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Ulcerative Colitis Diet
What to Eat and What Not to Eat!
1- Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
2- Mediterranean Diet
3- Gluten-Free Diets
4- Low-Residue Diet
5- Low-FODMAP Diets
6- Plant-Based Diets
7- Paleo Diet
8- Keto Diet
9- IBD Anti-Inflammatory Diet (IBD-AID)
What is ulcerative colitis?
- Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic condition that causes inflammation of the large intestine (colon) and the rectum and sores (ulcers) on the inner lining of the large intestine.
- Ulcerative colitis thought to be an autoimmune disease, that is, one where the body attacks itself.
- It is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
- Not the same as Crohn’s disease, another type of IBD, which can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, whereas ulcerative colitis only affects the colon and rectum.
- But not the same as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects how the colon functions and does not cause inflammation.
Symptoms of ulcerative colitis?
Symptoms of ulcerative colitis include
- Feeling an urgent need to take a bowel movement,
- Fatigue,
- Abdominal pain and cramping,
- Diarrhea,
- Loss of appetite,
- Weight loss,
- Rectal bleeding and
- Anemia (low red blood cell count).
What causes ulcerative colitis?
The cause of ulcerative colitis unknown, but believed caused by a combination of several factors.
Factors including an overactive immune system, genetics, and the environment.
- Overactive immune system:
Many people believed that in ulcerative colitis, the immune system triggered to mistakenly attack the inner lining of the large intestine.
Therefore, causing inflammation and symptoms of ulcerative colitis.
- Genetics:
Ulcerative colitis can run in families.
The genetic link not entirely clear but studies show that up to 20% of people with ulcerative colitis have a close family member with the disease.
- Environment:
Certain environmental factors including taking certain medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Additionally, NSAIDs, antibiotics, and oral contraceptives), and eating a high-fat diet may slightly increase the risk of developing ulcerative colitis.
What is an ulcerative colitis diet?
A person with ulcerative colitis may find they need to modify their diet to help manage their symptoms.
There is not a single diet or meal plan that fits everyone with ulcerative colitis, and diets individualized for each patient.
Depending on symptoms different types of diets may be recommended, such as:
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
- You cut all grains and starchy vegetables like potatoes on this plan.
- You also skip many processed foods, milk, and all forms of sugar besides honey.
- SCD eliminates carbohydrates that take a lot of work to digest.
- Carbohydrates remove complex carbs in hope of starving some of the gut microbes that are responsible for a lot of digestive symptoms.
- It can help reduce annoying gastrointestinal symptoms like gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
- The diet can be hard to follow.
- Expect to pay close attention to ingredients and food labels and make real changes in what you eat.
Mediterranean Diet
- You eat mostly plants on the traditional Mediterranean diet, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.
- Limit red meat and opt for olive oil, fish, and poultry. This anti-inflammatory diet is recommended first for
- In this diet, we are looking for things that we can include in the diet that is going to help manage inflammation.
- If fruits, vegetables, and nuts are hard for you to eat whole because of UC symptoms like diarrhea, bloody bowel movements, stomach-aches, and bloating.
- In this case, try to change how you prepare them.
Gluten-Free Diets
- Gluten is a protein found in some grains including wheat, barley, and rye.
- Gluten is just a large, difficult-to-digest protein that we often eliminate.
- When patients are really trying to use food and nutrition to manage something autoimmune in nature.
- It basically helps to protect the immune system from being bombarded with a big, complicated protein like gluten.
- The idea is really just to restrict specific foods that someone might be intolerant of and see if that will help.
Low-Residue Diet
- Designed to be low in fiber, a low-residue diet cuts down on the amount of stool in your intestines.
- The residue is the fiber left in your colon after digestion.
- You’ll choose white bread over whole grain, and eat canned or cooked fruits instead of raw.
- Limit your dairy and skip nuts, legumes, seeds, and dried fruits.
- If you eat this way long-term, you might not get enough folic acid or vitamin C.
- To maintain a healthy, whole-foods diet, try to modify tough textures instead of banning fiber.
