Not All Crohnies are Created Equal
One of the main challenge concerning Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis and other Inflammatory Bowel Diseases is that there is a huge range of what works and what does not work, what causes a flair up and what does not between each individual. Each case has its own unique challenges. After reading a variety of blogs, I realized that some of you who have just been diagnosed can benefit from my experience. While there are many things that hurt me and many things that do not, I wanted to make a post on some of the top foods I stay away from and some of the top foods that actually help me.
Let’s start with what will put me into a flair up. My full list is long but here are the top three items that will guarantee a run to the bathroom. Refined sugar is number one. I will leave out all the science on why sugar is bad for anyone, but I suggest you do some research on it. What makes this so bad is that sugar is addictive. Some have argued that it is more addictive than narcotics. Ever try to give up sugar cold turkey? Your body will go into withdrawals. Regardless of that, a simple bag of candy gives my Crohn’s fits. Next up is caffeine. There is also an addictive quality to caffeine making this one a very hard thing to stay away from. It gives you energy and makes you feel great. Waking up to a cup of coffee is near heaven. Except, I might as well drink it while sitting on the toilet. The third on this list is alcohol. Some alcohols are worse than others. I find that I can have a glass of bourbon now and then and be ok. But it is best to just stay away. No sugar, caffeine, or booze? Talk about a real bummer right? It is ok though, I rather enjoy a calm stomach.
Moving on to what actually helps. What we are looking for here are foods that slow down the activity in our guts and reduce inflammation. The most important item on this list is rice. Your body actually fully digests rice. This means that if you ate nothing but rice, you would never have a bowel movement. It is easy on your guts and also slows down digestion, allowing nutrients from other foods to be absorbed. I eat rice daily. Plantains are number two for me. There has been recent research that shows plantains can actually override some of the horrible things Crohn’s does. I took it upon myself to try it, and yes they have helped me tremendously. Rice and plantains together is my power meal. I live in South Louisiana so eating just that is a shock to my taste buds because it is so bland. So let’s talk about seasonings. Turmeric and cumin are both known to reduce inflammation and aid in digestion. I use them with every meal. To fill in the gaps, I eat lean white meat. Usually chicken breast or turkey. While this is not my complete diet, this is the majority of what keeps my bowels healthy.
I will end on the same note as I started. We are all different when it comes to inflammatory bowel diseases. Just because these foods might trigger or might help me does not mean it will hurt or help you. But knowledge is power. Find out your triggers and what actually helps you and then be consistent. Consistency is key. If you have trigger foods or foods that help you and would like to share, please respond to this post. We have to stick together and beat this together.
