So hungry yet scared to eat!!! Please Help!!

You need to find out what you can eat and what you can't. Diet is so very individualistic. Like for instance, I can eat Dorritos with no problem but others say this would kill their gut.

The old stand by diet is the "white" diet: chicken, fish, rice, potatoes etc and avoid raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, spicy food, caffeine, alcohol, dairy if it bothers you. However you can experiment with diet to see what hurts.

Until your flare is tamed, anything you eat may not agree with you but you still have to eat. I know, it's not easy.

thanks guys this has helped alot! il give it all ago and see what works out for the best!xx

Unfortunately, as already mentioned, diets that work for some don't work for others. A good example is JessicaMichael, in the previous message, mentioned that she can always eat chicken and instant mash - I found instant mash gave me diarrhea because of all the extra ingredients. However, I realised that mashing real potatoes was a better option for me - chicken is ok for me too (not the boxed stuff with a coating on it though).

Cutting back to a 'bland' diet might be a good starting point.

My bland diet consisted of eating; bananas, roast chicken/fish, potatoes (peeled) & carrots (peeled)

I kept it going for a few weeks and gradually noticed improvements. Eventually, when it gets to a point where the UC is stable, you can start adding foods in to see if things change.

Good luck

Drink ginger tea. Ginger is anti-inflammatory.

As for foods, you need to keep a food journal to see which foods bother you, if any.

The following are usually (although not always) safe:

spinach
sunflower seed butter and nut butters (just not peanut butter)
rice with a bit of butter (for taste) and turmeric powder (anti-inflammatory) added
chicken soup (for strength)
bananas
ginger tea (with no added milk/cream or sugar)

several diets to look into:

spinach and sunflower seed diet
anti-inflammatory diet
SCD

Don't confuse eating with UC...what goes in will eventually come out in a somewhat different form...although sometimes looks mighty similar depending on how fast it's moving through the digestive system.

Try not to get hung up on not eating. Try and eat enough protein and I'll say it...good carbs because that's energy food.

If you can do a "meat and potatoes" type of diet, veggies well cooked and fruits that are either cooked, canned or peeled.

Eat for comfort...therefore meaning foods that would cause you lots of gas should be eaten in either small amounts or saved for evening. Gas producing foods can pretty much show some symptoms affecting you around 4 - 6 hours afterward.

Don't consume artificial sweeteners thinking they're better than sugar...they're not.

Eat as balanced as possible..

An egg and toast for breakfast can last me 6 hours...a banana during the day would cause me great discomfort/gas as would brocolli, whole grains, graham, soy, too much milk, etc.

Keep a food journal...mine worked like this: on the left side of the notebook I stated the date, listed the time and what I consumed. That included food, liquids, meds, supplements.

On the right hand side I listed the same date as on the left, the time of symptoms, bms, etc.

My conclusion...nothing made my UC flares worse or better, meds are my best friends, and there are definitely foods that created discomfort and increased digestive activity, looser stool, etc.

I eat pretty much what I want...but I don't eat everything, avoid a few things totally and have no problem suffering some discomfort for some things.

q

Thanks everyone you have all been such a great help, yesterday i was scared of eating anything but now im going to do a food journal, and try things out and not be scared anymore! Thank you!!!

I also follow a "low Residue diet" when flaring. I also avoid lactose. I'm mildly lactose intolerant and that seems to be worse when flaring. My staple when I'm really sick is that I make my self a very plain chicken and rice soup with chicken broth, rice and diced chicken that I have previously boiled. I hope you feel better! :o(

Don't let yourself get hungry, is my advice.
Sometimes my gut will act up if I haven't eaten, and eating will actually calm it down.

That said, the "lots of small meals" approach to "healthy" eating never worked for me, because I knew every time I ate I would need the bathroom soon after.

Ensure and vegetable juices (esp. tomato-based) would have given me problems.
The worst was lettuce.

I went to a dietician a year ago who advised no skins of anything as they get stuck in the colon (including tomatoes, potatoes, no olives, cherries, skins of apples etc...) and also no nuts and seeds including wholegrain bread, no stringy veg like spinach for eg and no corn/popcorn. I tried cutting out dairy too. Nothing really helped me except meds. I'm flaring now and not really following that diet but knowing the information I am wary of eating seeds and this time round have been cutting out fruit. I know the feeling of being scared to eat. I sometimes eat 2 pieces of toast the entire day while working and then come home and eat in the evening. I tend to like things like noodles lately - easy to digest and things like chicken, fish, potato. I've lost a lot of my appetite and am not sure whether it's from the meds I'm taking (pentasa) or just that my stomach has shrunk...
A food diary is a great idea. I need to start one up again. How about taking something for the cramps? My doc said I can take Buscopan (not sure if you get that.) He also gave me an anti-diarroeah tablet called codein phos which works for 4 hours only so doesn't plug you up for endless hours.
Good luck

Hi,

I find that when I'm in a flare, I have to avoid greasy food, many vegetables (like lettuce with oil/vinegar, peppers, dandelions), and dairy products.

I do best on blander food like cream of wheat, bread (I don't have a problem with gluten), baked potatoes, chicken, crackers, soft pretzels, blander veggies like boiled carrots, asparagus, and green beans.  When I want a sweet treat I don't eat dairy.  I eat sorbet or popsicles.  I can also always seem to handle cookies especially SUGAR cookies.    Also, I would recommend white bread over wheat when you aren't feeling great.  I KNOW wheat is better for us, but I think it's harder to digest.

Anyway, I would suggest blander food until your stummy/colon calm down.  Once my stummy (stomach) and colon calm down, I can slowly start to eat certain veggies and dairy again.  I really love yogurt and veggies!  So when I'm doing well I can eat those things.

I hope you feel better soon!! :)

God Bless

I'm going to reiterate what everyone else said: it varies from person to person. If something bothers you, don't eat it.

That being said, caffiene, alcohol, fried/greasy food, and spicy foods are commonly irritating so I'd avoid those while flaring. Most people also have problems with milk products (though I am a weirdo and can eat dairy with no issue, go figure).

On the other hand, there are some foods that are generally pretty well tolerated. Plain white rice, chicken (baked/poached/sauteed), and bananas are generally well tolerated in patients with diarrhea. Also for calories, I suggest nutrition shakes. You can get boost/ensure, and Naked and Odwalla make really good juice smoothies.

I personally go really low residue while flaring. No skins, seeds or whole grains (except oatmeal). I'm really sensitive to fiber so even spinach, which most people tolerate, will absolutely kill me. My 'safe' foods are cooked meats (esp. chicken and fish), milk products (mostly yogurt/ice cream) rice, pasta, pizza (the ellios store bought stuff, go figure), winter squashes, root veggies, tubers, melon, and cooked and canned fruits (apples, pears and peaches).

I heard Mangos are well-tolerated - true??