Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group

Hello Compan, All the foods you listed are taboo for me except steak. I have never had a problem with meat. I make my own sausage and would gladly share that recipe if anyone needs it. I am on a low-starch diet and it has really helped. I really miss macaroni salad, it was one of my favorites. I make it now with cauliflower instead of macaroni and have absolutely NO problem with it. I am also careful with dairy. I never drink milk and usually only get my dairy from cheeses and yogurt. When I have to use milk I use coconut milk or almond milk which I make at home. I stay completely away from sugar and artificial sweeteners. I also make coconut water and drink it every day. It is also extremely important to take fish oil every day. It is amazingly healing to the bowel. I just had my latest colonoscopy and , for the first time, had NO ulcerations. I think we all need to find what works for each of us. This disease has many faces, as many faces as the faces that carry it, so we each have different foods we can tolerate. Keep a journal and watch closely for what irritates you. It is the best advise I can give. There are two diets that have been proven time and time again to work, they are the SCD diet and the Low-Starch Diet. Information on both can be gotten easily from the internet. Good luck and hang in there. Linda Lee

Thank you all for sharing your stories and experiences. It helps me get an idea of what to expect.
I hope everyone had a fun holiday. I am happy to report that I was eating macaroni salad (made with miracle whip) and did not feel any bad effects. Hopefully the prednisone isn't giving me false hope here.

A couple new questions:
I have read avoid cauliflower, and i have also read eat cauliflower. When I have read avoid it, it was because it causes gas. Now where I have read to eat it, it seemed like it was cooked and just the florets.
Is cauliflower good only cooked? Or should it be avoided all together.
Also, what are people's experiences with onion (minced raw, and cooked)?

For those who take Fish Oil, does it create gas? I took a Triple Omega one time and felt like i swallowed pure gas and was miserable. I now have just plain fish oil but am a little nervous about taking it and becoming uncomfortable.

OLLA and hellloooo to you tooo 

I’m mom to an almost 3 year old with UC, and Daddy was also just diagnosed with UC.

Lol, I love your questions !

Ok, remission – with my son he is on and off, but not yet as bad as when he was diagnosed.
I would stay away from your entire diet, even if you don’t have UC those choices of food are extremely high in saturated fats (bad bad also for UC).
Try eating unprocessed foods (sausage / hot dogs / etc) rather stick to the REAL MCCOY . .. And red meat only twice a week, the rest of the week stick to chicken & fish.
Icecream – we indulge in that every so often, but nothing in excess is healthy.
An alternative to ice cream may be frozen yoghurt (if you can handle dairy), or fruit lollies. My son LOVES those ! ! !
Ooo – take probiotics, that is my number one for today :-P

ANyhoo, hope all is well, good luck 

Hi! Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I'm 27 now, but I started having UC symptoms five years ago, when I was 22 and graduating from college. At first, symptoms lasted for about a month, then went away for about 3. They came back, which is when I finally saw a doctor and got the diagnosis. I had to wait for two months to get an initial appointment with my GI, and I got pretty sick: daily fever, anemic, cramping, etc. It was really scary when I went from being pretty normal and healthy 22-year old girl to having a scary and painful illness like UC. The best advice I can give you is something my GI told me when I was first diagnosed: don't let yourself be a victim. It is inevitable that you will have flair-ups, it sucks that you will probably be on some form of medication, at least on and off, for the rest of your life, and the symptoms you may experience can be exhausting, painful, and embarrassing. But never give up hope. My colitis is moderate to severe. I have mild flairs a few times a year, more severe ones maybe once a year. Unlike a lot of people with UC, my GI put me on sulfasalazine, which I have to take 3 times a day, everyday. it's not quite as powerful as the steroids, but I have had very few side effects from it, so perhaps it's something to discuss with your GI. My understanding is that it doesn't work for everyone or for those with severe UC, but for those for whom it does work, it's pretty effective. In terms of diet, when I flair, I try to eat low-fiber food. And in terms of your cravings, I find that I often want to eat cheese and pasta when my UC is flairs. Not sure why, but I usually follow the philosophy that what my body craves is what I should give it.

hello compan.

I'm sorry to say all the foods you've listed aren't good for you at all. I mean, no one can stop you from eating them, obviously, but you will feel like crap later. I've struggled over the years with not being allowed to eat anything "fun". [I'm 21, and have had CD since I was 3. [ I was originally diagnosed with U.C.]] I've been on extreme diets, and once I was old enough to choose, spent about a year just eating anything and everything I wanted [and paying dearly for it.] After all that, I'd have to say, now, that moderation is key. I find that if I'm eating healthy for the most part, it doesn't bother me to indulge a little. [As for the califlower thing, I can eat any veggies really, but they have to be cooked, raw veggies can mess you up....]
Anyway.. I hope this is helpful. Good luck. =)

Hello everyone! I have managed to control, for the most part, the weird cravings I started getting once I was diagnosed. I do not know why I am such a fan of hot dogs now, but I have limited them to the 4th and keeping them away now. What I have managed to do with the macaroni salad (always a favorite) was to make it miracle whip light, and then put all the vegetables (onions, bell pepper, carrots, sweet pickles) in a food processor and cook them down a little bit in the frying pan. I find it an easy food to eat throughout the day that doesn't upset my stomach and i think almost pureeing everything together helps.

I have always eaten healthy, go figure now when I need to the most, i cant haha. I am going to see a dietitian soon to see if they can come up with a diet to help manage my UC. I have read that many people follow a gluten free diet. Would that be the more recommended diet for someone with mild to moderate UC?

I have started taking non-dairy probiotics (sustenex) with fish oil in the morning. I havnt started to notice anything significant (i dont think) yet, but I have heard that is helps increase the chances of putting UC into remission and keeping it there.

Thanks again to all of you that have taken time out of your day to help.