Has anybody here tried the carnivore diet with a j-pouch? If so, do/did you take fiber supplements or do anything else a non-pouch person would do?
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Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! Plant based diet best. give it 30 days and be amazed!
The biggest error that I see folks make here is overconfidence that the diet they prefer (or that works better for them) is what will be best for anyone else. Within The bounds of basic nutritional reasonableness I suggest you try what you like and see if it works for you. I will note that some fad diets are not within the bounds of basic nutritional reasonableness...
@JL88s posted:Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! Plant based diet best. give it 30 days and be amazed!
I'm glad that works for you. Definitely not for me.
So you tried it and it didn't work for you?
I agree with Scott 100%...not everything that works for one person will work or another...it is both nature (your essential biological history and your origins= most Asiatics do not digest lactose at all...other origins have different sensibilities or complete exclusions).
Add to that 'nuture' meaning what you were raised with and you have a recipe for 1000 different dietary needs.
A plant-based diet could work for some people if you balance out your protein charge and you verify your vitamin charge regularly...but the human race is not a race of vegetarians or vegans...we are inherently omnivore...meaning we eat a variety of both vegetables and meats...
So, you need to find the diet that works for you and not anyone else.
As Scott said, Fad diets and social movements might be tempting for some but not reasonable for everyone.
Try keeping a food diary...introduce new foods 'on their own' a little at a time and see how they react in your guts...then integrate them into your diet.
As for a full protein diet...it can lead to nutritional problems...so you would require supplements to help balance things out.
Sharon
@JL88s posted:So you tried it and it didn't work for you?
Yes, and my wife tried vegetarian for about a year and ended up in the hospital over it. Not only did she gain weight and have a lot of inflammation, she had less energy and didn't feel well. When she switched to keto that all went away and since switching to full carnivore, she's never felt better or been healthier. She dropped 60 lbs without any difficulty, all her inflammation went away, and she feels great.
@skn69 posted:I agree with Scott 100%...not everything that works for one person will work or another...it is both nature (your essential biological history and your origins= most Asiatics do not digest lactose at all...other origins have different sensibilities or complete exclusions).
Add to that 'nuture' meaning what you were raised with and you have a recipe for 1000 different dietary needs.
A plant-based diet could work for some people if you balance out your protein charge and you verify your vitamin charge regularly...but the human race is not a race of vegetarians or vegans...we are inherently omnivore...meaning we eat a variety of both vegetables and meats...
So, you need to find the diet that works for you and not anyone else.
As Scott said, Fad diets and social movements might be tempting for some but not reasonable for everyone.
Try keeping a food diary...introduce new foods 'on their own' a little at a time and see how they react in your guts...then integrate them into your diet.
As for a full protein diet...it can lead to nutritional problems...so you would require supplements to help balance things out.
Sharon
Yep evolution hasn't helped vegetarians or vegans. We evolved as meat eaters, but the environment is fighting back, meat production can't / won't keep up with demand, worlds growing population. So in the future meat protein will be replaced by bug protein, locust and scorpion etc. A supermarket in the UK started selling smoky barbecue-flavoured crickets.
There may, one day, be a full-blown market for bug protein (at least we will no longer need pest control) but that time is not within our lifetime...or at least mine...here is Europe we prefer quality over quantity and eat meat rarely...a couple of times/month...
For now, I am what they call here, flexitarian...I eat a variety of foods, am often vegetarian or add fish...but when I find meat, good meat, I eat it.
I think that we need the micronutrients that come from a large variety of foods...to keep healthy...and I do my best. We need, I repeat, to find what works best for each of us...
By the way, I make a huge pot of vegetable soup every week...about a 1/2 gallon of it...blend it and eat it throughout the week...that is usually my main meal...I just clear out the bottom of the vegetable drawer weekly and sauté and cook it all...my way of fighting waste and keeping healthy!
Sharon
I have had the pouch for 18 years and have tried a lot of different things that usually work for only a short period of time. My latest experiment is a gluten-free diet. Two months in and things are looking good. I also found that a short dosage of antibiotics (3 days) works when I have pouchitis.
I have tried it and love it for the most part. Personally, I need to have a few carbs (berries or sweet potato) or things gets very runny. My sleep is much better, my energy is up and my mind is more clear cutting down on the carbs and increasing the fat. I also have bronchiectasis from the colitis and this has helped reduce the amount of coughing and drastically reduced the amount of phlegm I cough up each day. It ends up being more of a keto(ish) diet and I don’t plan on changing things because it’s really worked for me.
jdev did you ever experiment with this? I'm considering carnivore but I know things will get very runny for me because I've been on keto.
I would say be a vegetarian 
@Former Member posted:jdev did you ever experiment with this? I'm considering carnivore but I know things will get very runny for me because I've been on keto.
