Anyone else have ulcerative colitis, chron's or other IBD?

[Pan]

Hey everyone,

I've been reading a lot of good advice about diet and supplements on this forum and I wondered if anyone else suffers from any form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (inflammation of the lower part of the colon with ulcers) 14 months ago, and it's made me realise a lot more about the importance of diet. My diet was never atrocious, but I've really had to clean it up in the last year. The doctor just told me to avoid fibre as it irritates the colon, but I did some research and found out about the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) Info here: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/ And it seems to be a much more nutritious approach to managing IBD.

The main reason for posting here is to find out if anyone else is in the same situation? I can train pretty hard most of time unless I get a flare, but sometimes I feel my performance is hindered. Also, according to this diet, protein powders aren't allowed. I wouldn't have whey powder anyway due to the lactose content, but I got some unflavoured, organic hemp protein just to try it and I could tolerate the taste (just about), but my gut wasn't so keen on it, so I had to nip that one in the bud.

Does anyone know of a good way to get some post-training protein which doesn't include lactose or gluten? Obviously I'm getting through a lot of lean meats, fish and eggs, but just wondered if anyone else manages without protein supplements.

Thanks for your time

Pan

[Greg W]

Yes, my wife has had it for years now. SCD and breaking the cycle are what she uses. She has been on the diet for a year now and just got back from a week at Mayo clinic. Many, many, tests later they said she was in remission(sp?). I have self diagnosed IBD and have also been on a slightly less strict version of the diet and see get results. Start it now and don't cheat. Very difficult to pull of 100% without strong support and dedication, but results can be good.

This diet should provide plenty of protien with all the nuts,eggs,meat that are consumed. No normal athlete should need anymore than you get from this food. The amount of peanut butter my wife eats alone is enough to fuel Hulk Hogan!!

Plus, get a goat share so you can get goats milk and make your own yogurt. A fruit and goats milk smoothie is way better than any protein shake on the market for useable protein.

[rock d]

Research the Paleo Diet, and how what you eat can trigger auto-immune problems. Robb Wolf and Chris Kresser have podcasts that deal with related topics. People write in every week and they go over the science and solutions. A good place to start.

It's really important to study the biochemsitry of nutrition so that you actually understand what is going on, not just believing "eat this or that". You can't supplement your way out.

http://robbwolf.com/podcast/
http://chriskresser.com/category/podcasts
http://undergroundwellness.com/podca...-lps-toxicity/

[Greg W]

Research the Paleo Diet, and how what you eat can trigger auto-immune problems. Robb Wolf and Chris Kresser have podcasts that deal with related topics. People write in every week and they go over the science and solutions. A good place to start.

It's really important to study the biochemsitry of nutrition so that you actually understand what is going on, not just believing "eat this or that". You can't supplement your way out.

http://robbwolf.com/podcast/
http://chriskresser.com/category/podcasts
http://undergroundwellness.com/podca...-lps-toxicity/

SCD and breaking the vicious cycle are very similar to paleo. In philosophy and results. Paleo misses a few things when it comes to UC. These may or may not effect your UC. Study them all.

[James III]

I have indirect experience of this from a family member who suffered from this also. What you really need to look at is probiotics. You need to heavily research the gut glora and how to repair it and help it flourish again. For that you need quality fermented foods and to avoid things which disrupt and damage your gut flora. Once the natural balance has been restored you should see a substantial improvement if not a 100% recovery providing the problem is located only in the gut. By that I mean you have no other problems elsewhere in your body that is contributing to it.

For protein I would recommend Spirilina and sproated mung beans.

It's a very big topic so sorry I cannot elaborate too much. I wish you luck in your research.

[Pan]

Thanks for your replies, guys. Good to know other people are controlling their situations through diet too.

[Kurzy]

Diet is everything. I was going to recommend you read about the Paleo Solution as well, but I also wanted to mention that in the Paleo SOlution, Robb Wolf basically says that peanut butter does nothing more than build up on the inside or your arteries, so Greg W, maybe check that book out just for the sake of being cautious and preservation of your wifes health.
I'm not saying to stop eating it, I'm jus'sayin'....

