crohn's disease

My daughter has just been told she has Crohns, she is coming for christmas what can i give her to eat and what can't she have

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Crohn's and food NEW
by: Annette Young

Hello there,

thank you for your post, I am sorry to hear that your daughter has been diagnosed with Crohn's disease, although you don't state how the disease affects her and how her overall health is currently. All of these must be taken into consideration.

Crohn's disease is a very aggressive condition, it can be painful and debilitating and can quite simply take over someone's life. There is no known cure for this disease so learning to manage it, and to live with it is vital.

The most important thing to do is to ask your daughter how she is coping, is she experiencing an aggressive bout currently or, is this disease seemingly in remission? The answer to these questions will give you an indication of what you can give her food wise.

In an aggressive bout of Crohn's food has to be simplified and made as easy to digest as possible. Food needs to be simple and certainly not spicy. Spicy foods can actually become triggers and make the condition worse, it is important to know that this disease affects people differently, so what affects one person will not affect another. Is your daughter currently compiling a food journal? This is a useful tool and she can look back over her and establish which foods work the best for her and in doing so, she can tell you what food she is more likely to be able to eat.

In a very bad situation, she may prefer to simply fast for a few hours to give the digestive tract relief or, pureed foods might be the answer although probably doesn't sound appealing when it comes to Christmas dinner.

You may find that she has an intolerance to certain foods-possibly wheat or may even be lactose intolerant and these aspects will mean identifying different recipes for her. If she is struggling to eat well then it's important to know what food types to give her so that her nutritional levels can have a boost.

Proteins such as fish, eggs, chicken are excellent and she can have vegetables that are well cooked or is previously specified, pureed. Go for pumpkin,aubergines, avocado etc. Making her visit a happy one and with no stress will also help her. Stress was once considered to be the cause of Crohn's disease but now it is recognized that it is a trigger and can make flare-ups much worse instead.

I hope this helps and gives you a starting point.

Best wishes,

Annette Young

crohn's disease NEW
by: Lydia D.

As other posters has indicated, diet is a very individual Crohn's thing. Additionally, it depends on the disease state. A patient that is flaring has greater dietary restrictions than a Crohn's patient who is in remisssion. I suggest that you ask her to write you an e-mail in which she lists what she cannot eat. Is she lactose intolerant? Can she tolerate wheat products, eggs, dairy? Does she plan to bring her own foods?

If she is flaring then she will have hundreds/thousands of small aphthous ulcers and Crohn's granulomas somewhere in her gut. The inflammation and ulceration can be accompanied by bleeding. If you imagine that you have ulceration and bleeding on your arm, what food would you want to rub into it?

The following are easier to digest foods:

Protein: Yoghurt, fish, chicken, eggs, hard cheese (uncooked). Carbs: White rice, potatoes, white bread or finely ground whole wheat bread, Vegetables: well cooked/pureed carrots, broccoli flowers, pumpkin, depipped and deskinned courgettes, aubergines, avocado, green herbs. Fruit: steamed apple, pears, peaches. Bananas - smoothies, or mashed with yoghurt, water or milk and vitamin C powder.

As mentioned by other posters foods to be avoided when flaring are anything with seeds, skins, stones, dried fruit, nuts, fibrous vegetables (stringy green veges) and fruit (esp. citrus fruit), garlic, onions, leeks, all spices (including pepper). Red meat is very difficult to digest. In an extreme flare there is a school of thought that recommends using the BRAT diet as a dietary basis - banana, rice, apple mousse and toast, adding other foods to it one by one.

You could treat her by making a low sugar carrot or banana or apple or peach cake (upside down cake), using oil instead of butter, but no icing. She should be able to cope with those.

What to eat with Crohn's
by: Dr. Dave LaRocco

I followed these simple rules in the beginning and then did some food allergy testing which really helped. Foods that are allergenic Diary (cow's), Soy, nuts (mostly peanuts and cashews), wheat, and egg. Goat's milk is great, fruits, veggies, Fish, meats and Qunioa is a great grain. slightly cooked however it depends on how acute they are. The dumbest thing I ever encountered was to eat junk food or fast food by a GI doctor in NYC.
Hope this helps
Dr. David LaRocco

What to eat?
by: Anonymous

My wife and 26 yr.old son have Crohns. It seems that every individual is different. They need to tell you what they can eat. They should know by what makes them sick. Sometimes its hard to tell, but they should have some idea.

Good luck and God bless

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