I did try it for 2-3 months, although I was a bit all over the place, went into it pretty fast, which may have caused a bit of pouchitis, and then had a hard time getting it to settle back down. We were in covid lockdown here so I wasn't able to get in to the doctor to get a prescription to help get it under control. I also think some of what I was doing in the beginning may have drawn out the transition time getting into ketosis... I was taking fiber that I didn't realize had so much sugar in it, then I cut out the fiber all together and went strict carnivore which made things very runny. I also think I might have a bit of a harder time with the higher fat ratio that seems to work so well for other people. I did feel good though and a lot of little inflammation issues went away, such as aches and pains in the morning, snoring at night, etc. And I leaned out a lot, lost all the extra body fat. I really want to try it again.... probably going to wait a while until my circumstances are a bit more favorable. I'd love to hear your experiences with it if you give it a go.
Such a valuable question. I've been vegetarian for eight years in which my disease progressed, to eventually me having a j-pouch. two years after the j-pouch surgery I started eating meat again with the help of a friend. I took less and less supplements and never needed iron supplements again. I've been looking into the carnivore diet but I just don't know. I have been on the fodmap diet though, and it helps a lot. I also had a period where I ate mostly meat and drank milk or kefir or ate cottage cheese. But now that I've been on the fodmap diet I found out lactose is a trigger. The carnivore diet seems okay if you have a colon, but I have the same questions as you. It just seems weird to me to eat just meat, eggs, salt, water, fish and eggs. Also look into the fodmap diet, it eliminates a lot of things that are in plants and honey, vegetables, which makes the output way less runny.
The only diet that has been developed specifically for persons with IBD and autoimmune disorder by medical professionals is the UMass IBD-AID diet, which derives from the SCD diet:
https://www.umassmed.edu/nutrition/ibd/ibdaid
As noted by Scott F earlier in the thread, any diet is going to work well or not on a trial and error basis, and there is no such thing as general acceptability among any population with any diet. In the past I was in IBD support groups with persons who tried vegetarian diets that failed, either because the person was unable to maintain their weight or their iron levels or digestive issues, whereas others did OK with such diets. Similarly, with carnivore diets, persons who have sodium restrictions or problems with high blood pressure could be bringing on hypertension or heart attacks, whereas others can eat high salt diets and maintain normal blood pressure readings. The American Heart Association recommends that we consume no more than one teaspoon of salt a day- 2300 ml:
https://www.heart.org/en/healt...should-i-eat-per-day
If your blood pressures run over 140/90 and you start eating a diet like this, salt consumption will go up and you could be embarking on a dangerous path. At a minimum, get a blood pressure gauge and check it twice a day. You do not want to start focusing on one diet that improves your bowel health while simultaneously sabotaging your cardiovascular health. Consider general health and well-being as well as bowel health, because as you age blood pressures will creep up and hypertension and blood pressure pills may all of a sudden become part of your life. The number of medical records I read of persons over age 50 that have hypertension is kind of out of control. The average American consumes 3400 ml of salt a day, which is around 33% more than what is recommended by the AHA. And once you hit 50, the blood pressure will start creeping up no matter what, so you really need to be watchful of it.
Thanks you for the clear information CTBarrister.
I'm not trying to be one of those guys who tries to tell everybody what to do but I know quite a bit about diet and health.
No fad diets are good in the long run. It doesn't mean you couldn't go on the carnivore diet to achieve a short term goal like lose weight of gain muscle. Same for keto. It's a great way to she'd some pounds for summer but it's not sustainable for the long run.
The best diet is a clean diet with lots of veggies, fruits, and yes meats. Not a big Mac from McDonald's but a nice organic slice of meat. We are designed to eat all that stuff. Again it's not to say you can't be a vegan. Vegan is a very healthy diet but you also have to supplement because the vegan diet doesn't provide you with everything you need. Nothing wrong with experimenting but if your goal is overall health then eat a variety of healthy foods and cut out the garbage and you'll be all good.
I totally agree with you Jaydog. Clean organic is the way to go when it comes to all food!!!
btw, after my jpouch surgery(5 years ago) I was told to stay away from all vegetables, which In the beginning almost killed me because before total colectomy I almost was a vegetarian (but did eat fish and chicken). I just love veggies and fruit.
I was told that all my salad and veggie eating could have contributed to ulcerative colitis.
i am just now slowly trying to get back on eating
fruits (bananas, mangos to start with) and very well cooked veggies. I am dying to eat a raw spinach salad with mushrooms, but the fear of diarrhea the next day keeps from from doing that. I can eat an 8 ounce filet mignon with no toilet issue but cannot eat a salad. To me that is crazy, but that is what it is for me. Doc says the longer I have the pouch the better it will get.
also have a question when it comes to VSL. Been taking them for almost three years and noticed that they give me diarrhea. Stopped using them and feel a lot better. Never did have pouchitis.
As always, thank you all!
Yes that is what I thought. I was taking it to prevent getting pouchitis. I wholeheartedly agree that not everything that works for one person will work for another.
Thanks Scott for your reply.
Happy New Year!