Unsafe foods - Symptoms instant?

Just curious on telling which foods are safe/unsafe..
I was recently diagnosed with crohn's and so far all doctors I have spoken too say diet wont matter, just avoid harder to digest foods (corn,red meats, etc), I don't really think thats true based on some research I have done over the last few months.

Anyway my question is: When you eat a "unsafe" food for yourself do you notice symptoms right away pretty much? Or do you experience discomfort later in the day?

I want to start a food journal for myself. Only thing I have really noticed so far is a meal I had with large slices of Ham, also gassy foods seem to hit me later in the day causing discomfort.

Any tips or info is appreciated.
Thanks.

I think starting a food diary is a great idea. The foods that might be fine or bad for me may be completely different for you. On average though crohnies typically have issues with nuts, seeds, popcorn and high fiber foods. Other than that its very individual and requires trial and error.

I do find if I eat the wrong thing my reaction is often immediate but other times I learn the hard way a day or two later.

nogutsnoglory said:

I think starting a food diary is a great idea. The foods that might be fine or bad for me may be completely different for you. On average though crohnies typically have issues with nuts, seeds, popcorn and high fiber foods. Other than that its very individual and requires trial and error.

I do find if I eat the wrong thing my reaction is often immediate but other times I learn the hard way a day or two later.

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This is interesting to me, because I've started to notice certain foods definitely have an immediate effect - quite simply, increased pain - but I haven't given much thought to how what I ate two days ago might be affecting me now.

Have to think about that for a bit, but I think it's a really interesting idea.

Hi Taco Tuesday,

When I eat "unsafe" foods... like say popcorn... I feel the bad results the following day. Bad cramps, mid-lower back aches and then the diarrhea... non stop for days. I have not yet experienced "instant" bad symptoms when I ate something that started a flare. I started a food diary recently, and it has helped me to see what may be triggering flares for me.

Good luck to you and hugs.

Noonie

Ribo said:

This is interesting to me, because I've started to notice certain foods definitely have an immediate effect - quite simply, increased pain - but I haven't given much thought to how what I ate two days ago might be affecting me now.

Have to think about that for a bit, but I think it's a really interesting idea.

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Different foods digest differently and some might go through very quickly while others can ferment and digest for hours.

I think the reason for an immediate reaction to food is less about the food itself and more about the fact that enzymes are being released through your saliva and waking up an angry digestive system. Who knows if when this happens we incorrectly assume its the food. It's so complicated.

I eat most foods with impunity - generally in line with what the docs say.
If I drink milk though - pain and suffering the next day. Big time.
I have an ileo - but the milk still effects the stump.
Which I thought was nonsense - until the GI confirmed this happens.
Makes no logical sense to me - but there is little logic in Crohns.

I accidentally drank a cup of warm milk on a recent holiday - thinking it was something far more exotic - and the reaction was swift. Two days of pain, cramping, frequency, inflammation and blood. Disaster!

When flaring green vegetables kill me...I love Caesar salad, but I can leave it in the restaurant toilet before dessert is finished. It seems the darker the green, the more it bothers me. (Forget broccoli even though I love it too!). Now that I currently have no inflammation, I pretty much can eat anything, but avoid a lot of cheese because I am lactose intolerant (My GI said lots of crohnies react to lactose). Since I love dairy too, I drink lactose free milk and Yoptimal makes a lactose free yogurt.

A food journal is a great idea! I have been keep a BM journal for 3 months since my recent flare. If you have an iPad or iPhone there are some great journal apps. I use "I Do Notepad"

Thanks for the info guys, great idea with the app too ill check that put for sure.

I don't get instant symptoms. It takes a couple of days. Nor do I react to particular foods, at least not exactly. I react to the overall fibre content of my diet. So if over the course of a couple of days I eat a lot of high fibre foods, then the diarrhoea and discomfort will start getting worse. If I eat a low fibre diet, my symptoms are better - even if I include some of the same foods as long as the portions are small enough that the overall fibre content is still low.

