What to Eat with IBD

By the end of my diet it was interesting to look at the foods that were aggravating to my gut. Foods that were now on my "No" list included: red meat, citrus fruits, yellow corn (white was okay - go figure), milk, caffeine, red food coloring, lettuce, chocolate, uncooked vegetables, cantaloupe, apples, nuts (except for soy nuts, almonds, and walnuts), beans/legumes, (garbanzo beans made into hummus is okay, but otherwise beans are just too hard on my gut), whole grains (I have to eat these very sparingly), preservatives, pre-made or pre-packaged food, artificial sweeteners, most fruit juices, soft drinks, and alcohol. Over the years this list has changed and evolved. There are now some things that were on the original "No" list that I can eat in moderation. And there are some new "No" items that weren't on the original list. While, over the years, I've taken the risk and tried some "No" list foods - not always with good results - there are just those foods that I would never, ever even think of eating like fast food, or foods with cream sauces, or pre-packaged food. I know that these items will always cause problems and I simply live my life steering clear of them. Sometimes that means I can't eat a quick lunch on the go, it entails some planning ahead on my part, and I'm grateful that I like to cook and have been adventurous in the things that I make.

For the longest time I also had to be careful about taking vitamins. I simply couldn't take a vitamin for about the first six years after my diagnosis. If I did it made the diarrhea come back or get worse. Finally in the past few years I've been able to add a mixture of vitamins to my daily regimen but have taken great care to find vitamins that do not contain preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or colorings. I find my local health food store to be the best resource for quality vitamins. But, that said, I cannot stomach most "natural" items like ginseng, Echinacea, fenu greek, etc. My body seems to be hypersensitive to these things and they set-off my gut within an hour or two of taking them.

The most important thing I learned from the elimination diet is that it pays to listen to your body. It takes time, effort, and patience but in the long run I've found that by listening to my body, taking the extra time to learn what it needs, and making the effort to eat well for me has made a difference in my quality of life living with IBD. I still take Asacol, and do have flare-ups every now and again, but for most of the time I live a good and symptom-free day-to-day life. And, I hope that you can too.

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