Thank you Darrin for the wonderful newsletter you forwarded. And so children today's lesson will be centered on one of our most daunting adversaries, food! Yes we love it for what it tastes like but we hate it for what it does to our bodies yet sadly we need it otherwise we get stuck with a tube and an IV needle. And so ladies and gentlemen I present you with Best foods for those of us with an IBD. Enjoy!
Best foods for IBDs (source-Best Foods for Crohn's Disease)
1. Wild Salmon: Who can resist the succulent taste of the highly nutritious and tasty red meat of the king of freshwater fish, the salmon. It does cost a bit more than your off the shelf can of tuna but it's oh so worth it for the occasional meal as it not only soothes and stimulates your taste buds but also provides a healthy boost of Omega-3 & vitamins A,D,E and K. All highly valuable in fighting inflammation and giving us a healthy boost of much needed vitamins.
2. Yogurt: What else needs to be said? It provides calcium in a safe, easy to handle, easy to digest format and you can even make it tasty by adding additional ingredients to it. Keep in mind that plain yogurt works best as the colorful one, although tasty and fun to look at tends to lack the same amount of nutritious qualities that your body needs.
3. Smooth Nut Butters: I'm talking about peanut butter, almond butter, soy nut butter, not... FOCUS PEOPLE! The dating post was several posting back! Yes smooth nut butters work wonders, they are easy to digest, high in protein and best of all you can spread them on bread, tortillas, pita bread, flat bread, crackers, cookies or eat it with a spoon. They also provide fiber, vitamin E, niacin and calories for those of you struggling to gain weight.
4. Eggs: Yes eggs. I love them although I know that some people are kind of put off by them, but please hear me out! Eggs have iron, and plenty of protein they also have vitamin D and lecithin which is helpful in helping your body absorb vitamins A,D,E and K. But remember everything in moderation as too many eggs can lead to high cholesterol and we have enough problems to have to worry about that as well.
5. Whole Grain Pasta: Now pasta is bad to me, I love it but it's bad to me. However I also love to put stuff in it that may be the reason it's bad to me. Disregarding my own personal experiences with the devilishly heavenly stuff it is a great source of vitamin B. However it also has a good amount of fiber so please eat it, enjoy it but always in moderation.
6. Fresh Lean Beef: Need I say more? Beef is good, unless you have qualms against eating anything with a name that looks kinda cute and adorable on Far Side cartoons. But that aside it tastes good. It's also a great source of iron, calcium and vitamin B-12, minerals and vitamins that us that bleed a lot need a lot more of than our "normal" peers. But once again, in moderation. (I see a theme here.)
7. Potatoes, White and Sweet: Both sweet potatoes and white potatoes are dynamic and versatile foods that are a staple in our diet, whether at breakfast, lunch, or dinner you will probably have one or the other of this wonderful food with you main course, unless the potato is your main meal. Personally it's my number one comfort food. Oh hash browns how I love thee.... But back to the potato. It is also a great source of beta-carotene (sweet potato) and of vitamin C and potassium (potato. Just remember that boiled or baked works best, although fried is sooooooooooo much more tasty... but yes baked or boiled... baked or boiled...
8. Steel-Cut Oats: I like to stay away from anything that says oats since they enjoy to play rugby with my colon, however it is a great source of soluble fiber, slow-release, high-quality carbohydrates and you can put little pieces of apple or other fruits that you can pretend are marshmallows and feel like a kid again. It's a great breakfast food that you can make with water or give it an extra kick using milk, soy milk, rice milk or my favorite, almond milk.
9. Calcium and Vitamin D-Rich Milk: This is a tricky one as many of us cannot digest regular cow milk without the help of lactose pills. Therefore I recommend that you stock up on Lactaid pills or the equivalent if you wish to enjoy a nice cool glass of milk. There is an alternative as lactose free milk is now more readily available than anywhere in almost all major supermarket as well as several smaller ones. If cow's milk doesn't do it for you, lactose free or not, there is also calcium fortified soy, rice and almond milk. Due to malabsorption, calcium absorption and other issues I do recommend that you increase your calcium and vitamin D intake using one of these great avenues, that is unless you like talking a cocktail of supplements each and every morning.
10. Vitamin C-Rich Foods: Once again vitamin C is the key word. Unfortunately we do not absorb the required amount of it due to our GI system throwing a hissy fit and not wanting to play ball with the rest of the body. Therefore it is very important that you get this wonderful vitamin by eating whichever foods are high in it. Vitamin C is also incredibly helpful in aiding the absorption of iron into the body which is a great boon for us anemics out there. However I will add a caveat and say that I disagree with the original author's suggestions. It was stated that citrus fruits, brussel sprouts, broccoli and bell peppers should be sought to aid in this however those may harm some of us while not affect others. So be cautious in regards to fruits and vegetables. I love citrus but sometimes it can bee too much to digest, the solution is get a Juicer! All of the benefit and flavor without any of the seeds and stringy, fiber like stuff that could rub my colon raw. I cook with bell peppers for flavor but I make sure that they are really soft and can be cut with a paper napkin before eating them as that ensures that it would be easier to digest and run through the intestines. As for broccoli, as much as I love it the threat of gas and the pain that it brings upon me is far to great to risk eating more than an accidental nibble.
This list is in now way exhaustive and should only be seen as suggested foods and not as a definitive guideline. Use moderation and do a test run of foods using small portions in order to see how your body reacts to it before trying it. And as always please consult with you physician before making any substantial changes to you diet and please be aware of any and all food allergies you may have.
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