[Greg W]

We read and use the paleo solution, nothing is perfect and with UC the diet is so restrictive just finding stuff to eat is difficult, peanut butter is allowed in both the UC diets we use but not the paleo. The UC diets contain very little items that contain fat. The ones that do are real expensive, difficult to obtain, or difficult to eat. Peanut butter is allowed and cheap and easy and tasty. Mayo clinics one major concern about my wife's diet was not enough fat intake. So we made the choice to include peanut butter in her diet. We also eat black/white beans which paleo does not allow, but do not eat potatoes/sweet potatoes that paleo allows, beacause they basically turn into sugars and promote bad bacterial growth in the digestive tract. Also, my wife just does not like or eat red meat dispite trying very hard, So we have to make adjustments/decisions. Our Chiropractor is 100% paleo and reccomends it to his patients and his wife is a trained professional diet coach that teaches paleo diets to people across the country. He has reviewed our diets, along with Mayo clinic and agree with our current diet choices for UC. Kurzy, have you read and studied the SCD and "breaking the vicious cycle diet"?

[Paul Hughes]

I've suffered from IBS since I was a teenager. I know it isn't the same thing but it's bowel related so thought I'd throw in my experiences.

When I first went to the Dr about it I had a series of blood tests to basically eliminate all the major issues. Apparently IBS is diagnosed when they can't find anything else wrong with you. So once I was diagnosed they put me on these drinks (if you can call them that) which was basically like drinking a glass of froth that tastes like dirt so I tapped out after like 2 days of them. I basically just kept a diary of my diet and ate as I normally would for a weak to see what fucked my insides up.

10 years on and I still live with it but I have it under control 90% of the time. I find mine usually flares up if I stray from my diet, i.e. at the weekends when I get too much grease in my system. For example I diet Monday-Friday night then eat whatever I want over the weekend. So if I am to eat a pizza on friday night, I know I have to be a little more controlled on Saturday and watch my grease intake. If I have greasy foods 2/3 days in a row then it will really flare up for a few days.
In the rare case that I have a flare up now, I definitely can't train for fear of shitting myself on the mat if I try to power out of something! However I have tablets called 'Spasmonal' which my nan gave me actually and they seem to work a treat if I do have a flare up.

My advice to you from my experience would be to watch your grease intake and if you do have a flare up try and eat bland for a few days. I like to go for chicken salads, pasta and try to avoid sauces for at least a couple of days after.

In regards to protein snacks, have you though of stuff like beef jerky or protein bars? Not sure how good them protein bars are for you but just throwing it out there.

Hope this helps dude.

[Michael Sioda]

Hey Pan,

I've had UC for 20 years now & I've learned a lot along the way. It is all about diet. I was off & on again with Prednisone for 10 years before I took my diet seriously. None of my doctors really gave me good advice on what to eat & somehow it never occurred to me to look it up online - although the internet was not as obvious of a choice in 1993!

Think, soft foods, natural foods, healthy foods & lots of hydration!

Supplements (every day): Isopure Protein powder. Whole Husk Psyllium (Organic India makes the best, it doesn't taste like anything). You can take Imodium AD when flaring, it can be a life saver! But seriously don't overdue it, it will cause other unpleasant side effects.

Drinks to avoid: alcohol, soda. I can get away with beers once a week or so, but every day soda will ruin you!

Food to avoid (hard, abrasive, processed & tough foods): ALL fast food, fried food, pizza, red meat, ham, bacon, hard nuts, crackers, seeds, chips, pretzels, granola.

Best to eat: Fruits & vegges (the softer the better - like spinach/peas), salad - every fucking day if you can, no joke. Soup...not out of can, not Ramen noodles. Soup is awesome, it lets your system rest, really try to get some the meal before or after a heavy meal or a cheat meal.

Carbs to eat: Rice/potato/Quinoa - pasta is OK but avoid eating too much (its heavier).

Protein: Fish, chicken, and like a vegetarian try the vege-patties. I like Morning Star brand vege-sausage & vege-chicken.

Also SUPER important is portion size. Eat 5x/day, not 3 big meals. That is good advise for anyone but 10x as important for us. We overload our digestive system when we eat huge heavy meals & it stresses our UC. It really sucks when its Thanksgiving or whatever & everyone over-eats. In that case I try to eat as much salad, fruits etc before the big meal so that I have less room for the heavy foods, it works for me.

Best of luck, any questions, hit me up!