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What should i stay away from?

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Samantha22

Guest
what should i stay away from?

This is actually sams BF. Sam just found out she had chron's on saturday and i was wondering if you can give us some foods that she should stay away from? Drinks to...
 
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Jvstin

Guest
well, as far as drinks go, all sodas really. I sneak a soda every once in a while, but it's really something that should be dodged.
as for foods,
popcorn, peanuts, anything with seeds like tomatoes, peppers, sesame seed buns, skinned fruits and lettuce (some people can tolerate it, though).
there's alot more I'm sure that will be posted, but I'm a picky eater anyway so that's mainly what I stay away from because that's what I used to love.
I can tolerate tomatoes fairly at times, usually just on burgers, but I don't seem to digest lettuce to well.
popcorn and peanuts are just asking for trouble, those are always a big No-No.
 

Kev

Senior Member
Welcome Samantha and Samantha's boyfriend. Does she know your posting this? :) nice of you to take an interest in her health issue. Its sort of a good/bad news thing. The bad news is that crohn's is incurable, but the good news is that it isn't deadly, and she has the rest of her life to figure out what her particular diet restrictions are. Jvstin offers some good general guidelines, and there are various websites that offer more dos/don't on the dietary front. I heartlily recommend finding a good nutrition counselor/dietician who specializes in IBD diets IF you can find/afford one. But if you can't, a little online research at sites like the CCFA should lead you to self help resources. Another thing I'd recommend is keeping a daily diary/journal on meds, diet, etc.. Our bodies have the ability to teach us what it likes, and more importantly, what it doesn't.
We just have to train ourselves to listen. some folks go to very extreme diets, like totally gluten free, or the specific carb diet. Only time/trial will tell if that's what Sam has to do. My own diet is low fat, low lactose, low fibre, low residue and hi protein. But everyone is unique. I'm afraid Sam will have to initially go thru a little/lot of trial and error. that's what makes the diary so valuable. okay? Anyway, once again, welcome. Hope sam makes out ok, and here's hoping she doesn't react badly when she discovers you posted on here under her name.. and that we get to see you both on here again in the future (if you survive) ;-)
 
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Samantha22

Guest
LOL. Ya i told her i did this. She seems ok with it. She will be on eventually. She is busy with nursing school and just life in general but i know she will make it through. She is a very strong individual.
 

Kev

Senior Member
OK, so your life isn't in jeopardy. Now that you've read my serious reply to your question, how about a less than serious one. What should you avoid? "My EX, unless you're driving a steam roller!"
 
You might start off with a low fiber diet, then add other stuff to it and record how you react to it. Like Kev said keep a journal. This is probably overall the least painful way to go about figuring out your diet.
 
yep, i would recommend keeping away from zombies, definitely lol

another few things to possibly add to the no-no list - pineapple, sweetcorn, and greasy foods. oh, and really spicy foods too, until you've tried and proved that you're ok with them.
 
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Gemma

Guest
i find that i cant eat all of the above but the food that does it for me is mushrooms, they bloat my stomach and make me have really bad cramps for and for days after i cant stay away from the loo.
 
i'm fine with baked beans - but yes, mushrooms - another no-no for me. and i used to love them too, in fact my fave veggies were mushrooms, sweetcorn & potato wedges with the skins on, none of which i can have any more :(
 
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Shane

Guest
I'm fine with mushrooms. Perhaps we could do a swap, your beans for my mushrooms.
 
ice cream

I have found that ice cream really upsets my stomach. I went to hockey game and had dippin dots and that upset my stomach within minutes. I have found that frozen yogurt and sherbet don't bother me though.
I never could drink a full glass of milk in one sitting, so I am not going to try that now, but cheese seems to be ok with me.

Basically, my doctor told me when I started, no corn, popcorn, dairy, or fiber of any kind. He told me to stick with meats and carbs for a little while. Chicken salad sandwiches and chicken without anything on it were my staple for about two weeks. Then I tried other things, but everyone is right. It is just a trial and error sort of thing.
 
Shane said:
I'm fine with mushrooms. Perhaps we could do a swap, your beans for my mushrooms.
lol i'm not giving up my baked beans - my staple diet when i cant be bothered cooking, but i will share them with you :D

love your avatar by the way. i need to get myself one, really... k, next job on the list of 101 things to do....
 
re: mushrooms. my wife is the one with with Crohn's She can handle mushrooms fine, (canned,not fresh) the fresh really bloat, and make her miserable, but tomatoes? she can't handle those at all. We still have pizza but with no sauce. It has really changed the way I eat too. Some of the other things she tolerates well are shrimp,shellfish,pretty much any kind of fish, really. peanut butter,pasta or ramen noodles,white bread or homeade rolls. Oh and of course we eat alot,ALOT of chicken
 
I stay away from whatever hurts me lol. I think its different for everyone but I guess my main nemesis would be ONIONS.

