Diet for ulcerative colitis

blatantrereg

I'm interested in information about what foods to avoid and what foods to eat after a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis.

Will talk to a dietician soon also. I understand that high-fibre foods aggravate it and should be avoided. Meat and dairy also appear to be things to avoided, but she's a vegetarian who eats minimal dairy already for unrelated reasons.

Specifically interested in these foods: Potatoes, coffee, coke, actimel drinks, yakult, unfermented soy-based foods, white bread, garlic, mayonnaise, eggs, bananas, rice, maize-based snacks.

Thanks

The_Conductor

Foods to avoid (and this is general, rather than specific to a particular person)

1. High fibre food
2. Caffeine and energy drinks- and vitamins that have things like guarana in them
3. Contrary to what many people will tell you- dairy is perfectly fine, unless you have a non-related lactose intolerance.
4. High fibre green veg- cabbage, celery etc- avoid
5. Breads, youghurts etc that are made with fruit or seeds (aka sesame seed, raspberry/strawberry etc that still have the seeds etc
6. Sweetcorn and/or other foods that you don't digest so well
7. High fat foods
8. Ignore the diets that tell you a bland diet will help you- they may help specific people, but you will find that you can tolerate various herbs and spices without any problems whatsoever. Even if you have UC or Crohn's- your diet doesn't have to taste like cardboard
9. Mayonaisse- avoid. Use butter instead.
10. Certain types of alcohol may be ok in limited quantities. If I have more than 1 or 2 beers- I may as well admit myself to hospital. I can quite happily have a nice glass of wine, without issue.
11. Fizzy drinks- more a problem with Crohn's than UC- but they can cause bloating and pain
12. If you do smoke- and I don't advocate anyone start smoking, nicotene is supposed to help with the symptoms of UC (the inverse is true with Crohn's- smoking makes your symptoms far worse)

There are always going to be trigger foods that will inevitably cause you trouble- which will vary from person- mine is cornflakes for example. I will be in intense pain, possibly with an inflamed intestine and a blockage, within a few hours, if I eat them. Against this backdrop- I can normally quite happily sit down and eat a curry with fried rice, and I adore teriyaki. You have to learn what foods are suitable for you- and what you just have to avoid. Just because your next door neighbour with UC can eat buttered toast and tea for brekkie- doesn't mean you can. You will learn from trial and error- and yes, some errors may hospitalise you- but its all a learning experience.

Make a list of questions you have before you go into the consultant and the dietician- and remember the little booklet the dietician gives you is a very good guideline, but its not a bible, and we are all different. Don't eat things that are obviously going to cause you trouble- but you do have to live too.

chinwag

Have a look at this ISCC info site

http://www.iscc.ie/sites/default/files/Tillots%20A5%20Nutrition%20vF-May08.pdf

mattjack

Is ulcerative colitis something that could develop in childhood ?

The_Conductor

Ps- I'd suggest laying off on the onions and garlic- alongside any maize based snacks too.

Just to reiterate- a dairy free/minimal dairy diet and/or soy foods/milk- can help some people- but it tends to be limited to those who have a non-related issue with lactose intolerance, it is not specific to Crohn's or UC.

Being a vegetarian and UC- are not happy bedfellows- the very best of good luck to you........

The_Conductor

mattjack wrote: »

Is ulcerative colitis something that could develop in childhood ?

Possibly- everyone is different, but it could and has been documented in young childhood- though this is unusual and more the exception than the norm.

mattjack

smccarrick wrote: »

Possibly- everyone is different, but it could and has been documented in young childhood- though this is unusual and more the exception than the norm.

Thanks

blatantrereg

smccarrick wrote: »

Ps- I'd suggest laying off on the onions and garlic- alongside any maize based snacks too.

Just to reiterate- a dairy free/minimal dairy diet and/or soy foods/milk- can help some people- but it tends to be limited to those who have a non-related issue with lactose intolerance, it is not specific to Crohn's or UC.

Being a vegetarian and UC- are not happy bedfellows- the very best of good luck to you........

Thank you for your informed and thorough responses. Very helpful.
Interesting that a lot of the foods you'd expect to help someone with digestive problems are among the ones that aggravate this. I'd been encouraging her to eat more fibre before the diagnosis, thinking it would help.

0lddog

Have you found the site : ulcerativecolitis.org.uk ?

How about this thread :

http://www.ulcerativecolitis.org.uk/colitisforum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7270 ?

Then there is the mega thread on SCD

http://www.ulcerativecolitis.org.uk/colitisforum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2396&hilit=scd

The_Conductor

blatantrereg wrote: »

Thank you for your informed and thorough responses. Very helpful.
Interesting that a lot of the foods you'd expect to help someone with digestive problems are among the ones that aggravate this. I'd been encouraging her to eat more fibre before the diagnosis, thinking it would help.

