So here I go again on my quest for a better life with my Crohn’s disease . I have a consultation this evening with a registered dietician; the topic of the conversation will be the IBD AID diet.
The IBD-AID is founded on the principles of nutrition and the immune system, and updated with current research on the human microbiome. Research has shown that IBD patients have an imbalance of gut bacteria, which contributes to inflammation. This diet helps to restore balance between helpful and harmful bacteria while promoting good nutrition. The IBD-AID has three phases (listed elsewhere) to help patient’s progress to the ultimate goal of maintaining remission. There are four components to the IBD. Every day, incorporate these four fundamental components of the IBD-AID:
Probiotics
These are fermented foods that have live bacteria within them, such as plain yogurt, kefir, kimchi, miso, tempeh, and fermented veggies like sauerkraut.
Prebiotics
Foods that feed and maintain the good intestinal bacteria.
IBD-AID emphasizes the importance of soluble fiber, which helps increase beneficial short chain fatty acids as well as making a gel-like substance to enhance stool consistency and slow gut motility.
This means decreased inflammation, more formed and regular bowel movements. Because we recognize the importance of soluble fiber (which is a prebiotic), we promote steel-cut oats on the diet.
There are challenges with this diet, first of all I have been on a low fibre low residue diet for the last 10 years, and flipping to a diet that’s rich in fibre does concern me, not necessarily about the effects of introducing fibre into my diet but the fact that this diet may be completely incompatible with my gut Microbiome, as with all new medications, and believe me food is a medication when it comes to Crohn’s disease, I prefer to go my own route when it comes to reading about side effects and potential failures, the reason being there is a whole body of evidence around the placebo effect and how this can have a detrimental effect on medical interventions,
My other concern about this diet is the lifestyle choice it will potentially bring, i.e. preparing everything from scratch, the social implications of eating said diet, and fundamentally as I have a disordered eating condition, that the diet may be too restrictive to stick to.
Luckily, I have a registered dietician that can guide me along my journey with the IBD AID diet; Im also interested in how I can incorporate IBDoc in to the diet plan.
I’ll let you know how I go on in next month’s blog
Just before I finish this months blog, it occurs to me from my own experience and especially when I speak to other Crohn’s patients how incredibly resilient and tenacious we are, faced with a multitude of serious operations and drug medications that come with black box warnings, we never give up, I have had Crohns disease for 30 years, and there is no way I’m ever giving up on researching the latest treatments, diets, and life style choices
I love connecting with people online that take the disease seriously and lead from the front regarding appointments treatments and research.
We can’t be passengers with this disease, so stay strong, never give up hope, keep learning researching, as there will be a cure in the near future for this most wicked of diseases.
If you have any questions about this blog please DM me.
https://ibdocandme1.blogspot.com/
https://www.calprotectin.co.uk/