Healthy Living

How to Avoid Making Crohn's Disease Worse

Keep track of how your body reacts to food

Malnutrition is a real threat of Crohn’s disease. Fatty foods increase diarrhea for a person with Crohn’s, thus preventing the required transport of food nutrients to the body. Also, other foods hard to digest for those with Crohn’s are fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds, including legumes. Also, the digestion of high-fiber foods may be difficult for some with Crohn’s.

However, dietary “triggers” do vary from person to person. Some find, by the mere process of trial and error, that it’s beneficial for them to stay away from milk-based/lactose foods, or to eat smaller, more frequent meals.

Keep a food diary and list what foods caused you issues and how. Discuss your dietary needs with your Gastroenterologist. Speak with him/her of the study published in the January 2014 Nutrition Journal suggesting that by restricting certain carbohydrates, and including pre- and probiotic foods along with modified fatty acids demonstrated a marked reduction in the symptoms of Crohn’s for the study participants.

Be proactive in reporting any increase in diarrhea or weight loss to your Gastroenterologist.