Ulcerative colitis newly diagnosed what about diet?

Posted , 10 users are following.

Hi, so this question has probably been asked about 4million times but... i've just been diagnosed with UC and am currently going through quite a nasty flare that has been going on for about 5 weeks. I really want to look at my diet rather than just relying on meds and have been reading up about low residue diets. I'm a bit of a health nut and a fruit fly, i have spent years drumming it into myself that whole grains are best low fat etc. this diet seems like almost a total turn around.

Really my question is, does anyone do this kind of diet and if so how do you fit it with normal life? at the moment im seeing a stretch of mashed potato and plain white rice ahead of me. Can anyone recommend somewhere where i can go for recipes or ideas. i'm totally confused by the whole thing! for example- if i want yogurt, do i go for low fat to keep a low fat diet or do i go for full fat in order to avoid sweeteners? i currently have a cupboard stuffed with lentils, brown rice and chickpeas- can i assume that i need to stay away from these for now?

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  • Posted

    you need to find out what works for you i sufferd bad for 2 years until i found out what to avoid, alcohol, caffine, dairy, carbon pop, high fibre foods beans nuts fatty fast foods chocolate, i now live on low fibre diet white bread fish rice pasta and complan shakes made with water and i now have no symptoms at all i believe its the complan it has all the vitams ppl recomend to take worked for me
    • Posted

      Hi Joe i wonder if if you could help me with the complan thing I have not tried it yet but am on the border of giving it a go im really struggling with my UC and it seems dont matter what i eat i still have what bad days with rushing to the loo pretty much every hour or hour an half So could you advise please on what Complan to buy and where please.

      Thanks T

  • Posted

    Hi, thanks for that- how about fruit amd veg? I feel like I've been walking around with a burning stone in my belly for weeks and starting to experience quite a lot of pain
  • Posted

    yeah i avoid anything with a skin as its high fibre also i avoid sweet corn i use to stave myself to feel better now with complan i dont have to i now also have loads of energy i use to sleep 9 hours per night then 2 afternoon just have the norm 8 now
  • Posted

    Hmmm- this is going to be difficult isnt it?
  • Posted

    with me it was bloating and feeling sick all the time aswell as 24 bloody mucas toilet trips per day im now 3 per day keep diary of what you eat and how it afects you next day so can avoid if it dont agree with you took me two years to get it under control and its only due to dental work i had to use complan because i couldnt open my jaw for 8 days and discoverd my uc was not bothering me when i started eating again it all retured so i went back on the complan and went to see the surgon he agree if it works containue with it
  • Posted

    Ok great thanks. I dont even know where to start about trying to think of things to eat even tomorrow- where do you start with this kind of overhaul?
  • Posted

    yeap i know you can read for days what to avoid what you should be taking what works for others may not work for you iv tried them all io can tell you my diet for tomorrow but it may not work for you

    breakfast slice of toasted white bread with complane shake 300ml water + my oral mezzaline meds

    1030 complan shake 300ml water

    dinner x2 small warbutons thins with tuna

    2pm complan shake 300ml water

    tea pasta with turkey mince bland tomato pasta sauce

    7 pm tick tock tea high in anti-oxidents with plain rich tea biscuits

  • Posted

    iv kept to a very similar diet every day since feburary and had no symptoms iv never fet better at christmas there i was ill and noticed just by cutting out alchol i was down to 12 toilet trips aday and didnt feel as ill
  • Posted

    Thanks for that! That is actually quite helpful. I was thinking I might just eat some very blamd food for the next few days, porridge for breakfast (is porridge ok?!) Mash and tinned spaghetti for lunch and pasta for dinner with passata and see if everything calms down a bit.

    at the moment I eat a lot of fruit and wholewheat pasta and rice. If I can still eat veg then im going to try cooking broccoli really well and see how that goes

  • Posted

    yeah im ok with steamed veg its fresh with skins i avoid wholewheat pasta, porridge, salad and beef meat makes me ill what are your symptoms

  • Posted

    [PDF]

    Low fibre diet - Guy's and St Thomas'

    http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/nutrition-and-dietetics/low-fibre-diet.pdf - Similar to Low fibre diet - Guy's and St Thomas'

    Low fibre diet. This information has been given to you to help answer some of the questions you may have about following a low fibre diet.

