Sunday, August 24, 2008
One example of well intentioned--yet
skewed--advice, is "the coconut macaroon prescription," for common
diarrhea AND Crohn's disease, popularized in the nationally syndicated
newspaper column, "The Peoples' Pharmacy."
Every so often, the column mentions
this alleged miracle cure.
...
Seven Common Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis 
Seven Nutrition Tips for Ulcerative Colitis Patients 
Quiz: Do You Know What Your Stool is Telling You? 
Six Risk Factors for Ulcerative Colitis 
Hi Hope,
While I understand, and fully agree, with your larger argument that coconut or coconut macaroons won't cure IBD, I can say that when in a flare they are one thing I can successfully eat. I was Dx'd with UC in 1998 and just recently it has been suggested that I may well have Crohn's, instead.
When in a flare and barely able to eat bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast successfully I actually find being able to eat one macaroon a day a treat. Do they cure me of IBD? No. But in a world of many foods that can make a flare worse, it's nice to find a 'treat' that doesn't kill my gut further.
I admire you and your boys. Thought it was bad enough that my dad and I have IBD and my mom has severe IBS. And I've heard all the mean and simply dumb things non-IBDers have to say. So, I get where you're coming from.
Cheers,
Elizabeth
Hi, Elizabeth; though I'm sorry that it appears you might actually have CD (bummer!) I'm so glad you wrote.
There are so many commonalities to IBD--Crohn's and UC-- that most patients share, yet there are often nuances to each case that show us how variable IBD can actually be from individual to individual. Researchers now believe that are probably numerous subtypes of Crohn's, alone, since many genetic variations have already been identified.
This probably begins to explain why different people seem to flare "differently" and why some people can eat the foods that other can't.
While many in the medical community suspect that diet and various dietary factors may play a modulating role in the IBD disease process, there really haven't been enough good controlled studies looking at complementary therapies for the management of IBD.
In one study, high levels of dietary fiber were shown to decrease the relative risk for Crohn's disease, and in other, dietary fiber was shown to decrease the production of two known mediators of inflammation, TNF-alpha and nitric oxide.
A few small studies have shown that low-fat diets and diets with omega-3 fatty acids, and other medium-chain triglycerides, are better than higher fat diets in inducing and maintaining remissions in IBD. Fiber is found in coconuts and medium-chain triglycerides are found in coconut oil.
If person like you (and me
) is into macaroon cookies, I haven't a clue as to how many a person would have to eat to reap the benefits suggested by these studies. But, except for a little bellyache if you're greedy (I love the chocolate chip ones) -- and, the potential for a couple of extra pounds--I can't see how it would hurt!
My best,
Hope