depressing to keep being reminded of the possibilities. I'm sure that's the case for a lot of other healthy UCers that are in remission or living normal lives.

Tough question- Yes and no.

Of course anyone eating healthier, less processed foods will come out on top in the long run over someone eating processed rubbish, not enough water, and too many additives.

However, in regards to "curing UC", there's no conclusive proof, or one set of experiences that fits all.

For myself over 15 years, I've tried very strict SDC, paleo, gluten-free, Japanese style, Mediterranean, macrobiotic, vegetarian, meat only, and "no special diet" aka whatever. I've had remissions on a lousy diet, lasting 9 months, and been in terrible flares on "recommended" diets like SCD.

Lifestyle, cultural background, emotional states, finances, and a host of other things also have impact.

Conclusion, try things out if you can, see what works and what doesn't. Your experience is what it is.

As for those who think they have the answer, with a remission of a year or less, take it easy, you may or may not have the secrets of the universe just yet.

Pathogen:

I'd like to challenge that, at least to some degree. The human body is a very complex thing and you can't just explain everything away by a simple argument. That's why there are so many diseases with few cures. Many people on this site only think in terms of UC. I have had the misfortune of having another autoimmune disease in the past so my mind can expand beyond just the world of UC. There are a myriad of autoimmune diseases and I doubt you will find one real medical professional anywhere that will say that most autoimmune diseases are due to diet or foods. If that is true, then why should we be so egotistical (generalization here, not calling anyone names) to think that UC is any different than any of the other autoimmune diseases? It may possibly be diet related in certain individuals but when you have a misfunctioning immune system it could have been caused by any number of different things, many totally unrelated to diet.

I'm going to assume for the sake of argument that you are suggesting that eating badly has caused UC, either directly or indirectly. Fair enough, but then how do you explain the people who came down with UC that were health nuts and had been eating healthy for years or even decades? How do you explain people that ate unhealthy diets for years and years and then turned their lifestyle around and then came down with UC after the change (ok, my ground is a little shakier on this one)? There have also been many people who strictly followed diets (sometimes for more than a year) and it did not help their condition one bit.

Most medical professionals agree that this is an autoimmune disease. That's why treatments (that do work) often center around drugs that weaken the immune system. If diet changes could cure every autoimmune disease that would be common knowledge and medical science would not be where it is at now and I don't buy the argument that doctors and big pharma do not want us to be cured just to keep them in business. Also, when you talk about diet, which one are you talking about? Some come on here and claim their remission came about by eliminating all red meats. Others come on here and claim they have gone into remission by going Paleo. This contradiction makes it harder to claim that eating a healthy or unhealthy diet either caused or cured the average UC'r. It is just further proof that something different works in everyone and that something different has caused everyone's UC and that it cannot just simply be explained away by one argument such as diet.

soy...down boy!

q

My own experience and reading extensively as well as talking to folks who have healed over these many years. If people's stories are not helpful to you, you should probably not waste your time on forums. They have been very helpful to me and that is why I stick around and try to share mine.

I did not say that people in remission will say it is because of diet. I said that they will say DIET MATTERS.

I did not say DIET IS THE SOLE CAUSE OF UC.

I said it matters and Ive said time and time again it contributes to keeping you sick. Some people who eat food they are allergic to do create mucus membrane and immune issues that does predispose them to autoimmune reaction, pathogens and dysbiosis, aka UC.


I healed restricting grains, sugar and dairy as well as other foods my body had been reacting to due to leaky gut caused by intestinal damage.

Now that my gut appears to be healed I do not restrict food groups entirely. I can tolerate things I havent tolerated ever in my life, like dairy, now. I eat dairy and grains(including gluten) one meal a week without restriction. I eat occasional amounts of non gluten grains like quinoa, rice, amaranth, etc... I try to restrict corn as much as possible. I do feel herbal remedies for my lab verified pathogens as well as diflucan and nystatin for my lab verified fungus/mold intestinal overgrowth were key to being able to tolerate grains and carbs again.

I eat approximately 1 dessert containing sugar a week and a serving or 2 of fruit a day.

Post Edited (PathogenKiller) : 10/27/2013 9:56:44 AM (GMT-6)

garylouisville said...
Pathogen:

How do you explain people that ate unhealthy diets for years and years and then turned their lifestyle around and then came down with UC after the change (ok, my ground is a little shakier on this one)? There have also been many people who strictly followed diets (sometimes for more than a year) and it did not help their condition one bit.

Hey Gary.. just for amusement sake, and to add to your 'shaky ground :) I'll mention I was one of those who fitted both those categories above.

Growing up and attending uni, I pretty much ate anything (though mostly junk), and had no issues. For whatever odd reason, when I began working, I started taking an interest in diet, and went into "food combining" and ate only fruit in the morning. Next I moved on to vegetarianism for a year or so. Not long after, around age 27 I had UC symptoms come out. That was 15 year ago. Over the years I've done a lot of diets.. some actually do decrease the toilet trips, and make one feel more healthy (SCD for example, which I followed religiously for about 1-2 years, with a good portion of my life in the kitchen or market). But no gold star for eradicating the condition permanently, as other may or may not experience. Nowadays, having tried about 10+ diets, I have worked out tips here and there. For instance, when I have a flare, I know that for me, taking a course of Pred and taking a paleo or SCD diet will give healing quick. There are other costs involved though around time, convenience, family situation, travel, and living a life rather than living a diet. I use what I know works for me (without trying to generalise for everyone else on the planet), and as you said, if things were so easy to explain and find a one-solution-fits-all, we would know about it.