IBD and Nutrition

Let's talk nutrition.

Nutrition: the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth.

For IBDers, nutrition can be as big a battle as the disease its self. Our disease often prevents us from absorbing the nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed from food. In fact, it even limits what types of foods we can eat. For example: A healthy diet consists of eating a certain amount of fruits and vegetables either raw or cooked but for the person with IBD, this spells trouble in many areas.

• Fruits and veggies are often difficult for us to break down causing a great deal of discomfort and even severe pain. We can even develop intestinal blockages especially where an ostomy involved. Personally, eating certain types of lettuce will feel like I've ingested pieces of broken glass. NO FUN!
• Fruits and veggies can go through our system so fast that there isn't enough time to properly break down and absorb the nutrients. In order to prevent this, fruits and veggies are cooked, sauced or juiced so that our digestive systems can tolerate them however, many of the nutrients are lost this way too. 
• There are numerous products on the market that offer a daily serving of fruits and veggies in a powder that can be mixed in water or smoothies. I use this method daily.

Protein is another area we struggle with. Many meats are very hard to digest and can cause such intense pain that we give them up with out a second thought. I've done this with pork which is a very dense meat making it hard for me to break down comfortably.

• Many IBDers turn to the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles because of the difficulty with eating animal meats. They are forced to find adequate protein through plant based formulas. This can be especially hard if a person travels or eats out a lot. While premixed protein shakes are sold in grocery stores and even convenience stores, the common ingredients can be problematic for many people. 
• People with IBD often struggle with whey and lactose issues thus finding protein outside of dairy proves difficult as well. Soy is a great form of plant based protein but people with hormone related issues or breast cancer history may not be able to consume soy. I finally found a protein mix that is plant based but does not contain whey, dairy or soy. I often turn to it when I'm struggling with a bad bout of Crohn's.

For "normal people" taking vitamins and supplements is done without much thought of how fast the supplement dissolves and is absorbed by the body. This is not the case for those dealing with digestion issues. We must consider how fast the supplements break down. A good test is to take a vitamin or supplement, place it in a glass of water and time how long it takes to dissolve.

• Liquid vitamins and supplements are a great solution to this problem. They can be taken alone or mixed into a favorite smoothie. The only down side is that many must be refrigerated after opening making it hard to travel with. Sometimes, the taste can be too much for someone. Especially if they deal with nausea.
• Vitamins and supplements in gelatin capsule form tend to be easier to digest than those in the hard tablet. But, don't nix all tablets as I have found some that dissolve with in 15 minutes of ingestion.

I have compiled many of the products I find helpful in these areas in two websites: AllGutLove.com

and MyItWorks.com. Please feel free to check them out and shoot me any questions you might have to allgutlove1@gmail.com