Raw Food Diet

I've been battling Colitis for 6 yrs now. I seem to have a flare up every 2 years and it's been a tricky and tiring business. I have used Pentasa but find that it doesn't work well. I am Celiac, so I have been on a gluten-free diet all my life.
The one thing that helped instantly my last flare up and that I am following now is a raw food vegan diet. It's tough, I will tell you- but it works. Just wanted to share another point of view and another possibility. Check out David Klein. Anyway- there is a healing phase diet of raw food and then post-healing raw food diet. I usually do the healing phase and then move to the post raw food, but then once better I slide off the wagon- but I am working my way to do an 80 percent raw food. It is hard because I'm such a meat lover, but even though it has taken me a couple years...I'M slowly moving that way. I have given up red-meat for the most part. Also going to try the enema thing....with water.
The other thing that I think helped my last flare up was the pro-biotics as well. Just wanted to open another kind of thread!
What a tough disease, isn't it??

Hello and welcome to the forum

Just to confirm are you still on the Pentesa? Have no other meds been recommended to you? Do you still see a GI doc so they can keep an eye on disease activity? How long have you been on this diet and are you now symptom free? Perhaps it would be best to speak to your doc before doing the enema though. Also do you ever get your vitamin levels checked?

AB
xx

No, I am not currently on Pentasa. Yes, I do have a doctor monitoring me and my blood etc.. I get a colonoscopy every 2 yrs or so. My doctor agrees that diet is a better route to go for me to clear my symptoms of colitis. In middle of treatment now...so symptoms clearing up. Also my doctor is on board for the enema but after I work through the healing phase and recommends to see a dietitian. I also work with the author, David Klein, who wrote Healing Crohn's and Colitis. He has been a big help and support. Not easy switching over to a raw food diet - but it does work...and when you are at the point where you will try anything since you are in great agony (as I was during my last flare up 2 yrs ago) it was not too difficult to make the change. Sticking to it for life...well, that's more of a challenge. As I said...I'm working my way up there- a goal of 80 percent raw (I love my chicken and fish- sigh).

It's great you are noticing the improvement in this and that your doc is also keeping an eye on things, seeing the dietician should also be very benificial. We do have a diet and sups forum here that you might want to check out as well so you can also share your knowledge here about this: http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17.

I have also had a lot of luck with using diet to help heal my colitis. I did find this awesome program by Shira Turkl-Rubin and she talks a lot about diet as well as yoga and meditation. I thought it was awesome since I had never done yoga before and I learned how the mind and body are so intertwined, not that I didn't know that, but learning how to practice specific yogic practices really helped me. Anyway, her program is called The Fix Your Belly Blues Program and you can google it to find it.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you give it a try.
Sara

doskiski said:

No, I am not currently on Pentasa. Yes, I do have a doctor monitoring me and my blood etc.. I get a colonoscopy every 2 yrs or so. My doctor agrees that diet is a better route to go for me to clear my symptoms of colitis. In middle of treatment now...so symptoms clearing up. Also my doctor is on board for the enema but after I work through the healing phase and recommends to see a dietitian. I also work with the author, David Klein, who wrote Healing Crohn's and Colitis. He has been a big help and support. Not easy switching over to a raw food diet - but it does work...and when you are at the point where you will try anything since you are in great agony (as I was during my last flare up 2 yrs ago) it was not too difficult to make the change. Sticking to it for life...well, that's more of a challenge. As I said...I'm working my way up there- a goal of 80 percent raw (I love my chicken and fish- sigh).

Click to expand...

Thats a great book and congrats on having such a open minded doctor, sounds like a keeper.