- For example, opt for smooth almond butter instead of whole almonds.
- Additionally, the blended smoothie in place of a dish of blueberries.
Low-FODMAP Diets
- FODMAPs are a group of carbohydrates that might be harder to digest and can ferment in your intestines.
- They’re in foods including dairy, wheat, beans, and stone fruits.
- If you’re sensitive to FODMAPS, they can cause gas, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and cramping.
- In this diet, you eliminate high-FODMAP foods for 4-6 weeks, then add them back in slowly.
Plant-Based Diets
- This can be a very healthy way of eating, but you may need some expert guidance.
- It’s a good idea to ask your doctor, gastroenterologist, or nutritionist for guidance to make sure you meet all your nutritional needs.
- There are many ways to eat a diet centered on plants.
- Options include vegan, which includes no animal foods, vegetarian (including eggs and dairy).
- Additionally, pescatarian (including eggs, dairy, and fish), or main plants with animal products kept to a minimum.
- Plant-based diets rich in fruits and vegetables may help with inflammation.
- Still, there are many processed foods made without animal products that aren’t good for you, including lots of junk food.
- Plant-based or not, you want to get as much nutritional value from your food as possible.
- If you totally cut out animal products, you’ll need to supplement vitamin B12 if you don’t get enough of it from fortified foods.
- And if you’re low in iron because of your UC, you may need to make sure you get enough iron from a vegetarian or vegan diet.
- Plus, a diet of only plants can be tough to stomach when you have active UC.
Paleo Diet
- Based on the foods people might have eaten during the Paleolithic era.
- Additionally, the paleo diet includes lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. You don’t eat dairy, grains.
- Going paleo helps you cut out grains and reduce carbohydrates without the strict rules of SCD
- The paleo diet removes whole grains and peanuts, which can be part of a healthy anti-inflammatory diet.
Keto Diet
- You eat a lot of fat in this very low-carbohydrate diet.
- That means oils and meat, small amounts of fruit, and certain vegetables like greens, bell peppers, and cauliflower.
- The issue with keto is because of how low-carb it is, it really makes it difficult to get the variety of plants that a patient would ideally like to get.
IBD Anti-Inflammatory Diet (IBD-AID)
- IBD-AID is a spin-off of the specific carbohydrate diet.
- It aims to balance good and bad bacteria in your gut to cut bowel inflammation.
- The diet introduces foods in phases and leaves out grains, processed food, refined sugar, and milk.
- The big difference: IBD-AID emphasizes eating prebiotic foods (like oats, bananas, and onions)
- Additionally, probiotic foods (like yogurt, sauerkraut, and miso) every day.
Foods to avoid with an ulcerative colitis diet plan:
- Caffeine, found in coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks, is a stimulant and can speed up the transit time in the colon.
- Therefore, leading to more frequent trips to the bathroom.
- Carbonated beverages including sodas and beer contain carbonation that can irritate the digestive tract, and cause gas.
- Many contain sugar, caffeine, or artificial sweeteners, which can also be ulcerative colitis triggers.
- Dairy products should be avoided if you are lactose intolerant, as they can cause symptoms similar to ulcerative colitis.
Not everyone with ulcerative colitis is lactose intolerant. - Dried beans, peas, and legumes are all high in fiber and can increase bowel movements, abdominal cramping, and gas.
- Dried fruits, berries, fruits with pulp or seeds are other foods high in fiber that can trigger ulcerative colitis symptoms.
- Foods containing sulfur or sulfate can cause excess gas production.
- Such as Sulfate may be found in many foods, including dairy milk, eggs, cheese, dates, dried apples and apricots, almonds,
- Additionally, wheat pasta, bread, peanuts, cruciferous vegetables, raisins, prunes, red meat, and some supplements.
- High fiber foods, including whole-grains, can increase bowel movements, abdominal cramping, and gas.
- Meats, especially fatty meats, can trigger ulcerative colitis symptoms.
- Such as Excess fat may not properly absorbed during a flare, and this can make symptoms worse.