OMG THE PAIN.
 
My Crohns is ever-evolving I swear....my worst foods seem to change weekly, and unfortunately I don't get a copy of the bulletin. Damn disease is always plotting.
 
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frozenkefir

Guest
This is what works for me. I also recommended some foods I really think are working for me well.

I feel these are the worst foods for me to eat, especially when sick:


Alcohol/Soda/Sugary drinks (laxative...alcohol actually burns me when I drink it)

Most candy/Gum...even "sugar free" since they have sugar alcohols that act as laxatives.

Granola (had a bad experience with this)

Table Sugar (I'd use honey instead)

Popcorn (seems like it could actually get stuck due to texture and cause blockage)

Dairy (Milk, butter, American Cheese...may be due to the lactose also)

Whole Nuts (texture issue, just seem too hard, crunchy and sharp...almond butter/cashew butter/peanut butter would be safer)

Orange Juice (too acidic, laxative effect for me)

Fast food & Junk Food (McDonalds, Potato Chips, etc)

Fried and Deep Fried Foods

Coffee (laxative effect for me)

Frozen Convenience Food (Hot pockets, Pot Pies, etc)

Some fruits are actually irritating (especially dried fruits, raisins, grapes, prunes...I think it is because they are concentrated in sugar very highly)

I avoid bread also but if you do eat bread dont buy ones with nuts/seeds/7 grain...probably too much roughage for the system.

These seem to be very safe for me:

Beverages

Water - probably should be drinking this anyway even if not sick

Dole Pineapple Juice - has no added sugar, can dilute to make it less sweet

Weak tea - I only drink Green Tea brewed for only 1-3 minutes anymore. Some other safe teas that are soothing are Chamomile, Peppermint, Ginger tea...especially Ginger.

Food

Well Ripened Bananas - safest fruit IMO...helps bowel movements also. Most Crohn's books I read always recommend well-ripened bananas heheh.

Hard Boiled Eggs - I know they have a lot of cholesterol, but the protein is great and I cant really eat grains so cereal is off limits for me for breakfast. Fried eggs are a little bit tougher to eat because of the grease.

Baked Fish - I prefer wild Alaskan salmon due to low mercury and high omega-3s.

Natural Peanut or Almond butter - if you can handle this you can get a lot of calories from it and they make really healthy kinds with omega-3s. Great on celery.

Blueberries - I prefer frozen, seems to help my digestion a lot. I'd recommend other berries but some have a lot of seeds...I do eat them sometimes but when sick something like blackberries might be hard to digest because they are fully loaded with seeds.

Frozen Fruit Mix - Lots on the market without added sugar...go for fruits like pineapple, mangoes, peaches, strawberries...great if you are craving something sweet.

Honey - I'm not saying eat this by the spoonfuls but if you need to sweeten something it seems to be less irritating than using table sugar or those sugar alcohols. I'd say Stevia as some other posters like it a lot but it is really bitter in some things...its okay on fruit I guess but I tried it in tea and it was really inferior to honey in terms of taste.



I don't eat any complex carbs, but when I did I thought these were the least irritating:


Baked potato

Steamed rice
 
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Don't worry about dietary cholesterol so much, it's not nearly as unhealthy as it was made out to be a couple decades ago, other dietary variables have greater effect on blood cholesterol levels, especially trans fatty acids.
 
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frozenkefir

Guest
BWS1982 said:
Don't worry about dietary cholesterol so much, it's not nearly as unhealthy as it was made out to be a couple decades ago, other dietary variables have greater effect on blood cholesterol levels, especially trans fatty acids.
Ah, thanks, thats good to know. I get a lot of criticism from family members when I eat a lot of eggs. They are always scaring me and telling me I'm playing with the cardiac arrest and the atherosclerotic plaque... :ybatty:
 
Yeah don't worry about what your family says. Do what's best for you. Most people have no clue what's healthy and what's not so they go by what the media put's out this week which is not always true. Many of the studies they do are not done well and really are just inconclusive. Keep away from trans fatty acids and you will be okay.
 
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