Ulcerative Colitis Diet

Hi
New to UC. My gastro doctor told me to eat whatever I want which is completely opposite of what I have heard from here and YouTube research. I have been doing the healthy cautious eating myself but all is the same result. Loose diarrhea with blood. So I'm not sure if I should eat like crap and risk being miserable or give it a try? At this point does it really matter? Not sure if that helps.

RyanC said...
Hi
New to UC. My gastro doctor told me to eat whatever I want which is completely opposite of what I have heard from here and YouTube research. I have been doing the healthy cautious eating myself but all is the same result. Loose diarrhea with blood. So I'm not sure if I should eat like crap and risk being miserable or give it a try? At this point does it really matter? Not sure if that helps.

My GI doctor is kind of the same way. But then I started experimenting with foods and seeing what I can and cannot tolerate at all. As for the loose diarrhea and blood have you started any medications for remission ?
Also stress is one of the biggest factors that play out with flares and in general overall health. I was really stressed for a while and my symptoms were getting worse and worse but then I remembered that my specialist said that If I'm not well or at least okay mentally then how do i expect for my colon to be okay. Our colons are easily irritated. And it sucks knowing that no matter how safe you eat and how many preventative measures you take something still can happen. It's a stressful way to live with that mentality but sometimes you can't help it.

Serenity Now said...
What I do is eat "unhealthily" until I am out of a flare and once safely in remission I can eat all the healthy high fibre food like fruits and vegetables to my heart's content.

I have flared twice. The first time I didn't know what was wrong with me and just through trial and error ended up eating junk that didn't cause pain (or urgency, diarrhea etc) such as: potato chips, chocolate, comfort foods (mac & cheese). The second time around I knew I needed to eat a low fibre diet so made it as healthy as I could. I looked up "low fibre diet" as my starting point but again just figured out for myself what hurt and what didn't - it is so individual. Some of the things I was able to eat: well-cooked carrots and zucchini, bananas, a bit of cantaloupe, plainly cooked chicken, white potatoes, white rice, rice krispies, scrambled eggs. Not the healthiest of diets but not as bad as the junk I ate during my first flare. It was just temporary until I was back into remission and could eat lots of healthy things again.

Also I take asacol HD 800 mg three times a day and it seems to mitigate the symptoms but I am concerned about joint pain. Because aside from me not stretching I do feel like I get joint pain sometimes.

If you want to take some of the thought and research out of it, look into the IBD-AID (irritable bowel disease anti-inflammatory diet). There are 3 tiers in it. Number one is for flare mode and has a much more limited palette, then next is as you are beginning to see less symptoms (more foods added) and then finally in remission there is a much more extensive foods list.

This is, of course, a template. You will most likely find that a few "non-no's" you can tolerate (or the opposite may be true for you). I have seen such a vast spectrum of differences among members here that I am trying to not be super narrow minded.

One thing (for me) that is certain......when I am seeing blood, I try and avoid anything sharp or high fiber. I actually google "low residue diet" and consume the foods from that list primarily.

This list from Serenity Now is very similar to what I consume when things are not healed:

"Some of the things I was able to eat: well-cooked carrots and zucchini, bananas, a bit of cantaloupe, plainly cooked chicken, white potatoes, white rice, rice krispies, scrambled eggs."

***My potatoes have to be peeled, too. And as long as the veggies are VERY cooked, I can tolerate most types without seeds.

Good luck, experimentation is key (I finally get that, lol).

Uniform Charlie said...
-Eating SCD sucks. It is very isolating and tons of work..

I wondered about that, hence my preference to try IBD-AID first (it's a little more liberal version of the SCD). I figured I could always take foods out if I decided they weren't working.

It sounds like you are lactose intolerant or at least sensitive, Uniform Charlie? that's important to note. I'm not, but this diet I am trying does eliminate all dairy except for yogurt and hard cheeses.

I agree on the fiber, but when I am flaring most heavy fibers have to be cooked to a mushy consistency and others eliminated altogether. Once I am healed up I can eat almost anything,

Lots of experimentation needs to be done on an individual basis, I guess.

Uniform Charlie said...
As far as salad goes, for me, a spring mix or lighter leaf mix of any kind is fine. Also, cooked spinach causes no problems. Iceberg or romaine immediately bothers my stomach and causes nausea. My go-to healthy high fiber foods are cooked peas/carrots, grilled eggplant, peeled apples.

I have been on two year diet experiment with SCD and have drawn few conclusions. The only things I can say for sure (for me) are:

-I never flared following SCD
-Following SCD minimised gas to near zero
-Eating non-SCD legal foods increased irritation from hemmoroids and overall "butt burn"
-Eating non-scd foods (specifically lactose containing foods) produces horrific smelling gas
-Eating healthy SCD for two years lowered all my heart risk factors, measured by yearly physical bloodwork, dramatically.
-Eating SCD sucks. It is very isolating and tons of work.

My research has shown that high fiber foods are GOOD for UC. Obviously, if they cause pain then they need to be avoided. Hopefully you can find some that work for your gut.

Hi there, I am following Gaps (very similar to SCD - not even real sure what the difference is)...I did it years ago...stayed on intro for months as flare didn't go away - tons of chicken soups, strong soup stocks, very well cooked veggies, sauerkraut juice, homemade 24 hr fermented yogurt, raw eggs in the soup just for some quick protein. This go around it just feels its not working. I wish I had kept a journal from the time before. now I have hard core diarrhea , as of one week ago. Had been 3 weeks off prednisone and the picture of health, suddenly in one afternoon tons of diarrhea (had to be hospitalized - started losing consciousness), and its been that way since. I'm taking a low dose steroid, plus a fair amount of immodium to get through the day.

To get away from my sob story and back to food....did you ever experience the SCD diet getting you OUT of a flare? I want out of this flare so bad. And I agree with you - these diets are definitely isolating. Good word. (PS...One of the persons I'm caregiving for is doing the Gerson diet...only diet gives me a little relief from gaps diet...that diet takes up the whole day)

@Marjie - I've never had testing to confirm lactose intolerance but I'm sure that I am. What foods are allowed on IBD-aid that are not allowed on SCD? How is it more liberal? The only thing I could find was oats when I looked into it a while back.

@Nourse- To answer your question, no. I've had times where I have been not so strict, felt as though a flare was brewing, and gone back to strict and the symptoms went away. Unfortunately it is impossible to say if SCD had anything to do with that or not. Never had it pull me out of a full blown flare up. I will say that on these occasions where I had mild symptoms, the yogurt seemed to help settle things down immediately.

I wish I could say for sure that SCD works but until more research is completed we just won't know. Too many variables from one individual to the next. Unfortunately, the fact that I never flared while on the diet means nothing. I have friends who go 5 years between flares taking no meds and following no special diet.