Archive for the ‘Colitis Diet Articles’ Category

When I was growing up, I remember my parents used to occassionally “fast”. I had no clue as to what all this was about and I when learned exactly what it entailed, it did not sound like much fun to a young boy.

Yet, after a long weekend of fasting, I remember that they would be singing the praises of not eating. It seemed like a renewal, a boost to their whole self, the process of cleansing the body to toxins. During the fasts, they drank a lot of water and a mix of honey, lemon and hot water.

I was reminded of this when I came across an article about how fasting can have very beneficial effects for those sufering from a variety of illnesses and diseases. Now, we know that when a colitis relapse happens, the intake of food can be drastically reduced, even eliminated for a period, but what about when a period of remission is being enjoyed. Ever considered that a period of fasting, just for a few days, could give the body respite from the demands placed upon it? It could give respite from your colitis symptoms?

There has been quite a few results of various investigations and surveys undertaken by medical professionals but one really caught my eye and I think that everyone can relate to.

It is about contrasting the Northern European/American diet with that of the Southern European diet. Here is an extract of the investigation’s findings:

“People who eat lots of red meat, cook with certain types of oil, and use some kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-heavy margarines may be increasing their risk of a painful inflammatory bowel disease, a study in more than 200,000 Europeans shows.
These foods are high in linoleic acid and the study have found that people who were the heaviest consumers of this omega-6 PUFA were more than twice as likely to develop colitis as those who consumed the least.

Dr. Andrew Hart of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and his colleagues also found that eating more eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega 3 fatty acid found in fish and fish oils, was associated with a lower risk of the disease.

While people need a certain amount of linoleic acid to survive, Hart noted in an interview with Reuters Health, excess amounts are taken up into the lining of the colon, and if they’re released, they can promote inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acid, he added, does the opposite. “It basically dampens down inflammation,” he explained.

Their analysis included 203,193 men and women 30 to 74 years old. During follow-up, which ranged from about 2 to 11 years, 126 people developed ulcerative colitis.

People in the top quartile of linoleic acid intake (they were consuming around 13 to 38 grams a day) were 2.5 times more likely to have developed the disease than people who consumed the least, about 2 to 8 grams daily.

There’s currently no proven dietary treatment for ulcerative colitis, Hart noted, but the current findings raise the possibility that eating a diet low in linoleic acid could be helpful.

While a Western-style, red-meat-heavy diet is high in this fatty acid and low in omega-3s, Hart noted, a more Mediterranean style eating pattern — with plenty of fruits and vegetables, fish, and nut oils — would be low in linoleic acid and high in omega-3.

He estimated that if omega-3s do help prevent ulcerative colitis, eating a couple of servings of fish a week would probably be protective.”

So what to make of this study?

Well, we know that increasing the consumption of fish is to be incouraged as part of a healthy balanced diet and is particularly good for the heart and blood. Add to that the possibility of it reducing the likelihood of inflammation then introducing some more fish into your weekly diet is something that you should seriously consider.

Take a look at the amount of red meat that you eat. And whilst it does have health benefits, it too can appear detrimental if consumed in higher quantities. Just like a lot of foods really.

There is a huge amount of information that is available for sufferers to condense about the subject of the most appropriate colitis diet and whether there exists special proven diets that have the potential to improve a suffers health to the point that the disease is cured. So much information, yet how much of it is relevant and required?

There is confusion between what you should eat whilst the symptoms are in remission mode and whether that should all change when a relapse occurs. For a sufferer, when a relapse hits the sole intention is to ensure that you do everything that you can to assist your passage through the relapse and not antagonise it in any way through diet and subsequently further discomfort and prolonged symptoms for yourself. It is for you to experiment here. It is important to try different foods and in differing quantities until you can create a diet that will suit you.

There is no set colitis diet that you must and must not follow. There are some diets that are proclaimed to bring mild symptoms under control within days. It is prudent to approach such claims with an open mind and some caution. You will soon find what will work best for you. It is prudent to seek out what foods create consequences for the bowel activity that could easily be avoided. In contrast, there are foods that are generally accepted to slow down bowel activity or at least not provoke it.

In the depths of a full blown relapse, eating is not really high up the agenda due to the overall feeling of tiredness and discomfort. There will be times where the last thing that you wish to do is eat. It is not that you are not hungry, but because by going to the toilet so much and it is painful to do so, eating would only create more stools to pass, so it would be yet more trips to the toilet and more discomfort to endure. Yet the body requires fuel to fight the relapse. It amazes people how fast someone’s weight can fall during a relapse. It does happen and therefore you must be aware of the fact and ensure you at least try and slow down the weight loss.

It is also important to ensure that the body takes on adequate amounts of liquid, particularly during a relapse. The passing of diarrhoea using up a lot of liquid and this has to be replaced. It is not uncommon for those in the midst of a relapse to have experience of some level of dehydration due to insufficient liquid intake. And water is the best for this. There are those who advocate other drinks as supplements etc, but in the end all you need is a regular intake of water.

There is no need to spend hours wading through countless information sources or being attracted by the shiny silver bullets of miracle diets that are being made available. The soundest piece of advice is listen to your own body and seek out the proven experience of others who have the knowledge of their own colitis diet and have used it to reduce their symptoms and ensure their successful coping with daily life with colitis and adapt it for your own circumstances.

As anyone with colitis knows, there is always a question mark over what foods to consume and what diet to follow whether you are in either remission or suffering from a relapse. A real challenge appears when the patient encounters a period of relapse where the inflammation of the colon becomes active and eating presents a painful problem.

It is of course essential that during a relapse the patient maintains some food intake to provide the fuel to fight the disease. Continual pain, physical and mental tiredness all take their toll and without a planned colitis diet to follow during this testing period, the patient will become even weaker and may not have the sufficient residual strength to fight the attack. Weight will be lost, that is inevitable, as the daily intake of food is reduced quite considerably so it is vital to establish a colitis diet that works for the patient and to try and stick to it.

There requires to be a level of consumption of food that will sustain the patient yet not create the problem of increasing the frequency of painful toilet visits that are already having to be endured. Waste that requires to be evacuated has to pass over the inflamed part of the colon which creates discomfort and pain for the patient. So the balancing act is between sustaining the nourishment for the patient yet trying to reduce to a minimum any further resultant pain and discomfort.

A colitis diet during a relapse should thus avoid large portions plus any food that has the tendency to create intestinal gas. Strong flavoured such as foods with herbs and spices should be avoided as should anything high in acid content. As small portions will be about all the patient can manage, there should be a tendency for higher calorie food to be consumed which can in fact take the form of snacks rather than set meals. This is not a time to worry about putting on weight by eating foods with a high calorific content. The patient’s problem will be trying to stem the weight loss. Plus, the maxim of consuming a certain amount of fresh fruit and vegetables per day does not have to be part of a colitis diet during a relapse.

If during the height of the relapse, the patient feels too unwell to take much food if any, there are special drink supplements available which contain vitamins and minerals and are regarded as food substitutes where the patient still benefits from the intake of such without having to physically eat.

Through trying different foods, the patient will be able to create their own colitis diet for the periods that they endure a relapse. The target is a small but constant supply of nourishment without an unacceptable increase in the amount of painful toilet visits. It is vitally important that the sufferer is able to eat at anytime whether they are suffering from a relapse or in remission. By gaining from the experience for others they will be able to create their own diet plan and then review it periodically. You now have the opportunity to gain such experience from a survivor at The Colitis Experience