If you have Crohn’s disease, you may have noticed which foods trigger your intestinal symptoms, especially during a flare-up. Learning to avoid these food triggers and finding the best diet for your digestive health may allow you to better self-manage your Crohn's disease, reduce gastrointestinal symptoms, and promote intestinal healing.
Crohn’s disease is one of the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease along with ulcerative colitis. Both of them entail an immune reaction against the intestinal tract. Crohn's will often inflame the small intestine, which can cause diarrhea and belly pain. This can lead to a loss of appetite, and the inflammation makes it harder for your body to absorb nutrients from the food you do eat.
There are surgical options for Crohn's that remove part of your intestines and can help with your absorption problem.
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There are multiple diet plans for Crohn's disease, but the fact is, there is no proven diet for IBD. Although this is true, most healthcare providers believe that some patients can identify certain foods that trigger their symptoms, especially during disease flares.
If you avoid triggering foods, your symptoms of gas, bloating, abdominal pain, cramping, and diarrhea are more manageable. This will also give your inflamed intestines time to heal.
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If your body has problems absorbing nutrients due to Crohn's disease, it's important to follow a high-calorie, high-protein diet, even when you don't feel like eating.
In this setting, an effective Crohn's disease diet plan would emphasize eating regular meals plus an additional two or three snacks every day. This will make sure your body gets enough protein, calories, and nutrients.
What is the best diet for digestive health?
Foods You Should Avoid:
Different foods will trigger different people when it comes to Crohn’s Disease. In order to know what foods to avoid, you need to know what triggers you specifically. Many realize that the foods on this list will give them a hard time during flare-ups.
Here’s a list of foods that could potentially trigger you:
- Alcohol (mixed drinks, beer, wine)
- Butter, mayonnaise, margarine, oils
- Carbonated beverages
- Coffee, tea, chocolate
- Corn
- Dairy products (if lactose intolerant)
- Fatty foods (fried foods)
- Foods high in fiber
- Gas-producing foods (lentils, beans, legumes, cabbage, broccoli, onions)
- Nuts and seeds (peanut butter, other nut butters)
- Raw fruits
- Raw vegetables
- Red meat and pork
- Spicy foods
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Now that you know what foods can trigger your Crohns, you can either avoid them or find new ways of preparing them that won’t harm you. This will entail a lot of experimenting with different recipes to find out what works best for you. If you realize that certain raw veggies are giving you a hard time, try to steam or boil them.
Instead of ground red meat try a leaner cut of beef. Ultimately, foods like nuts, raw fruits, seeds, and raw vegetables will become your best friend because they are as light as it gets when it comes to other food options.
Having Crohn’s Disease doesn’t mean that you can never enjoy good food. You just have to take the time to find out what you like and what won’t harm your body.
