A Low-residue Diet For Colitis

The Advantages of a Low-Residue Diet One reason people with an active flare of colitis go on a low-residue diet is with the idea to reduce symptoms in addition to trying to treat them, said David T. Rubin, MD, co-director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and professor of medicine at University of Chicago Medicine. It helps to heal the bowel by reducing the amount of indigestible or poorly digestible fibers. This will reduce trauma to the bowel and, therefore, allow the bowel to heal. But Dr. Rubin cautioned that diet alone isnt enough to cure or treat ulcerative colitis its used in addition to other medical treatments to help manage symptoms associated with IBD. Symptom management is not the same as disease control, said Rubin. Diet alone isn't enough to put colitis in remission. He added that your diet must take into account the bodys nutritional needs. Long-term use of restrictive diets, like the low-residue diet, could increase the risk of nutrient deficiencies, or not getting enough of the nutrients the body needs to function on a daily basis. Low-Residue Diet: What to Avoid Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate found in plants that cannot be readily digested by the body. Residue is the undigested remains of fiber and food that goes into the stool. continue reading http://www.everydayhealth.com/ulcerative-colitis/a-low-residue-diet-for-colitis.aspx