Diet - What we eat really does make a difference

Yep, even though everybody says that a carb heavy diet is their friend with a j-pouch, I do better with much less carbs in my diet. They are still there, just not as predominant.

Jan

I had my take down 2 Jan 2013. I lost 70 lbs due to malnutrition, UC flare, meds and surgeries (weighted solid 203 down to 130ish). I stumbled upon John Meadows. Bodybuilder has had his large intestine/colon removed. His approach is organic foods, and he is extremly knowledgable on the digestive tract. He has some youtube videos of him shopping and breaking down the nutrients and their affects with how it affects us with how we dont absorb items as well. It can be expensive but almost 2 weeks in doing his approach I have put on some more weight, feces more solid, and not as much cramping/gas/bloating. I hope this helps.

My BFF tried for years to convince her doctors that she had celiacs(s), a wheat intolerance, problem. Whatever tests they ran on her came back negative. She put herself on a gluten free diet anyway and changed doctors. It took 5 years to get the proper diagnosis and she is gluten intolerant.

I'm eating a much better diet now than before the surgeries. The way foods effect me is almost night and day. I've learned to love fruits and to lay off diet sodas, alcohol and greasy foods - to name some things. Not that my diet was all bad but those foods where in it. I went on all kinds of diets over the years trying to help my UC and IBS like Atkins, weight watchers, soups et al.

The most expensive was an anti inflammation diet with organic supplements prescribed by a holistic MD, that lived 2 states away. She was very expensive and my insurance did not cover any of her tests, medications or treatments. One of her treatments included infusions of a peroxide containing solution! For example she prescribed things like Borage Oil, B-12 shots, MSM, flax seed oil etc. I spent a lot of money buying things such as almond flour et al for the diet.

There was one diet with a lot of salmon by a doctor named Perricone (?). I tried Manatech supplements, that were supposed to not only fix IBD but diabeties and probably cancer. My diabetic friend took them too. When nothing happened I quit buying them after spending over $1,000 on it. A few years ago I got a class action lawsuit settlement against them, thanks to the State of Texas, of pennies on the dollar. I bought UC, heart healthy, health spa and weight watcher cookbooks. I'm sure I'm missing something. We have worked meals from the cookbooks into our current diet and have learned to cook healthier. I don't like restaurant food anymore either.

So now I get over 40% of the daily protein requirement from an all plant based powder I use in my fruit/veggie smoothies. I eat lean meat and keep the serving size to that of a deck of cards. I do eat crackers, pretzels and V-8 juice for salty foods besides my electrolyte replacement drink. I use NUUN tables for that. I eat sweet and regular potatoes, beets, pasta and some bread or tortillas and most help thicken my stool. I've found that wild, brown and white rice are no longer my friends. I still can not eat fresh veggies, salads, yet after 2 years. I loved salads.

It is easy to give up food when you eat it and immediately get sick. That is one thing good about having such a short transit time is you get immediate feedback.

I lost all my prednisone weight after the surgeries as I had to make myself eat then. I'd like to loose more weight but am not going on a diet where I have to count calories, points, make detailed food journals ect. I'm staying on my own diet, like many of us are on, and am not trying to loose weight. I want to get better first and what I'm doing is maintaining my current weight and if I remain here the rest of my life I am fine with it. I lost back 9 BMI points to fluctuating between 1 - 2 points over the top of the normal range. That's the measurement I think is one of the best to focus on. Others measure inches, I did a diet that did that too, or focus on the scales, calories and whatever. Whatever floats your boat.

There is no one right or wrong way. Plus when we want something, that we know is going to give us trouble, go ahead thinking it is worth the grief tonight or tomorrow (mushrooms, lettuce, etc.).

i felt better when i had ulcerative colitis.

Solomin,
I am so happy for you on so many levels...that you have a dr willing to do the surgery, that you have found a way to reduce you pain and discomfort and that you have found a diet that works for you and that is effective....I love living on protiens and fruits/Veggies...my body and my pouch love it too...they are happiest that way, it makes less residue for the pouch and requires me to empty less often, creates much less gas and cramping too...it is when I go off of that (like the last 6 months) that I feel 'heavy' and bloated and my pouch takes ages to empty out...you inspired me to kill the carbs and go back on to the protiens and even through it has been only 3 days, I already feel better...Thanks for the inspiration and the reminder.
Keep up the good work...I know how terribly you have been suffering over the last few years and how horrible it has been for you and your family so this is fantastic news! How long til the surgery?
Hugs
Sharon

I have dramatically reduced carbs in my diet - I do not eat any breads, pastas, potatoes rice or processed foods. This is something that Dr. Shen and his disciples have preached and something imperative for me as I reduce Entocort and hope to not have the stricture/narrowing at my J Pouch inlet get any worse.

A few days ago I attended a seminar given by a woman who has worked as a registered dietician at Yale New Haven Hospital since 1975. A women in her 60s and she has the trim physique of a 20 something so she obviously practices what she preaches. The focus of the seminar was eating for cardiovascular health, healthy fats (monounsaturated) and healthy foods to reduce inflammation and plaque buildup in the arteries which are essentially whole grains and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussell sprouts, cabbage, cale, mustard greens, etc.)

