Crohn's Disease: 15 Healthy Eating Tips

Crohn's disease is a chronic, incurable inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Symptoms include severe belly pain and diarrhea, among others.

Certain foods or eating habits can exacerbate Crohn's disease symptoms, although they aren't the underlying cause or trigger of the IBD, says Sunanda Kane, M.D., professor of gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

Each person is different, so you may need to use trial and error to see what types of food or eating habits help (or hurt) your symptoms.

1 of 15

Talk To A Nutritionist

1 of 16

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

If you have Crohn's disease and are concerned about your nutrition, it would be a good idea to talk with an RD, especially one who is familiar with IBD, says Julie Cepo, a registered dietitian who works with IBD patients at Mount Sinai Hospital, in Toronto, and is coauthor of the "Crohn's & Colitis Diet Guide." "I help them come up with an eating strategy that they can tolerate but that also works with their personal and cultural preferences and food philosophies," Cepo says.  Seeing a nutritionist who doesn't understand IBD, on the other hand, may do more harm than good, warns Dr. Kane. More from Health.com: 10 Risk Factors for IBD 14 Foods to Avoid If You Have Ulcerative Colitis Quick Cures for Tummy Troubles

Weight Loss Success: Caroline Jhingory Challenged Herself With Exercise And Lost 150 Pounds

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Lower Alzheimer's Risk, Study Suggests

Chronic Pain Affects 47 Percent Of U.S. Adults, Survey Finds

Fast Eaters May Have Higher Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Inspirational Quotes: Inspiring Words For The Month Of May

Astrology Now: Venus Retrograde, Relationships Wobbly

If you have Crohn's disease and are concerned about your nutrition, it would be a good idea to talk with an RD, especially one who is familiar with IBD, says Julie Cepo, a registered dietitian who works with IBD patients at Mount Sinai Hospital, in Toronto, and is coauthor of the "Crohn's & Colitis Diet Guide."

"I help them come up with an eating strategy that they can tolerate but that also works with their personal and cultural preferences and food philosophies," Cepo says. 

Seeing a nutritionist who doesn't understand IBD, on the other hand, may do more harm than good, warns Dr. Kane.

More from Health.com:
10 Risk Factors for IBD
14 Foods to Avoid If You Have Ulcerative Colitis
Quick Cures for Tummy Troubles

comments(9)

Total comments: 9 | Post a Comment

1 of 16

This Tip

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

I'll skip this one. Great advice!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Tips

loading...

Top 5 Tips

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[Marcia Fradkin Fritz]

01:29 PM on 07/05/2011

2 things that have helped my condition dramatically:
Metamucil twice a day has practically eliminated diarrhea symptoms.
Eliminating gluten from my diet has helped with bloating, gas & sluggishness. I can't believe the wonderful gluten free products that are out there. Expensive, but a sandwich tastes like a normal sandwich. You just have to find a good gluten free bakery, or try Udi's brand in the frozen health food section.
I swear by both of these.

[raechel]

05:00 PM on 06/18/2011

Since when is mayonnaise a cream-based sauce?

[maribelles]

04:54 PM on 06/18/2011

If you have "Crohn's " disease, it's a good idea to talk to people who HAVE CURED IT, rather than to a profession with an abysmal record in gastrointestinal healing in general, who pronounce it incurable according to their narrow view. A short term raw plant based diet has healed the bowel tissue and function of many people. Here is one place to start: http://www.colitis-crohns.com/about.html

[slvrfox857]

08:29 AM on 06/18/2011

It makes me very sad, and again, supports my belief that a creative, perfect being, did not design the human body, that so many things that are considered so very healthy and important can aggravate chronic digestive disorders. No roughage? No whole grains? The very things we are told we don't get enough of-how can this be?

[sabelmouse]

08:00 AM on 06/26/2011

i wouldn't go for it. i have had problems with my innards [ not diagnosed as crohns ] a lot and lots of fruit and veg and lots of fibre usually help me.
i have a problem with my liver that causes some of those symtoms and again the above mentioned and low protein help me. no fried food of course, no sugar and no tea, coffee and colas. no white grain products.
i bake my own sourdough wholemeal bread with extra oat bran added.
modern medicine knows nothing about nutrition and some of those recommendations seem plain nuts.

[lotusmoon333]

05:07 AM on 06/27/2011

I have severe Crohn's Disease and I can tell you that a high fiber diet is a bad idea for someone like me. The fiber just irritates my intestine causing more pain and discomfort.

[lisaglenn18]

02:12 AM on 06/18/2011

Get free samples of Emergen-C vitamin drink mix from "123 Samples" Request it and enjoy free samples of these vitamin drink mixes.