I was diagnosed with Crohns in 2007 and put on medication. I had three biopsies over the next few years, all confirming the condition. At the time, I went through a period of feeling like giving up. Then a friend suggested i should go through an extreme makeover and got me in touch with a personal trainer. I feel he saved my life. Over time, he got me to loose around 40 pounds, change my diet radically and exercise every day.
The last two biopsies i've had show no trace of Crohns. I've been effectively symptom free for 5 years. Stopped taking medication long before that. But I am sure that it hasn't gone away. All it takes is a few days of bad eating, and i get bad gut trouble. So I'm really careful what I eat, how much stress i allow myself to go through, sleep patterns and so forth.
I'm sure every person is biologically unique. At the same time, there are things that are common for us all. Over the last few years, i've spent a lot of time looking into nutrition research and non-pharmacological routes to health. I'm more and more convinced that what we put in our mouths is crucial to our health.
I often think that my diagnosis was the best thing that happened to me. I suffered from depression and hyper-anxiety for many years. Now I can say I am happy and normal. The most amazing period was the change i felt following giving up gluten; after a few weeks, i noticed the depression and anxiety lifting. Its been like that ever since.
The following are what i believe to be the most important factors that made me symptom free, in order of importance.
1. No gluten
2. No artificial foods, additives, MSG, Yeast, etc. No artificial gluten substitutes.
3. Eating minimal or zero non-processed foods, no frying.
4. Eating lots of vegetables, lightly steamed or raw, and salads, all as organic as possible.
5. Exercise to sweating every day. 1 hour at least.
6. No smoking
7. No alcohol
8. Meditation
I now look on vegetables as superfoods. I went through a period of taking lots of supplements, and they caused problems. I now think its important to get the supplements from food as much as possible.
There was one other key. Once i started realising the importance of food, I stopped thinking i had to 'give stuff up'. Instead, i sort of look at it as stopping self harm. I still struggle with sweet stuff; i can binge on dates and 10% chocolate, but mostly, i'm really happy with what i eat, and don't miss anything. Thats because after about 6-12 weeks, our palate retrains. So we should not be thinking 'diet' or restriction, or having to give up, but rather align our palate with the needs of our bodies.
The last two biopsies i've had show no trace of Crohns. I've been effectively symptom free for 5 years. Stopped taking medication long before that. But I am sure that it hasn't gone away. All it takes is a few days of bad eating, and i get bad gut trouble. So I'm really careful what I eat, how much stress i allow myself to go through, sleep patterns and so forth.
I'm sure every person is biologically unique. At the same time, there are things that are common for us all. Over the last few years, i've spent a lot of time looking into nutrition research and non-pharmacological routes to health. I'm more and more convinced that what we put in our mouths is crucial to our health.
I often think that my diagnosis was the best thing that happened to me. I suffered from depression and hyper-anxiety for many years. Now I can say I am happy and normal. The most amazing period was the change i felt following giving up gluten; after a few weeks, i noticed the depression and anxiety lifting. Its been like that ever since.
The following are what i believe to be the most important factors that made me symptom free, in order of importance.
1. No gluten
2. No artificial foods, additives, MSG, Yeast, etc. No artificial gluten substitutes.
3. Eating minimal or zero non-processed foods, no frying.
4. Eating lots of vegetables, lightly steamed or raw, and salads, all as organic as possible.
5. Exercise to sweating every day. 1 hour at least.
6. No smoking
7. No alcohol
8. Meditation
I now look on vegetables as superfoods. I went through a period of taking lots of supplements, and they caused problems. I now think its important to get the supplements from food as much as possible.
There was one other key. Once i started realising the importance of food, I stopped thinking i had to 'give stuff up'. Instead, i sort of look at it as stopping self harm. I still struggle with sweet stuff; i can binge on dates and 10% chocolate, but mostly, i'm really happy with what i eat, and don't miss anything. Thats because after about 6-12 weeks, our palate retrains. So we should not be thinking 'diet' or restriction, or having to give up, but rather align our palate with the needs of our bodies.