Snack Food

TBH, you don't *have* to change your diet just because you have UC. Plenty of us on here still eat gluten, raw fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, and dairy. I myself eat all of those things, and I'd hazard a guess that most of the people on here eat at least one or two of the things on your "no-no" list.

I guess my philosophy is to see how you do, then look into diet modification if you need to. Giving up everything you mentioned would make me pretty sad. Also, if you started both the meds and the diet change at the same time, it's impossible to know what's really making the difference.

Snacking can be tricky, certainly do what feels best to you, but like fruitgirl said, not everyone gives up foods. I will say that when I was flaring, my diet was much more restricted than it is now.
I find things like plain yogurt (I make my own) and kind bars (the low sugar variety, 5 g or less) are my go to snacks. I also like lara bars but I couldn't process them very well when flaring. it can be hard to shift to bringing food with you everywhere, but it works.
If you do well with meats, what about bringing some with you in a cooler? I have a student who always has lunch meat organic turkey with her and she has CD. It seems to work for her when she needs a snack!

I guess when I read most of the forums and most of the responses to people I overreacted really freaked out and wanted to get better ASAP. I'm hoping to get off of the enemas since they are costly and a pain to do. I don't mind taking the Delzicol so as long as I can control this with a decent diet and the Delzicol for the rest of my life, I would be more than happy given some of these responses here. I'm going with the eliminate everything to get better then slowly add back and see what makes things worse method.

I appreciate all the feedback and help. Again, by the looks of it and from what my doc had said after the colonoscopy my case is mild to moderate, hopefully I'll be alright. I'm sorry for those that are on the other end of the spectrum and hopefully we all find something that works for all of us.

Thanks,
M

but some people do use them less often on a maintenance regime. I add them in if I feel any uptick in symptoms, and use 2x to 3x weekly for a few weeks. But then I fall back on just Lialda.

Just for sure u might want to omit raw veggies, peellings, popcorn for a bit.

Those plantain chips are awesome! I love them and have the same problem.

Kettle chips should be fine right? Just potatoes, canola oil and salt.

Bull101 said...
Kettle chips should be fine right? Just potatoes, canola oil and salt.

They may be fine.......but they are hardly nutritious!

Kettles may claim to be healthier than some of their rivals; which is probably true on the surface. But delving deeper, in the end anything like this baked or fried in oil, has the potential to be carcinogenic and worse (for IBD sufferers anyway) will help to raise the inflammation in your body.

I rarely eat junk food like this. But I had some chips/crisps two weeks ago at a party and they have set me off on my worst flare ever.

All of my previous suggestions are nutritious, and can easily be taken onto a golf course in a flask.

And instead of junky Kettle chips, you can make your own at home - sweet potato chips or kale chips make a great on-the-go snack and are super nutritious too. Also quick and easy to make yourself.

With any dietary changes you would be wise to start off very SLOWLY, and only increase intake as your body gets use to the changes. EXAMPLE: First time ever I had a large green smoothie I was running for the bathroom. So I cut back on the quantity and started off slowly and built up my tolerance over four weeks. Now I can drink loads of it with no problems whatsoever. I now also add half an avocado to my smoothies as they are a healthy fat and filling.

You just have to experiment and see what your body can handle. I suggest keeping a food diary as it will help you find what works for you and what won't.

If you love junk food and cannot live without it - I suggest looking at the following book for ideas: "Clean Living Fast Food - The Paleo Makeover for all your Fast Food Favourites", by Luke Hines and Scott Gooding. Or something similar.

juststud said...
geez scary mary, you sure know how to ruin a party ;-)

Yes, so I have been told before :)

But I would rather "ruin a party", than having blood, mucus and diarrhea pouring out of my arse from eating bagged crisps/chips again!

I am also a strong believer in Food as Medicine / Nutritional Medicine. I never use to be. But since being diagnosed with UC, I have found it is the ONLY thing that has really helped me stay well and free from flares in the long term.

I have been living with UC for fifteen years now. And apart from my recent flare - I have been managing pretty well.