Irritating Foods
Mary-Ann Williamsby |
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With Crohn’s disease, the most common and annoying symptom is pain when eating. As food is necessary to survive, and in fact thrive, it can be tantamount to torturing oneself at every meal. But not all foods cause the same amount of irritation.
Studies have shown that certain foods cause greater problems than others for patients with IBD, and Crohn’s specifically. The New York Methodist Hospital offers this quick guide for deciding what foods to avoid both during remissions and flare-ups.
- Saturated fats, found in meat and dairy products. (It should be noted that certain fats, such as those found in oily fats, may be helpful.)
- Milk products. Some people with IBD are lactose intolerant (unable to digest the sugar lactose, found in milk products). Taking lactase tablets or specially prepared dairy products may help. (Many lactose-intolerant patients are still able to eat yogurt with active cultures, which may even be helpful for IBD.)
- Foods associated with inflammation (alcohol, simple sugars, and caffeine).
- Fruits may be protective, but patients should avoid dried fruits or high-sugar fruits, such as grapes, watermelon, or pineapple.
- Products containing corn or gluten (those made from wheat, oats, barley, or triticale).
- Common allergenic foods, such as soy, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes.
- Foods that may irritate the intestine, particularly so-called Brassica vegetables (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale).
- Oxalate-rich Foods. Oxalate-rich foods may increase the risk for kidney stones, which is a common complication in IBD. Examples are beets, beet tops, black tea, chenopodium, chocolate, cocoa, dried figs, ground pepper, lamb quarters, lime peel, nuts, parsley, poppy seeds, purslane, rhubarb, sorrel, spinach, and Swiss chard.
New York Methodist Hospital; www.nym.org; 2002 - 2005 New York Methodist Hospital.
Not all foods affect everyone the same way, so a bit of experimentation may be in order. Cutting out these foods and then introducing them one at a time for a week each time can give the patient a better idea of which foods work for them, and which work against them.
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