    Emis Moderator comment: I changed the link above as the one posted did not work. If this is incorrect post a reply in this discussion and I can change it.

  • Posted

    I've been suffering with what has been loosely diagnosed as IBS for about three/four years now- terrible stomach cramps, bouts of diarrhoea, once for ten weeks solidly going about ten times a day, constipation for about four weeks- only relieved with 8 satches of movicol in one go. For about five/six weeks now I've had diarrhoea going lots of times a day with loads of blood. Really bad bloating and feeling uncomfortable all the time. I feel sick a lot of the time too. The amount of blood is so much now. Luckily I work from home so have avoided a lot of bad situations with this. But cant go out much etc. Have been trying to eat as healthy as possible to try and heal myself but it looks like I've actually been making it worse. I was so glad they found it when they did the flexi, I feel like I actually have an answer now
  • Posted

    I also find it interesting that I take 200mg of ciclosporin for a skin condition and I still have this so badly as its meant to be one of the treatments for this
  • Posted

    I am not a doctor but I have been almost completely symptom free for several years with diet alone.

    You should eliminate certain foods for about 3 weeks and then gradually add them back and wait and see

    how your body reacts. If you get a stomach ache, acid or indigestion then you know you need to eliminate

    that food. For me, I am allergic to eggs and preservatives. So I eat no microwave meals prepackaged dinners. I cook fresh. I will use frozen vegetables, but not anything with sauces. I use

    some canned products, but have through trial and error found what works for me. If it gives me indigestion I either have eliminated it completely or eat them rarely. It is about your being in control. Recently I saw a PBS show about the Virgin Diet, by a nutritionist named JJ Virgin. Her findings were supportive of my own experience. Below is a listing of the foods she felt should be eliminated from your diet for 21 days and then slowly reintroduced to see how your body will react. For myself I went to a diet of broiled fish and fresh

    vegetables only. At the end of two week, my colonoscopy revealed the remnants of ulceration that was

    healed. The items listed are some that most people have some allergy to based on her research

    as a nutritionist.

    1. Sugar/artificial sweeteners - Any food with a high sugar content will give me an acidy stomach. So you

    should avoid sugary foods. I can eat cake, but make it from scratch. Cake mixes are too high in sugar. Watch the your food packages for the sugar content. Also remember artificial sweeteners are equally bad.

    I use Stevia. It works great. I still use real sugar in baking and cooking, but I just minimize the amount of

    that.

    2. Corn - corn has been so genetically altered it no longer has the value it used to. It is high in sugar and

    inflammatory. High fructose corn syrup is very bad for you as your liver will store it as fat.

    3. Soy - This sounds crazy because so many people use this in place of milk and as a good source of

    protein, but also genetrically altered and full of pesticides and affects your thyroid. Use almond milk instead.

    4. Gluten - It releases a protein that has an affect on your intestine causing the junction points to loosen

    and food particles will pass through causing inflammation. For me I do not have an strong issue

    with gluten so I still occasionally eat pasta, but I have to only eat fresh baked breads because of the

    preservatives. I do try to minimize the amount of gluten products I eat in a the day.

    5. Dairy - Again a lot of people have dairy allergies and don't realize it. Until you eliminate it you won't

    know. I limit my dairy, but do not eliminate it. If you have acne, dairy may be why.

    6. Eggs - this was a shock for me. I am sooooo allergic to eggs. Boiled, fried, deviled eggs, quiche, does not matter. I barely get it down and I have horrific indigestion. So have I given them up completely, no.

    I eat them rarely, but know I will need to chew an antacid after.

    7. Peanuts - Not really a nut but a legume. I have a mild allergy to peanuts, not like people that go into

    shock, but with the right amount I will get bad heartburn. So I may grind them up as a light topping on

    Thai food, but that's about it. Get your nuts from a tree.

    I would also eliminate carbonated drinks. You do not need additional gas. I would also eliminate

    processed deli meats. They are full of preservatives. Again once you have your

    symptoms under control you can have some things like a soda, but not all day. Once your system has

    calmed down you will find you can have an occasional egg, bagel, pizza or whatever you favorite is, just

    not everyday and not so much of it. Listen to your body. It will tell you what it doesn't like. Listen to it and

    adjust. It is a small price to pay to live comfortably and medication free.

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