The same goes for the volume of food I consume. Too much (even though it's what for most people would be considered normal portions) over a few consecutive days and I start deteriorating.

The only instant symptom I get is horrible bloated fullness that follows eating too large a portion or too much of something rich.

Often bowel movements are triggered by eating a meal, but that goes for any meal - it doesn't matter what I eat, if my bowel's full then eating anything substantial is going to trigger it.

nogutsnoglory said:

I think the reason for an immediate reaction to food is less about the food itself and more about the fact that enzymes are being released through your saliva and waking up an angry digestive system. Who knows if when this happens we incorrectly assume its the food. It's so complicated.

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I agree with this, definitely, though I didn't know about it being due to enzymes before. I just know that food definitely "wakes up" my digestive system!

And it's true I spent so long convincing myself all sorts of different foods were bad for me because everything I ate seemed to produce symptoms. Eventually I figured out that it was just food, or eating, that produced symptoms - it really didn't matter much what the food was. It was so easy to start seeing patterns that weren't really there - "I ate X food this morning and now I feel sick, so X food must be bad for me." After a while of thinking like that I was scared of eating anything. Now I know that my digestive health is a lost cause, so apart from the things that obviously cause additional problems - too much fibre, rich food, overly large meals - I feel safe eating pretty much whatever I want.

When writing a food journal, you might not only record what is being eaten, along with the condition of your stomach, but additionally write down other items experienced such as energy levels, sores, appearance, etc. The other items might be revealing too.

I was eventually able to figure out that eggs and chicken are problems foods. They consistently created tongue sores. After avoiding the two foods the tongue sores went away after a couple days. It took awhile though for my gut to heal. After being on the chicken free diet for a few months, and now since the beginning of the year, I've found myself well to the stomach much more often than I've been ill. It's a pleasant relief. I'm working on figuring out the other trigger food(s).

I tend to follow paleo ideas also, avoiding grains - wheat, corn, etc.

Beach said:

I was eventually able to figure out that eggs and chicken are problems foods. They consistently created tongue sores. After avoiding the two foods the tongue sores went away after a couple days. It took awhile though for my gut to heal. After being on the chicken free diet for a few months, and now since the beginning of the year, I've found myself well to the stomach much more often than I've been ill. It's a pleasant relief. I'm working on figuring out the other trigger food(s).

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I sufferred needlessly for years with a dairy allergy, I'm sure a Lot of the pain and bloating I attributed to Crohn's was in fact my dairy allergy.

I have a friend who is allergic to fowl. Are you sensitive to other birds like turkey etc?:ycool:

Crohn's gal since 1989 said:

I sufferred needlessly for years with a dairy allergy, I'm sure a Lot of the pain and bloating I attributed to Crohn's was in fact my dairy allergy.

I have a friend who is allergic to fowl. Are you sensitive to other birds like turkey etc?:ycool:

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Interesting about your friend having an allergy to fowl. I might be similar.

Since the beginning of the year I've been questioning if turkey causes problems or not. If it is a problematic food it is a slight problem. I wouldn't be as reactive to it as I appear to be with eggs and chicken. I can eat some turkey and not be ill to the gut, or see sores form.

In the last week I've begun avoiding turkey once again (along with a few other items). I'm doing well. As funny as this sounds avoiding turkey isn't terribly easy for me. It has been a staple in my diet, as I'll purchase turkey lunch eat for a quick meal. I think though I better avoid all bird for a few months and see if that improves the gut further.

Everybody has different reactions. There is no universal food group that causes problems in Crohns. Keeping a food diary is an excellent idea, that's what I had to do.

Dairy and red meats don't cause problems in me, but any saturated fat in liquid form does. I had to be careful of butters and exercise extreme moderation of fried foods. After my resectional I had trouble keeping food in my system, but I discovered that Grape Nuts cereal helps a lot to aid the digesting of nutrients in my digestive system. If I miss the Grape Nuts for breakfast I pay the price the rest of the day.