Fibre is top of the list on what to avoid- and alongside the obvious fibrous foods, also the foods that you'd possibly not consider, such as fruit and veg that is 'stringy' (cabbage, brocolli etc oranges/grapefruit etc brown rice, kidney beans etc- avoid the lot of them)

I suppose different digestive issues are agravated or helped by different treatments- with UC and Crohns- fibre is top of the avoid at all costs list.

inocybe

I suffer with this, and also a vegetarian... I sadly have to steer clear of brown rice and pasta, sweetcorn, kidney beans, grapes amongst other things. Biggest triggers by far for me are fatty cheeses and alcohol.

lorebringer

I have UC and have been on many, MANY exclusion diets along with other "avoidance" diets and, frankly, found most useless. I think it is all about getting to know what are "trigger foods" for you personally. I am also coeliac so obviously anything with wheat is a no no for me. Other foods that I find triggers are peas, beer, beans, celery, greasy take aways and large volumes of red meat or caffeine. Sources of Phenylalanine and Aspartame don't do me any favours either (avoid like the plague!). I am fine with most fibrey food, spicy food, dairy and alcohol isn't too bad (in moderation). If I am having a flare up (the joys!) this will change - I generally don't feel like eating anyway or just want bland foods (chicken and sweet potatoes are flare up favourites) so I tend to end up avoiding a lot of foods unintentionally. Everyone is different and it can often be a case of trial and error in finding food that does/doesn't suit you.

blatantrereg

Thanks. I don't eat sources of phenylalanine myself because it upsets my stomach, so I'm familiar with what foods contain it. Not surprised it can aggravate UC.

Apparently they haven't confirmed what type of colitis it is. They will know from the results of biopsies in a few weeks, if not sooner. They think it is UC, but haven't ruled out Crohn's, or another type of colitis. I know smoking mitigates UC and aggravates Crohn's. Are there any other differences we should be aware of wrt what to consume?

The_Conductor

Ulcerative Colitis is confined to the large intestine- whereas Crohn's tends to start at the terminal illeum, however it can occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract (including mouth and throat), or indeed externally.

From a diet perspective- I don't put a lot of credence in the lists of definite do's and don'ts. You will happily eat some foods- or indeed drink alcohol- when you're feeling well, that if you're under the weather at all, will floor you.

Yes- I've heard the same reports about nicotine (as opposed to smoking per se) helping UC, and from my own perspective can confirm that even being in a room with someone smoking can trigger a Crohn's attack in next to no time.

When I've been ill- I found drinking lots of ice cold milk helped my cramping- which flies against what most of the books will tell you.

The general list- aka- avoid fibre, stringy fruit or veg, fatty foods, foods you can't digest properly etc- and try to keep to as low a residue diet as possible, esp. when you're feeling under the weather, is perhaps the best way to go. I definitely disagree with the- eat bland food idea- some bland foods can be worse than anything else- esp. if you have a partial or full blockage.

Everyone is different- we have some commonalities- but more differences from one person to another than things we have in common.

irish_janey

CURED

I suffered UC since I was 15. It got to the stage where doctors were talking about removing parts if my digestive system. I was on a large quantity of drugs and constantly on steroids. I discovered how a product called carageena is used in lots of dairy and protein products as a stabiliser. It's naturally sourced and basically is used to maintain the life span of your foods, alternatively it is used effectively in inducing inflammation. Doctors are so confident that this product can induce inflammation that it is implemented in lab experiments for medical research (ironically). I've done my background research on everything I eat in large quantities on a regular basis and cut everything out that contains this stabiliser. It's now been 3 months since I took my last steroid course and I haven't had any signs of a flare up. It was as simple as that; no magic pills, no gimmicks. As it turns out I ended up cutting most processed food out of my diet altogether and following a paleo lifestyle. I couldn't recommend it enough.

I hope this helps someone else. After 7 years I'm so happy to not have to worry anymore about everyday stuff that the UC would get in the way of.

The_Conductor

HB and other food manufacturers often use Carrageen as a stabiliser (and sometimes as a thickener) in icecream (and other milk based products). They claim them to be natural and get quite defensive when you query them. From personal experience I've found avoiding them to be helpful. They are definitely on my list of trigger foods which are liable to trigger an attack (along with the flavour enhancer Monosodium glutamate, and funnily enough- anything with maize in it, including many breakfast cereals, and quite often some breads).

I'd suggest that Jane is onto something with her advice to avoid Carrageen and its derivatives. If you're looking at food labels- this is often called 'Chondrus' or 'Chondrus crispus' and its only really in milk based products (which often can include savoury sauces- so do read labels!).