Dairy - Good or bad with UC?

So I read a lot about avoiding dairy.

Is this because dairy itself can be a problem for those with UC, or is it that many people with UC are lactose intolerant so therefore should avoid dairy.

I ask, because I was give the SIBO, or Hydrogen breath test and got a result showing I am not lactose intolerant.

I would love to continue to add dairy to my diet, but don't want to be causing myself problems.

Post Edited (KCFLY) : 6/30/2017 1:56:46 PM (GMT-6)

I love dairy and have no issues with it. There's no universal dairy is bad for all UC patients thing. We have higher odds of having lactose intolerances than the general population does. So, avoiding lactose is something we can certainly try and might help or it might do nothing. Many of us can tolerate lactose and only some cannot.

Thanks for the response iPoop.

So, having tested negative for lactose intolerance, I SHOULD be able to incorporate dairy with no problems. This is good news.

Thanks again

Moderation. If you get gas, cut back or change the time of day you have it. Many of us have a limit of tolerance regarding food symptoms.

q

A friend with UC achieved remission quickly after starting to drink kefir daily, so some dairy is beneficial for some. Didn't help me.

jerseyguy1 said...
Here's the problem as I see it.

Lactose is the sugar in milk. According to KC's test, she isnt missing the enzyme to digest it. She is producing lactase.

But, the protein (or one of them - the slow digesting protein that some think is pure evil) is casein. That could be another irritant.

When I was on Budesonide, my immune system was shut down. As long as I took the lactase enzyme, I did fine with occasional dairy.

That said my colitis calms down when I keep my diet free of dairy and gluten and artificial sweeteners - even off Budesonide. By contrast, when I go on vacation once a year I let go and have ice cream from this old fashioned place that makes its ice cream from all fresh ingredients. The colitis always gets worse.

Then, it calms down within a few weeks of returning home to my strict diet

Very interesting. Yeah, I have zero symptoms and am positive I produce lactase. Yet, I am following the doctors orders and avoiding dairy for now in case there IS an irritant in it that would slow my healing.

I guess there are other reasons beside being lactose intolerant to avoid it?

My doctor also asked me to reduce my protein intake to once per day. She must think protein has a connection in some way. I need to ask her to elaborate on this.

the most used word in my vocabulary is WHY -

ask your doc WHY limit protein - totally agree with Q on this one -

No...it does NOT mean it will make your UC worse. Remember that doctors would make these suggestions based on patient complaints of discomfort symptoms, and discomfort on top of UC symptoms are easily decided that the milk makes UC worse.. hey doc, I get gas from drinkin milk. So, don't drink milk.
It's not a genious concept. If you are sensitive to the protein i milk....dont drink milk. Will it cause damage as in like a celiac....no. will make your UC worse...no. will staying off it help your healing...no.

Rules are just guidelines....and there has to be some common sense in there somewhere.

I love beef, do well on it, feel good after eating it.....but others are fearful for a variety of reasons. Why a doctor would say to stay off it is remiss.....except that its a fibrous meat and will take a lot of digestive power and time while going through the process. That could cause discomfort and perceived constipation.

So symptoms to some have everythong wrapped up in one anxious scenario. Once you figure it out....it should ease your anxiety. Personally, I would never listen to a doctor about food unless it was common sense like alcohol, high fat, lots of sugary desserts, limit deep fried, smoked, charred, hydrogenated and high salt foods, mercury ladened fish, etc. Not like anyone's never read about that in the last 30 years.

q

Let me repeat some of what I said before.

Some proteins, like casein, really are difficult to digest.

If I drink a whey protein shake, booooooom!

And, some people do theorize that that MAP that we get in milk increases our load of MAP. This really could be a cause of some cases of colitis. Maybe.

But, proteins in general? Many people seem to do well on a Paleo diet - which includes a lot of grass-fed meat. I do.

Jerseyguy1, maybe it's not that the proteins are difficult necessarily, but maybe something more along the lines of this? but they are speaking here of Crohn's disease and not UC.

"Some patients worry that if they find their CD is made worse by milk products, and as MAP is known to occur in unpasteurised milk, that this must mean that MAP is causing their problem. This is not so.

Although gastroenterologists accept that bacteria are a possible cause of CD, this may be due, not to infection, but rather to the process of abnormal fermentation of food residues by bacteria in the large intestine.

Chemicals are produced from this process which may damage the lining of the intestines causing inflammation, ulceration and bleeding and lead to the body's immune system attacking the healthy bacteria of the bowel.

The problem is intolerance to fat, protein or sugar in milk which can lead to the development of the disease when these are fermented, and not due to the possibility that the milk could be contaminated with MAP. "

http://www.crohns.org.uk/crohns_disease/bacteria-and-viruses-associated-with-crohns-disease

It's a whole lot of conjecture as nobody understands the mechanisms that cause UC. A number of longterm posters often chime in when people claim diet treat their uc, that only food intolerances are resolved and food intolerances do not cause inflammation. Any and all UC inflammation therefore remains unresolved and present (therefore still having increased colorectal cancer odds), and just a food intolerance is treated for those who refuse UC medications entirely. IBS, for example could be entirely food intolerances but it can cause bowel discomfort, diarrhea etc which is similar but different than UC as there's no inflammation underlying it.

Is milk bad for us? Who knows. I'd guess it is not bad at all for us as UC patients. Some might have an intolerance for dairy and they'll avoid dairy. I highly doubt dairy causes inflammation within any of us.

Well, by all means barbecue some grass-fed brisket - as long as I'm invited.

But, I'll entertain your many conjectures a while longer - with then lady's permission.

So, we know that many people on this board have a short-term remission while on antibiotics. Then, it returns with a vengeance when you stop the antibiotic.

That indicates that some pathogen is causing the problem.

MAP or C Diff is getting killed and therefore the disease goes into remission until the remaining bacteria reproduce once the antibiotic is withdrawn. Since they are the strongest MAP down there, you now have antibiotic resistant Super MAP.

Or, alternatively, in this other conjecture the bacteria that ferments to milk protein (or gluten) comes back and continues to tear apart the stomach lining.

It is all conjecture. But, it does seem like a reasonable one as at least part of the cause of CD and UC.

And, how do you plan to minimize the need for your immune system to issue attacks?