What to Eat - UC & Crohn's
Being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease isn't at the top of your average person's bucket list, however these conditions can be far less dreadful if you know what foods do & don't play well with your GI tract.
Newer research is pointing to evidence that these conditions have a root in microbial imbalance in the gut. People that have been diagnosed with these conditions or have been told they might be dealing with them should avoid foods that may actually ferment in the gut.
There is even the possibility of a misdiagnosis with a condition called Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO. There are several specialized tests that can be performed to evaluate the possibility of this fermentation problem using stool testing or even testing the breath of an individual.
Although many with the label of UC or Crohn's should have these kinds of tests and other tests for food sensitivities, adherence to some basic low fermentable foods might hold some relief. The offending foods are numerous, but the foods that are the least offensive and should be eaten in Moderate quantities are: (Please note that this a short list for fermentable foods and not food sensitivities)
Vegetables:
Artichoke Hearts
Arugula
Bamboo Shoots
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage 1 c
Carrot
Chives
Cucumber
Eggplant
Endive
Fennel bulb
Green Beans
Greens: lettuce, collard, chard, kale, spinach, Olives, Peas
Peppers: Bell/Sweet Peppers: Chili
Radicchio
Radish
Rutabaga
Scallion: green part
Snow Peas
Squash: Butternut, Kobocha, Sunburst, Yellow, Zucchini
Tomato
Fruits:
Berries: blueberry, boysenberry, strawberry, raspberry, Carambola
Citrus: lemon, lime, oranges, tangelos, tangerine
Current
Dragon Fruit
Durian
Grapes
Guava
Kiwifruit
Longon
Melon: cantaloupe/rock, honeydew
Papaya/Paw Paw
Passion fruit
Pineapple
Pomegranate
Prickly Pear
Rambutan
Rhubarb
Legumes/Beans:
Lentil: brown ½ c green & red ¼ c Lima ¼ c
Nuts and Seeds:
Almonds 10 ea/.42oz flour 2 T
Coconut: flour/shredded ¼ cup milk (w/no thickeners)
Hazelnuts 10 ea/15g
Macadamia 20 ea/40g
Peanuts 32 ea/28g
Peanut butter 4 T
Pecans 10 ea/22g
Pine nuts 1 T/14g
Pumpkin seeds 2 T/23g
Sesame seeds 1 T/11g
Sunflower seeds 2 t/6g
Walnuts 10 ea/30g
Dairy:
Butter
Cheese: aged 1 mo+, dry curd cottage cheese, yogurt cheese/labneh
Ghee
Sour Cream: homemade 24 hour
Yogurt: homemade 24 hour
Meats:
Bacon-with honey
Broth: homemade meat or marrow bones (no cartilage)
Beef
Eggs
Fish
Game
Lamb
Organ Meats
Pork
Poultry
Seafood
Sweeteners:
Honey: alfalfa, cotton, clover, raspberry
Stevia-pure (no inulin) in small amounts
Fats:
Butter
Coconut oil
Cod liver oil & Fish oil
Duck fat
Garlic-infused oil
Ghee Lard & Tallow
Medium Chain Triglyceride/MCT oil
Macadamia oil
Olive oil
Palm oil
Polyunsaturated Vegetable Oils: Borage, Canola, Flax, Grape seed, Hemp, Pumpkin seed, Sesame, Sunflower, Walnut
Beverages:
Coffee 1c/day (weak)
Cranberry juice-pure
Orange juice, fresh, ½ c/ 125ml
Fruit Juice: from Low Fodmap fruits ⅓ c/ 100ml
Tea: black (weak), chamomile, ginger, green, hibiscus, lemongrass, mate, mint, oolong, rooibos/rooibos chai, rose hip Water