When you say you can't eat something, what does that mean? It makes your stomach upset? It feels bad coming out? It causes complications? blockages? pouchitis?

I have read quite a few people here have diet restrictions. I have gone 9 years now with the j pouch and not restricted anything I eat, although I do try to limit things that make my bm's looser. But recently I have been trying to eat healthier, i.e. fruits, vegetables, nuts, chicken, whole grains, etc. And this year I have already had three bouts of pouchitis, which typically I only have it once a year.
So my question is could my diet be causing the pouchitis?

And if so how do i continue eating healthy with out the foods I have known to be healthy.

Thanks
Nick

Was wondering if you take a pro-biotic?

Everyone on this board has very different dietary tolerances or problem foods, so if we did a general survey we'd get a whack of different results.

As for me, I don't really have specific dietary "restrictions," per se--meaning it would be incorrect for me to say there are foods I absolutely cannot eat. It's more foods that I CHOOSE not to eat because they cause unpleasant side effects, such as increased frequency, gas or diarrhea. There are also foods that I avoid and/or eat in moderation because they generally don't break down well.

Foods I completely avoid include coffee, cola or anything with aspartame, because they give me almost instant diarrhea. Foods like yams, cabbage, lentils and beans cause gas and increased frequency (I still eat these foods occasionally, but not when I'm planning to go out anywhere). There are other foods I either avoid completely or eat in only small amounts because they don't break down well and are uncomfortable to pass, such as certain raw veggies, bean sprouts, mushrooms, popcorn, corn, and some fruit and vegetable skins. However, other people eat these foods and have no issues whatsoever, so it's really a personal thing, and a lot of it is based on trial and error.

More to your question, though, if you are asking whether certain foods lead to pouchitis, I don't believe there has ever been a study that adequately linked diet and pouchitis in a general group. Obviously there are trigger foods for some people, which may aggravate an existing case of pouchitis--just like certain foods were worse during UC flares--but again it's a very individual thing. The general theory is that pouchitis is our body's immune reaction to a buildup of bad bacteria in the pouch. The immune response may essentially be another manifestation of IBD, which makes sense if you consider that IBD is often thought to be an auto-immune disorder. With that in mind, the short answer as to whether or not pouchitis is linked to diet is no; no one food or group of foods is thought to directly cause pouchitis.

That said, if you are eating foods that don't break down very well (such as a lot of raw veggies) it's theoretically possible that you are inadvertently creating a buildup of bad bacteria because foods aren't being passed through your system as quickly as they were before you changed your diet, so the transit time is longer and the bacteria has more time to build up. But again that could be a stretch.

But what it may come down to, is that if there has been a significant change in your bowel habits, particularly after changing your diet, you might have to start keeping a food diary to identify your specific problem foods. Then you can try systematically eliminating them and see if the condition improves.

As Hope mentions, probiotics also help to balance the buildup of bad bacteria, and you should consider adding these to your diet if you have not already done so. If that helps, then there may not be any need to eliminate any foods from your diet, because the probiotics will keep the bad bacteria in check.

(Sorry for the long post! )

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Spooky,

When I say I can't eat something it is to avoid buttburn or going more often. Pringles, cereal at night, too big a bowl of ice cream, hot dogs and all fried foods(except Chik-fil-a) come to mind.
I already crap 10-12 times on a good day(24 hour period) so really don't need more problems that eating certain foods bring...
Still life is way better now than UC days! Back then I lost 40% of my body weight Because I wouldn't eat anything except my prednisone candy
David

No, I haven't ever really been consistent with the probiotics, because I never really noticed a difference one way or another, but I did randomly pick them up this week, guess I'll have to keep getting them and see where that gets me.

I more so was trying to see if certain foods agitate the pouch cause it to inflame and get infected. But Spooky's explanation makes a lot of sense.

I think I'll give the food journal a go, add probiotics and limit the rough veggies and foods. although i've never had trouble passing them, they certainly dont break down very well so i can understand the slow down theory.

Thanks

With probiotics, you have to take them consistently over an extended period of time to notice any real benefits. It can take a while to form a strong layer of good bacteria, especially if you have been on a course of antibiotics which can basically destroy all the flora in your gut. If you were only using probiotics sporadically or in the short term before, you might not notice any significant results. Also keep in mind that when you initially start using probiotics, you might have a period of increased gas or frequency. This should get better after a week or so.

sounds good, i'll give the probiotics a full go. whats the best way to get them in your system? right now i have been eating an activia yougut for breakfast every morning?

I started juicing and my GI is encouraging it as she feels that juicing flushes out your system and keeps the pouch clean and free of the bacteria. Too soon to know if it will keep the pouchitis at bay and it does not seem to effect the number of bathroom trips. I also upped my probitics to twice a day. I hope you find something that helps.
Susan

While the yogurt is a great start, I have been told by my dr that I need more probiotics than "normal" (those with a lg intestine) to help keep bad bacteria down There have been a couple brands recommended on here maybe do a search on probiotics (im sure there is alot of info)on the board here. I cannot recommend the one im currently taking as its like a probiotic cocktail right now since im having some "issues" Good luck

You'll probably need more than what is in a typical probiotic yogurt, though it's a start. These days, I drink one DanActive daily, eat probiotic cheese, and Activia or Yoptimal yogurt. That gives me about 30-40 billion a day, which seems to be working. You can get significantly more from Culturelle, Align or VSL #3 (up to 900 billion) but those get expensive and depending where you live, can be hard to find (for instance if I wanted Align, I'd have to order it from the US. VSL #3 is available but literally costs $300 a month).