Red meat can be high in sulfate, which triggers gas.
What Else !!
- Nuts and crunchy nut butter, and seeds that not ground up (such as in smooth peanut butter or tahini) can cause worsening abdominal cramping.
- In addition to bloating, and diarrhea during a flare, even tiny fruit seeds (such as those in strawberries or in jams) may trigger symptoms.
- Popcorn is another high fiber, bulky food that is not completely digested by the small intestine and can trigger diarrhea and bowel movement urgency.
- Sugar alcohols (such as sorbitol and mannitol) found in sugar-free gum and candies, some ice creams.
- Some fruits and fruit juices (apples, pears, peaches, and prunes) and can cause diarrhea, bloating, and gas in some people.
- Chocolate contains caffeine and sugar, both of which can irritate the digestive tract and cause cramping and more frequent bowel movements.
- Vegetables, especially raw vegetables, are high in fiber and can be difficult to digest, causing bloating, gas, and abdominal cramps.
- Therefore, particularly true for stringy vegetables such as broccoli, celery, cabbage, onions, and Brussels sprouts.
- In this case, many people with ulcerative colitis also find it hard to digest corn and mushrooms because they are hard to digest, to begin with.
- Refined sugar can pull more water into the gut and cause diarrhea.
- Spicy foods, hot sauces, and pepper can cause diarrhea in many people, and in someone with ulcerative colitis experiencing flare spicy hot foods may trigger or worsen symptoms.
- Gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley, and some oats, can trigger symptoms similar to ulcerative colitis in people who have gluten sensitivity.
Foods that help manage and soothe ulcerative colitis flares:
- Salmon and albacore tuna contain omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation during a flare and may help you to stay in remission.
- Other sources of omega-3s include mackerel, herring, sardines, flaxseed oil, ground flaxseed, and walnuts.
- Some people unable to eat whole nuts and flaxseeds during a flare, but they may be tolerated if ground up.
- Lean meats and poultry recommended following flares of ulcerative because proteins are often lost.
- Therefore, increasing your protein intake can help replenish the nutrients lost during a flare.
- Eggs are another great source of protein and often well-tolerated even during flares.
- For example, Some eggs are fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce inflammation.
- Soy-based protein can be substituted for animal protein in vegetarians and vegans.
Other good sources of non-animal proteins include legumes and whole grains.
What about Probiotics?
- Probiotics, usually found in yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and miso, are good bacteria that can aid in digestion.
- Such as, choose yogurts that are low in added sugars, as sugar can aggravate ulcerative colitis symptoms.
- Avocados are an excellent source of protein and healthy fats.
- As they are calorie-dense, but because they are about 70% water, they easily digested.
- Instant oatmeal contains refined grains and is often easier than steel-cut or old-fashioned oatmeal because it has a little less fiber.
- Squash is a healthy choice that is usually well-tolerated during an ulcerative colitis flare. It’s full of fiber, vitamin C, and beta carotene.
- For example, any variety of squash (butternut, zucchini, spaghetti, acorn, winter, and summer) is best tolerated cooked.
Raw squash may aggravate ulcerative colitis symptoms during a flare. - Juice and smoothies can be tolerated by some during a flare and can help you maintain good nutrition.
Carrot juice is chock full of vitamin A and antioxidants and many people with ulcerative colitis find it easy to tolerate.
Conclusion:
- Attention to nutrition is important for patients with ulcerative colitis.
- A person with ulcerative colitis may find they need to modify their diet to help manage their symptoms.
- Depending on symptoms different types of diets recommended and that’s what we illustrate through this article.
Reading Materials:
- What’s the Best Diet for Ulcerative Colitis?, from this LINK.
- The Ulcerative colitis natural treatment, from this LINK.
- Read More Now about Ulcerative Colitis: Symptoms and Diet Plan, from this LINK.
- What you can eat on a low-residue diet, from this LINK.
- Learn What Foods Should You Avoid with Ulcerative Colitis?, from this LINK.