Her seminar materials also contained a helpful guide on what levels to looks for on tryglycerides, HDL, LDL etc. when you get your blood test results back. I tried to post the seminar materials but I had it saved in Adobe format and it would not let me do it.

She also told us that women have 3 times more HDL (good cholesterol) than men do but all of that changes at the time of menopause and as the estrogen level goes down the HDL levels begin to equalize between women and men.

She also mentioned something I already heard at a CCFA seminar which is that processed peanut butter is one of the worst things you can eat whereas she said natural peanut butter is like medicine and she told us to only buy natural peanut butter and not the stuff like Skippy and Jif which has the peanut oil removed and replaced by hydrogenated oils.

FYI
My husband makes our peanut butter with 2 ingredients, peanuts and a little canola oil. He uses our Vita Mix but any good blender should work. If you want to add sweetener you can ad honey or whatever you like. I add honey as I use it. We store it in the refrigerator.

Canola oil is the oil recommended by the registered dietician. She told us that commercially processed peanut butters have the peanut oil removed because that is a valuable item that is sold off for $$$$$, then the peanut oil is replaced with cheaper "hydrogenated oils" (like cottonseed oil) because they give the peanut butter a desired smooth texture.

She also said olive oil was good but it has a low smoke point, PLUS when olive oil is cooked the Omega 3 Fatty Acids are converted to Omega 6. So she said cook with canola oil and use olive oil only when you do not have to cook it so as to preserve the Omega 3 fatty acid properties. As in salads and foods that have already been cooked.

Making one's own peanut butter with fresh peanuts and canola oil is a very good idea although right now I am using Teddie All Natural Super Chunk. Ironically this was one of the natural brand peanut butters recommended by the dietician. As far as sweeteners that is up to you and how much sugar you want to consume, but Shenite doctrine basically is that sugar is poison for the pouch and those with pouchitis, so I tend to use splenda or nothing at all to sweeten. I have to use splenda in my coffee, I know it is probably better to put nothing in it as sweetener, but I want that sweet taste but without the sugar that will poison my pouch. As much as I love honey I said goodbye to it, and a painful goodbye it was, sort of like breaking up with a girlfriend.

I tried to post the seminar materials after converting it into a MS Word text format but it just would not post. I am really not sure why and it is too bad because there is tons of good info in there. And pretty much all of these suggestions, although specifically geared up for good cardiovascular health, would also tend to promote good J Pouch health as well. My 3 main sources of protein are eggs (breakfast), peanut butter (lunch) and chicken or fish (dinner). And with them I mainly eat one of the cruciferous vegetables, or edamame and probiotic yogurt.

My opinion is that you do what works for your system. Carbs and sugar work fine for me. I get a bit exasperated when an expert or even a layperson says that for one's optimal health, one must cut out certain foods, or drink this much water per day or eat two servings of whatever every single day. Any directive will work for some people and it won't work for others. When someone declares that 'something' is the absolute worst thing that one can eat it makes me skeptical of everything else that person says.

I drink liquids when I'm thirsty. I eat the foods I want. I'm a vegetarian but I certainly don't think that everyone should be a vegetarian because some people absolutely need animal protein in their diets.

Looking back at the fanatical diets and recommendations that have been tried and then discarded is astonishing.

TE Marie - we make our own tahini and it's absolutely delicious.

kathy

Agreed, but still, it makes sense to understand the science of nutrition. There are so many dubious claims out there, it is difficult to sort it all out. But, when a Registered Dietician (not just a nutritionist) speaks, I tend to listen, especially one with many years experience. They are the ones who have to have specific education and training to obtain their licenses. Still, you have to really listen, because they never will tell you that one thing or another will kill or cure you, just that the adivce will tend to lead to a more healthful life. It is all individual and your family history probably factors in more than your diet when it comes to heart disease, diabetes, etc.

I only had to have two classes in nutrition with my nurses training, with one focused on nutrition as it applies to health and disease. Even that small amount of knowledge made a big impact on my understanding.

All of this seems to point to the notion that the more fresh food that you eat, the better, and the less processed/preserved the better. Do that, and you won't have to micromanage so much, because you will naturally filter out the not so great and bad stuff, because they are not included in fresh foods. My goal is to live as well as I can without it consuming my every waking moment.

Jan

I had my J pouch surgery Jan 21st. It was supposed to be the first of two, but due to unforseen things inside, my surgeon went right to the J pouch. I am slowly introducing new things to my diet. Are there things I should avoid? I am not eating anything spicy or nuts seeds or popcorn. I don't seek the advice of dieticians, unless I could find one with a J pouch.

Cindy,
I think it's great you got to have the surgeries done in one step! Just be careful when adding new foods to your diet and only take a few bites until you see if it agrees with you. Watch out for fresh veggies and fruits, except bananas. They bother some of us but are fine with others. I hope all is going well!