Will A Specific Crohn's Diet Work For You?


by Sharon Dobson - Date: 2007-03-21 - Word Count: 554 Share This!

Those with Crohn's disease know that what they put in their bodies can make them feel better, or can make things worse. Some foods can greatly increase the frequency of diarrhea and the cramping that can come with it. Those who want to follow a Crohn's diet should, at the very least, avoid spicy foods, alcoholic beverages, all types of milk products, and some grains when they are having a flare up of symptoms. Though there is no specific diet that has been proven to heal Crohn's, it is always a great idea to watch what you eat, so that you are getting as much nutritional value from your meals as you can.

Some people will recommend SCD for Crohn's and Colitis patients. This Specific Carb Diet is something that might help. Though there are no foods that will reduce inflammation, there are some foods that are better tolerated than others. This diet may help with some of the more troublesome symptoms, but it is reportedly very hard to follow it, and even harder to stay on it for a long period of time. It is often recommended that this Crohn's diet should be followed strictly for a year before any other foods are brought back into the person's diet.

If you are familiar with Atkins, you may already know a little about SCD. Many of the same foods are discussed and encouraged. Foods like refined sugars, pastas, wheat, oats, white potatoes, and white rice are not allowed at all. These are said to aggravate the symptoms involved with Crohn's disease. Most of these foods to avoid are complex carbohydrates, and these are harder to digest than simple carbs. When the body digests complex sugars, more bacteria is present, and these are hard on the intestines and can make symptoms much worse for someone suffering with Crohn's disease.

Although it's not all-bad; here are some of the foods that you can have when following this Crohn's diet: beef, chicken, pork, fish, some cheeses, fruits, and other simple carbohydrates. If you need something sweet, honey is the only sugar that is allowed. You should avoid foods that are high in fiber and those containing preservatives.

If you like to have greasy and fatty foods, you are going to have to stop eating them if you want to feel better. Perhaps the best advice would be to avoid the foods that cause problems, and to eat healthy portions of what you can have, and remember to eat smaller, more frequent meals. Don't forget to get enough water, as dehydration can be a huge problem for crohn's patients.

Though the SCD is often talked about, you should know that there are no studies to back up the claims that are made about this diet. All you will find are patient testimonials. There are no proven foods that can help reduce inflammation, but some of the foods on this Crohn's diet can help you with some of your symptoms.

You should remain under the care of your physician while on this diet, and you should continue to take medications unless your doctor tells you otherwise. If you start to feel a little better with this type of crohn's diet, try and stick as rigidly to it as possible as falling of the 'diet wagon' will probably cause your symptoms to return with a vengeance.


Related Tags: crohns disease, colitis, crohns, crohns diet

By Sharon Dobson. Sign up for a free newsletter and discover more about the effects following a crohn's diet can have on your symptoms and which other natural crohns treatments are available.

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: