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Grain or no Grain?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/7/2010 10:11 PM (GMT 0)
Should we eat grains or not? I'm not flaring right now, but still dont feel well when I eat. I have a friend that has Celiac disease and she has completely gone off gluten and other foods. Any thoughts? I have gained alot of weight when I was on prednisone and would like to take it off. I 'm am too weak to exercise right now and have to lower my calorie intake. Eating veg and fruit all day is hard. What do you guys do?
Posted 10/7/2010 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
Going grain-free along with starch and sugar-free has given me the only remission from UC I've ever had.
I tested negative for celiac but it has been reported that people can be gluten-intolerant but not celiac. I am one of those people.

I LOVED bread and grains and had no immediate way to tell that they weren't good for me, but when I went gluten free I stopped bleeding in a very short time. After that I went on the full SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) and got more improvement although it has been a slow success. It is gluten, grain and starch-free (mostly) and very low in dairy, low lactose is more descriptive.

I couldn't tolerate fruit until several months into the diet. Meat and green veggies kept me healthy and energetic. If you can eat nuts I'd suggest adding them to your diet.

You will lose weight on SCD but then you level off. It's a healthy diet and I've never been hungry, just bored in the beginning when the diet is restricted more. The fruit you are eating has a lot of sugar, not so good for UC or losing weight.
Posted 10/8/2010 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
I agree with imagardner.  It's kind of hard at first and feels very restrictive, but as I've assembled a kitchen and pantry of foods I can use on the Specific Carbohydrate diet, I don't feel bored or hungry any more either.  I also lost about 10 lbs to start off with, but seem to have leveled off.  I wouldn't mind gaining some weight back now, I have always been thin, and now I have friends telling me I look too thin, so I have been enjoying homemade yogurt made with whole milk, for example. 

Back to your original question.  I also tested negative for celiac, though it runs in my family, as does gluten intolerance.  I never felt bad eating grains, but I did get gas if I ate a whole bunch of grains of any kind.  I have cut all grains from my diet, haven't had any gas at all, feel good, and best of all, after about 6 months on the SCD, my symptoms have all but gone away.  The thing that really turned the tables on my symptoms was going on a completely liquid diet for 3 days.  During those 3 days, bleeding and cramping cleared up and then I gradually added solid foods back in, avoiding dairy and grains the longest.  I added dairy back in after eliminating it for about a month and didn't notice any difference in how I felt, so now I am back on the SCD approved dairy. 

From all I have read here on this forum since I joined, it seems that everyone has slightly (or vastly) different reactions to different foods, so you can try eliminating different things and see if that makes a difference for you.  Some people notice a chage right away (within days) and for others it seems to be much more gradual (several months).

Certainly doesn't hurt to give it a try.  I have found that cooking with almond meal and coconut flour has been fun and tasty.

Good luck!

Posted 10/8/2010 8:50 AM (GMT 0)
No grains for me. And to me corn is the worst! I can always feel it going through me.
Posted 10/8/2010 5:25 PM (GMT 0)
And, just to show the other side of the fence, once upon a time the only things I ate during flares were pasta, farina cereal, and eggs. I can't tell that grains affect me at all, except that I stay away from 'scratchier" whole grains in a flare.

I find too many fruits and vegetables, even cooked, rough in a flare.

We're all different - you'll need to figure out what works for you!
Posted 10/8/2010 11:55 PM (GMT 0)
Yes with songlady the scratchy whole grains are very harsh on an inflammed colon. Oatmeal is kind of a in between, it is softer, but not completely soft as say a potato or banana.
Posted 10/9/2010 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
i have been limiting grains and i notice i hardly ever have gas or bloating anymore. 

because i am just about in remission and doing well, i am going to stick to just limiting and not eliminating.

if i was still bleeding and having stmptoms i would try eliminating the grains.

i already cant eat dairy except for string cheese , so that would be alot of stuff i cant eat!  and i love to eat, i am not one of those people that ever lose their appetite!

Posted 10/17/2010 8:40 AM (GMT 0)
I have cut out grains and meat and dairy and it helped me drastically. Sugary foods do not bother me it seems, as I eat a lot of fruit. Grains are somewhat hard to digest, and same with meat and dairy, but everyone is different. To me, I love my diet and it feels very healthy and like my body is actually healing rather than just avoiding symptoms.
Posted 10/17/2010 8:58 AM (GMT 0)
I am on SCD, no grains for me, and i'm feeling better.
Posted 10/18/2010 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
I'm not usually bothered by grains except for wild rice or granola, which are too rough for my gut. However, I did notice during my most recent flare (2009) that substituting plain boiled rice for pasta made my colon more content. (In the past, they were equally tolerable.) Instead of gluten issues, I think that some preservatives in commercial breads and baked goods bother me, so I try to avoid buying or consuming them. I do well with lactose-free milk and nonfat natural yogurt and otherwise eat a pretty balanced diet, mainly avoiding heavy fat, salt, and spices, and caffeine. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 10/18/2010 5:12 AM (GMT 0)
I do well with grains. It's fructose that bothers me. As long as my grains do not contain HFCS, I'm fine.

Grains are great for the long-term health of the colon; so I would not avoid eating grains unless they cause you to flare or make your flares worse. And remember, it could be the HFCS that is causing the issue. So first check that out before assuming you can't handle grains.
Posted 10/18/2010 10:20 PM (GMT 0)
I have tried SCD and living gluten free, but I didn't notice a reduction in symptoms. When I am flaring eating mild foods like bread and potatoes helps a lot. I love vegetables, but have to be very careful as those even cooked can be rough.
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