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Blueberries my Best Friend

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 4/2/2016 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
Haven't posted for awhile, but wanted to share again how much Blue Berries are helping! I was using Mesalamine Ene 3Xwk for over a year & was making my hemmies worse plus few hives were popping out, even with Zyrtec, which had been controlling them. So was really Sick of 3X wk routine!! Then Blueberry season started first of March & having them every morning in my cereal, curtailed my bleeding Greatly, DeJaVu remembered it worked last yr too.....but Duh Didnt use frozen ones in winter. Decided to try Ene 2X wk at first, now haven't had Ene, will be 2wks Tues if I make it that long & hoping to use as needed! Still some urgency but not as much as before I std Blueberries. One day last wk, I
Forgot to have BB for breakfas couple mornings, was in town, so had a BB smoothie at lunch. Now I have a big bag of frozen BB as well as mixed berries in freezer for smoothies.
I also do Gluten Free mostly, with a cheat now & then, had little blood after a cheat last wk. Trying to stay in Healthy eating Mode.....have had some generalized itching last few days, not as bad as Hives tho, so hoping it will pass!!
Hope this is helpful to someone!

eyes eyes
Posted 4/2/2016 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
i'm looking forward to BB picking this summer to stock up the freezer - they are definitely a super food -

and just a friendly piece of advice - ditch the gluten FOREVER !

good luck on continued healing -

:-)
Posted 4/2/2016 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your reply! I've kept waffling whether Gluten free was helping, esp when tempted by something, but know I Need to ditch it!!
Posted 4/3/2016 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
ya, if you haven't already, stick to GF 100% for 90 days - that should tell you unequivocally one way or the other - if you definitely have a problem with gluten, your colon will love you if you continue GF - if you figure out you don't have a problem, well then you are a very lucky girl !
Posted 4/3/2016 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
i absolutely love blueberries, too!! i make blueberry jello using blueberry juice, great lakes gelatin, and a little bit of honey. eating that with a generous amount of freshly whipped heavy cream is pure heaven.
Posted 4/3/2016 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
It's the fiber

I'm thinking about posting a list of some of the best foods for ulcerative colitis for some of the new people on here. Blueberries are definitely on my list. I've learned a lot about food, nutrition and medicine in the past few months. Fiber is a big player in managing and healing uc
Posted 4/3/2016 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
I've been eating them in my oatmeal everyday for a year now, the effect on my skin has been amazing, my IBS is still my IBS but I wasn't expecting blueberries to cure my IBS for me, though I sure was hoping they would.

I buy them frozen, a big bag from safeway, it's much cheaper and they're just as good as fresh, I run them in a colander with really warm water for a bit then papertowel them and drop them into my bowl of oatmeal...tastes great with a small banana chopped up into it as well.

Glad your'e finding them helpful, either way, they are very healthy!
Posted 4/3/2016 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
Hey pb4, that's exactly what my husband does for breakfast 5 days a week. Except for the banana part. I love bananas in oatmeal.

He buys big bags of frozen blueberries from Walmart, btw. Cheaper than Safeway I expect.
Posted 4/3/2016 4:24 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks, some great ideas, info in your replies! Martinco, I think it's a great idea to post a list of Good foods for UC. I've been dealing with it for 3 yrs and think a list would help. I had Chinese Thurs & wondered if the egg roll & fried wonton(which I love)had gluten...
Posted 4/3/2016 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
egg rolls & fried wonton definitely have gluten--the wrapper is a wheat flour product. (unless you're going to a place that has specialty gluten free stuff, i know of only 1 restaurant that has gluten free dumplings. they're amazing and i cant wait to go back when in remission!) a better bet when eating out gluten free is thai food, they make more dishes with rice noodles and less use of soy sauce. even japanese, cause you can get sushi, just watch out for the fried items and soy sauce dips. always check with the server though. i also check yelp and findmeglutenfree before i eat out anywhere. gluten free is such a difficult lifestyle but in my experience, one of the best things one could do (diet-wise) for UC.

glad to hear blueberries are helping you! when i am in remission i'd like to add them back to my diet (which is really limited right now). i might try bacongirl's idea--making a jello with the blueberry juice, as that might be easier on my gut right now. it might not have the fiber, but would at least get some of those antioxidants in.

found some info on why they might be healthy for the colon :-) :

Article: Blueberries counteract intestinal diseases
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100208145055.htm
-"Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, which have an antimicrobial and antioxidative effect. The combination of blueberries and probiotics reduced inflammation-inducing bacteria in the intestine at the same time as the number of health-promoting lactobacilla increased."
-they also help with the production of butyric acid, another good compound for us UC'ers

Study: "Blueberry Husks and Probiotics Attenuate Colorectal Inflammation and Oncogenesis, and Liver Injuries in Rats Exposed to Cycling DSS-Treatment"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3311639/
-DSS is used to induce UC in rats
-study looked at blueberries + probiotics and blueberries on their own, both had positive effects
Posted 4/3/2016 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
I tend to pass blueberries whole lol.
Posted 4/4/2016 1:41 AM (GMT 0)
iPoop - maybe you need to chew your food a little more 😝😝😝
Posted 4/4/2016 10:28 PM (GMT 0)

Serenity Now said...
Hey pb4, that's exactly what my husband does for breakfast 5 days a week. Except for the banana part. I love bananas in oatmeal.

He buys big bags of frozen blueberries from Walmart, btw. Cheaper than Safeway I expect.

Yes thanks, I check the price at Walmart whenever I'm there, it's usually about the same as Safeway, which I shop at more often...right now where we live, food is super expensive and it's about the same at all stores, of course some stores are quite a bit more pricey.
Posted 4/4/2016 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
I find that strange ipoop, considering how small and soft blueberries actually are, can't even imagine swallowing them whole would make them "pass" whole either, due to their soft/squishy consistency.
Posted 4/4/2016 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
Truth. Happens to me all of the time with fresh or cooked blueberries. Even blueberries baked in a muffin, pie, crisp (you'd think those would be softer and easier to digest as they're cooked). I guess my digestive system can't get through the husk on the outside of it. They just float and bob around whole in the toilet water lol. I'm sure some are thoroughly chewed but apparently not all. The DW and I pick tons of low-bush blueberries around our property. They're much sweeter and smaller than the store bought variety.
Posted 4/4/2016 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
God gave us teeth for more than keeping our tongues from hanging out smilewinkgrin
Posted 4/4/2016 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
Tell me you stop to chew thoroughly when there's a whole homemade blueberry pie in front of you, fresh from the oven, and nothing but shame and willpower to stop you from eating several pieces in one sitting. And I have absolutely no willpower or shame.
Posted 4/4/2016 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
Yes blueberries are awesome, despite being insanely expensive for organic.. I have found the roughage to maybe not be too helpful, but they do have a "cooling" feel to them. Need to plant a bunch...

Shopping at Walmart, LOL nono confused
Posted 4/5/2016 9:41 PM (GMT 0)
I thought the egg roll and wonton prob were gluten, had wonton Last Thurs & left over egg roll Fri. Havent had a bad reaction, maybe little blood, not enough to make me use an Ene yet, 2 wks today since I've had one. Still having blueberries every morning, frozen ones now, just nuke my cereal 30sec to warm em up. Also have mixed frozen berries but things are going so well, afraid to Chang anything and try those.
Posted 4/6/2016 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
I also love blueberries but they seem to be a flare food for me ... at least when eaten raw. Heck I can't eat any of the berries I love without problems (blueberry, blackberry, strawberry) When it's part of something else I can usually tolerate them. It's so crazy how different everyone body reacts to food.
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