The Best Diet for Crohn's Disease: A List of Things That Work for Me

The Best Diet for Crohn's Disease: A List of Things That Work for Me

I want to start by saying something that might sound obvious but isn't for most people. Chew your food carefully and eat mindfully. What does eating mindfully mean? It means you are focused on eating, allowing yourself to really taste the food, chew properly, and help your stomach digest the food.

This is a list of things I think a person with Crohn's should eat and what they shouldn't eat. It's easy to read this list and get panicked and say, "My God, what will I be able to eat?" The answer is. "A lot of things." Trust me. I will go through many things that work for me after the things I think you cannot eat.

Some things in this list are okay if you have no choice. I will rank them 1-10. In the beginning, I strongly suggest you skip those I rate ten. 

What NOT to eat.

• Don't eat bread. Or at least stay away from gluten.
• Stay away from dairy.
• Stay away from sugar.

Bad things you should stay away from if you have IBD:

• Do you know that you're sensitive to coffee? Then don't drink it. I realize it's a challenge for many people, and your productivity might be affected, but skip it for now! Try sparkling water with lemon. It usually helps when you feel hungry.
• Stop all dairy products immediately. I'm not talking about lactose-free. I'm talking about all dairy products. Let it be, at least for a start. Maybe we can introduce hard cheese down the line.
• Eradicate gluten from your diet. At least in the beginning. Maybe you can have a slice of pizza when everything is okay and has been okay for a while. Let me also add that you should stay away from gluten-free pizzas in the beginning. Usually, those doughs contain many strange ingredients, and very seldom do they have any nutrients. 
• When cooking your food, try not to use certain oils. I try only to use cold-pressed oils. The best cold-pressed oil with the highest smoking temperature (when the oil goes bad) is avocado oil (273 degrees). Olive oil's smoking point is 178, so I suggest frying your food on low heat if you want to use it for frying. I always recommend preparing your food at low temperatures, especially when using oils. 
• Stay away from sugar as much as you can. This is harder than you think because so much of what we eat contains sugar. Even processed savory foods contain sugar most often. Your palette doesn't understand you're eating sugar, but your body does, and you get addicted to it. Now, if you eat a salad with a bit of sugar dressing, it's not the end of the world. But for the love of yourself, stop eating candy. Study after study will tell you it's addictive, contains no nutrients, and causes inflammation. I have one simple rule I follow. Read the ingredients list. If the first ingredient is sugar, let it be!
• Stay away from sweeteners. More and more reports show that sweeteners are harmful for your gut flora. More about the gut flora later.

Good things to eat if you want to improve your gut biome:

• A green smoothie a day. I usually have coconut water, apples, lemon, spinach, kale, and avocado. It sounds like a lot of work, but I buy frozen, diced avocado and freeze the spinach. Invest in a good blender. And by good, I mean a mixer that can easily blend Ice, apples, and carrots. Here's a video of me making my smoothie.
• Kimchi and other fermented foods.
• Apples. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. If your stomach can handle eating apples, eat one a day! It has done wonders for me.
• Vegetables and fruits are typically good for you, but you must be careful and feel what works for you. If you have intestines that are clogged up like mine were, some foods will cause pain.
• Overnight oats.
• Meat, preferably organic, grass-fed.
• I eat fruits; I'm particularly fond of berries.. I try to eat a lot of spinach and avocados.
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Be careful with fibers!

A super important lesson. Be careful with fibers. Fibers are good for you, but if you're not used to them, the stomach will have problems digesting them. Introduce fibers slowly into your diet. I, and many others I have talked to, have had severe pain after overeating fibers in a short amount of time. Your body needs time to adjust. If you're increasing fibers, drink a lot of water. Drink tea.

Superwater.

Another great thing that I think does wonders for me is to boil two liters of water down to one liter. Do it together with fresh turmeric and ginger. 

The battle against this disease is not a sprint; it's a marathon.

You will have plenty of time to incorporate fibers into your diet, and you will have plenty of time to add them slowly so you can discover what works best for you. I have added overnight oats to the list of good things to eat. Overnight oats contain good fibers that are easily digestible for your stomach. My stomach notices a difference between overnight oats and regular porridge.

Create healthy principles for yourself that you live by. I have an easy one. If the first ingredient is sugar, I NEVER eat it. It's a principle I love. I can still have tasty dark chocolate. I can still have a lot of other delicious things, but if the first ingredient is sugar, it's a NO-GO for me. 

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