Trying a gluten free diet with ulcerative colitis

Hi there,

I was hoping someone could help me with advice on a Gluten Free diet with having Ulcerative Colitis.

I was diagnosed with UC 7 years ago and was able to keep my symptoms under control up until fairly recently.

I have worked out that I struggle to digest wheat, dairy fat and red meat.

To help with the wheat element I was wondering whether any other UC sufferers have tried a GF diet, or simply cut down on gluten- and if it helped or not?

Hope some one can help!

How did you keep your symptoms under control for 7 years?

Hi!

Going GF seems really restrictive at a glance! a lot to research to take on and a real life style change- maybe 'gluten-lite' was wishful thinking!

for the first 7 years since diagnosis I used a combination of asacol tablets and suppositories, but about May last year I started finding it harder to keep myself from having mini flare ups. Ive recently had a endoscopy in November which was positive news that the inflammation has not spread in the last 7 years- but passing blood on a daily basis isnt the best. All the doctor has suggested in the last 10 months is to really up my dosage with no improvement :(

Hi Dotty12,

You may want to try keeping a food journal so you don't eliminate foods that don't bother you. Before I was diagnosed with UC but was having a lot of problems my primary care doctor asked me to write in a food journal for four months. It was helpful and made it less confusing. And I started eating better--more vegetables, fruit and fish--since I knew I would have to show my food journal to my doctor. Documenting the information helped me make better choices.

Your doc should have put you on retention enemas at night/supps during the day to get you stable. Taper schedule the enemas to eventually be at twice a week.

Regarding food...do whatever you think will have you feeling better, but use the meds more effectively.

q

depending on what statistics you choose to believe, 10% to 90% of folks living on this planet have an issue with gluten -

you really don't NEED gluten to survive -

just try to commit to giving gluten the boot for 30 days - your butt may thank you !

I may give gf a try for a month and see what happens.
I have tried food diaries in the past bit end up just drifting off from doing them. Perhaps it's wheat and not gluten I need to avoid? I kind of thought they were similar. All I know is I can't eat weetabix or porridge without not going the loo for three days afterwards!

I have already switched from dairy milk to soy milk a few months ago and I did notice some improvement...
I swear by bananas, I hate the smell and taste of them but they make my stomach feel better!

Give it a shot and see how you do! :)

As for myself - I think Dr.Perlmutter (Grain Brain) and Dr.Davis (Wheat Belly) presented enough evidence in their respective books for me to avoid wheat. There are some surging studies about the inflammatory properties of modern wheat, but not sure if those can be extended to the ancient or sprouted wheat varieties. Personally, I don't think gluten is as problematic as the lectins, which are probably ruined/adulterated by the processing methods. If you do want to hang on to wheat, try the sprouted and organic varieties by foodforlife or alvarado street bakery.

I also find there are many gluten free options in supermarkets nowadays, as many have taken to the gluten free craze. Pastas, cookies, breads, wraps, tortillas - you'll find a variety of things in your local supermarket. I love udi's gluten free white bread and use those to make some tasty sandwiches. I don't think you'll have trouble finding legitimate options at all IMO, though you may have to pay a little more $$$ because our government only subsidizes junk food.

Hi,

Just thought id post back on my findings of trying a gluten free diet for the past two months... I ended up cutting out wheat instead and I must say the difference has been pretty good :)

I also started drinking an actimel pre biotic yogurt in the morning with x5 400mg asacol tablets, and use one 500mg supp after going the loo. I seem to have gotten myself into a good pattern that seems easy to keep to and is making a positive impact.

Iam hoping that once everything has settled down for a good 3-4 few months I can hopefully reduce the amount of tablets I take as I am not sure if the amount I take is a lot, but in the past ive never needed to take such a high dosage!

anyway- wheat free seems the way to be!!!
Whoop! :)

awesome dot !

you now, it's hard to say re the meds - for me, the asacol lost it's effectiveness, which actually was a good thing - it forced me to do what I should have done years ago -

for me, I had to stop gluten and all grains - as long as I'm strict with that plan, I do very well

but your plan sounds great - I would think the longer you stay wheat/gluten free, the better you'll feel -

whoop !