What is the Best Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disease that consists of two types of diseases that cause inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. There are 2 problems which are very common, one is Crohn’s disease and the other is Ulcerative colitis. In Crohn’s disease, the inflammation appears in marks in the Gl tract from the anus to the mouth. In ulcerative colitis, there is an inflammation and marks appear consistently along the small intestine and colon.

No definite list of foods is available that can flare the IBD in a person. But foods do have a positive & a negative effect on our bodies. One food can flare IBD symptoms in one person and the other one shows no symptoms. You have to stick to certain foods when you are flaring up, and when you come out of it you can widen your diet chart, but some foods are there that has to be given up for your whole life.

Sometimes your digestive system is not able to digest certain foods or absorb the nutrients that your body requires to function properly. Many people change their diet, some stop eating some foods that aggravate their symptoms. It might help you with IBD symptoms but your body doesn’t get the nutrients it requires to work and this thing can lead to some serious problems.

• No diet finds a special mention when healing of IBD comes to the fore. But still, some people can manage certain symptoms with dietary changes. They eat a low fiber diet like
• Eating small, but more frequent meals.
• Eat vitamins and nutritious supplements.

Avoid foods that trigger the IBD like fatty & fried foods, spicy foods, meats, dairy products, and fiber-rich foods that cause abdominal pain, bloating, cramping and diarrhea.

Crohn’s disease patients may not be able to tolerate dairy products because they are intolerant to milk. They become more prone to nutritional deficiencies because the intestines lack the power to absorb nutrients. If you have IBD, then better consult a doctor for your diet that you should eat and what to avoid.

In a few people with IBD vouch not to eat certain foods that trigger their flare-ups. The foods that one must avoid in IBD are

• Fatty, fried foods
• Spicy foods
• Meats
• Creamy sauces
• High-fiber foods, including raw fruits and vegetables
• Nuts, seeds, and beans
• Beverages Caffeinated
• Sweets including candy, soda, and juice
• Alcohol
• Bran, granola, or whole-wheat choices
• Cereals with raisins or other dried fruits or nuts
• Concentrated sweets such as juices, candy, and soda
• Brown rice, barley
• Corn, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage

If you are lactose intolerant, avoid dairy products. Restrict lactose-containing foods like milk, cheese, etc. if you feel to have gas, cramping or diarrhea after eating these foods. Restrict gas-producing foods such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, dried peas and lentils, chives, onions, and peppers. You can also reduce tension by practicing regular relaxation techniques.

Exercise more regularly and daily.

Aim for 20-30 grams of fiber every day.

Better eat a low-fat diet. This will help in reducing intestinal contractions that happen right after you have eaten your meals. Keep a diary or record of foods eaten and stay alert at which triggers the symptoms, it might help you detect patterns that show problem foods.

People who suffer from ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease usually find it difficult to get their daily nutritional requirements fulfilled because of their disease. Both vitamins and nutrients can help provide some of the basic necessary nutritional requirements to the people who suffer from IBD.

Foods that are required should be light and bland to heal IBD and can be:

• Apple sauce
• Bananas
• Diluted juices
• Eggs
• Lean poultry or fish, plain
• Mashed potatoes
• Oatmeal
• Plain cereals
• Rice
• Corn or flour tortillas
• Cream of rice, grits
• Pretzels (salted or unsalted)
• Fat-free saltines, graham crackers
• Plain angel food cake
• Plain baked potatoes without the skin
• Cold fat-free cereal (example: Corn Chex, Kix, Rice Chex, Rice Crispies, Honeycomb, or Corn Pops) eaten dry
• Fruit Juice without pulp
• Tender, well-cooked meats, poultry, fish, eggs
• Cooked asparagus, beets, carrots, and zucchini.
• Vegetable soups, papaya, avocado, smooth nut butter, just keep it in mind that these simple carbohydrates aren’t packed with proteins and are well-cooked veggies out of your diet.

Better consult a doctor, dietitian, nutritionist, or any other health care professional about your specific dietary requirements if you have IBD.

Continue to have a low residue diet gradually and slowly add back a variety of foods that you had quit.

Begin with a well-tolerated liquid and gradually advance to soft solids, then add some more solids.

Introduce 1 or 2 items every few days and avoid any foods that trigger the symptoms.

Add fiber in your diet as much as you can tolerate. Well-tolerated fiber sources include mildly cooked vegetables, cooked fruits, starches like cooked cereals.

In the gap between flares, eat a wide variety of foods, which can be tolerated. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein & low-fat and non-fat dairy products.

The number of new inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients is gradually enhancing, especially in countries that adopt a Western lifestyle.

There is proof that links between the change of food habits/food and the incidence of IBD. Experimental research indicates that commonly used food ingredients can change the intestinal barrier, thereby causing intestinal inflammation.

Complex carbohydrates like maltodextrin, emulsifying agents or thickeners like carboxymethyl cellulose, carrageenan, and xanthan gum were shown to have damaging effects on intestinal homeostasis.

Exclusion or defined diets were proposed that was based on epidemiological and experimental studies.

There is relevant evidence that exclusive enteral nutrition is a potent therapy to bring remission in patients with Crohn’s disease.