Diet, Diet, Diet!

Following my diagnosis of Crohn´s in Paris, I was put on an elimination diet. After discovering what was causing my symptoms of bloody mucous stools, diarrhoea and drastic weight loss; I firstly had to follow a treatment of anti-inflammatories and steroids to quickly halt the bleeding and bring me back to health in the short term. Subsequently, to make sure the symptoms stopped in the long term, it was necessary for me make drastic lifestyle changes. This was imperative in order to be able to manage my illness on a daily basis without having to resort to taking more steroids and to avoid further hospitalisation.

A Chron’s sufferer´s digestive system is very delicate and cannot tolerate certain foods. To discover what I would be able to continue eating in the future without causing my intestines any more harm, the only option was to follow an elimination diet for several months. This was my only option to understand how my handicapped digestive system works and how to keep it well oiled in future.

So what´s an elimination diet?

An elimination diet involves totally removing the majority of what you would normally eat on a daily basis and sticking to a very bland diet, whilst slowly reintroducing a different type of food on a weekly basis. Each time a new type of food is introduced, the digestive reactions provoked indicate if you can tolerate that food stuff or not and whether you should include it or eliminate it from your daily diet in the future.

My elimination diet consisted of fish or white meat (mainly chicken or turkey) steamed or grilled, accompanied by boiled or steamed potatoes, white rice or pasta for several weeks. As I followed this bland diet, I slowly began to introduce different ingredients to my meals and after months of tests and trials, I finally knew which foods caused my gut the most irritation.

Not being able to eat a bowl of your favourite ice cream or munch on a chocolate digestive biscuit, or even eat something much more natural and healthy, like an apple, whenever you feel like it, is horrible. But in spite of how frustrating it is being on an elimination diet and how depressing it can be, I highly recommend trying it. The elimination process gives great results and a lot of help to those (recently) diagnosed with Chron´s or Colitis, and to those who are not sure what they should or should not eat. Elimination diets are also indispensable when a Chron´s sufferer is experiencing a flare-up, as it is essential not to aggravate a flare-up and cause any extra damage to the intestinal wall, because all damage caused to the intestinal lining is totally irreversible! Steroids and anti-inflammatories can stop symptoms in the short-term, however, they cannot repair, nor cure the scar tissue digestive ulcerations cause in the digestive tract.

There are lots of studies about what causes the symptoms in Crohn´s and Colitis, there are theories about lactose and gluten intolerance being the main causes, however, there is nothing better than knowing what affects you personally and how to deal with it, as everyone is different. Although I have Chron´s disease, I can eat garlic and onions and raw vegetables, and I love salads. However, this doesn’t mean that another person with Chron´s and the same symptoms as I have, will be able to eat the same foods.

A good book to read is Living with Crohn’s Disease by Dr Joan Gomez, which looks at Crohn’s disease and the related condition, ulcerative colitis. It explains what they are, who suffers from them, diagnosis, treatments (including side effects), day-to-day management and self help. The book helps you plan your own diet and contains examples of diets including an elimination diet.