Foods That Help Heal Crohn’s Disease
Hello and welcome to the blog! This article is going to share with you what foods help heal Crohn’s disease. These are the exact types of foods that I have used to get rid of my Crohn’s disease symptoms. And keep them away since June 2022.
The short answer to this question is that anti-inflammatory foods heal Crohn’s disease. Now of course it is not as simple as that, as many anti-inflammatory foods are also high in fiber. But that is the long and short of it.
This article is going to discuss
- Which foods are anti-inflammatory
- What foods promote inflammation
- How these foods also help heal your micro-biome
- How to incorporate anti-inflammatory foods, while in a flare
- Example meals.
There is evidence to suggest that using an anti-inflammatory diet, you can fight off inflammation for good. All without any adverse side effects.
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet also has other benefits than just helping heal IBD. It may help reduce the chances of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
This healthy diet may help reduce the impact of disease. It can delay disease progression, reduce the need for medication.
Many diseases are affected by inflammation, including cancer, diabetes, and arthritis. All of these diseases will be positively impacted by an anti-inflammatory diet.
The IBD-AID diet is a clearly outlined plan that is based on anti-inflammatory foods. It also takes into consideration fiber for each stage of healing.
It is the diet that I continue to follow to manage my Crohn’s disease symptoms.
So Exactly What Foods are Anti-inflammatory?
Fruits, vegetables, herbs, and healthy fats are the key to an anti-inflammatory diet. A whole foods diet with lots of fruits and vegetables is the key.
While pretty much all fruit, and veg are anti-inflammatory there are a few key players to note. These items are very high in anti-oxidants and polyphenols:
Foods That Heal Crohn’s Disease:
- Berries: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries
- Broccoli
- Avocados
- Mushrooms
- Grapes
- Turmeric
- Tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Green tea
This is not an exhaustive list.
The best way to add these foods into your diet is to make them the base for everything that you eat.
When eating a meal, you plate should be at least 50% plants. Doing this ensures that you are receiving a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. And a lot of anti-inflammatory healing benefits.
Fruits and vegetables are full of natural anti-oxidants. Adding as much colour as you can into your meals, ensures that you are receiving higher levels of anti-oxidants. And wider variety.
Pro Inflammatory Foods
Pro-inflammatory foods are foods that promote the growth of inflammation in our bodies. These foods are considered bad for health in general. They are man-made, multi-ingredient foods that are not naturally found on the planet.
These are the foods that are the opposite of foods that heal Crohn’s disease.
These proinflammatory foods include:
- Junk food in general: packaged chips, cookies, crackers, pastries
- Refined carbohydrates: white bread, white rice, pasta and cereals
- Fried foods: French fries, fried chicken, and tempura
- Sugary, sweetened beverages: soda, artificial juices, energy drinks
- Processed meats: hot dogs, sausages, many deli meats
- Red meat
This is not an exhaustive list.
Many chronic diseases are affected by chronic inflammation, and gut dysbiosis. If you are suffering from IBD I believe you should eliminate these foods 100%.
Every single time you eat an inflammatory food, you are encouraging the growth and spread of inflammation in your body. You are feeding the bad bacteria, and promoting further dysbiosis and disease.
This is not something to be taken lightly, if you eat these foods, they are likely to be the cause of your disease.
How Does This Affect the Gut Microbiome?
Although healthy, whole food is good for you, many of the benefits of whole foods are to to the good bacteria in your gut. When you eat health foods, you are not the only one who benefits from the nutrients in these items. When you eat these anti-inflammatory foods, the good bacteria eat too. And if they are fed a healthy diet, they will be able to thrive, and multiply.
These healthy bacteria have a favourite food – and that’s fiber. The polyphenols in fiber break down into short-chain fatty acids. These acids play a key role in reducing inflammation.
If you want to eat foods that heal Crohn’s disease, you must think about eating for the gut microbiome.
Fiber, Food Intolerances and IBD
It is so important to remember that if you are in a flare, you may not be able to tolerate high fiber foods. High fiber, anti-inflammatory foods include:
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Grapefruit
- Bell peppers/capsicum
This is not an exhaustive list, to learn more about adding fiber to your diet in a flare click here.
If you are in a flare, you may have to avoid all high fiber foods. Luckily, as your body heals, you can add more anti-inflammatory, fiber-rich foods, .
To start adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet, start with low fiber options. These foods can be found in IBD-AID phase 1 foods. These include:
- Papaya
- Banana
- Avocado
- Carrots
- Pumpkin
- Onions
If you start with these ingredients, over time you can ‘train’ your body to digest higher fiber foods. As your body heals, you can add small amounts of higher-fiber foods. Over time you will be able to eat a wider variety of anti-inflammatory, high fiber foods.
People with IBD often suffer from food intolerances. It is possible that due to these intolerances, a few of these healthy foods may cause symptoms in your body.
Using an elimination diet is the best way to discover which foods you are intolerant to.
Examples of Anti-Inflammatory Meals
Most meals are based around meat, or grain. To help incorporate foods that heal Crohn’s into your diet, base your meals around these delicious, anti-inflammatory foods.
This may involve a shift in mindset.
This could mean instead of the mindset “we are having chicken tonight”. Change to, “we are having pumpkin, asparagus, and zucchini, with a side of chicken, and fruit for dessert”. Or instead of, “we are having pasta tonight”. Try, “we are having a vegetable sauce, with mushrooms, tomatoes, and fresh basil, with some pasta”.
Example one day anti-inflammatory meal plan:
Breakfast:
Turmeric and ginger tea with honey
Smoothie with: coconut water, blueberries, mango, banana, ½ avocado, flax seeds, gluten free oats
Snack:
Apple and almond butter
Lunch:
2 egg omelet, made with almond milk, and mushrooms, spinach, and tomato
Snack:
Hummus with seed crackers, and cut celery, carrot, and cucumber
Dinner:
Tilapia fish, boiled sweet potatoes, sauteed cauliflower, onion, garlic, and broccoli with fresh, dried herbs for flavour
Dessert:
Fruit salad with papaya, watermelon, and pear
The answer is quite clear when you consider it. The foods that heal Crohn’s disease are anti-inflammatory foods. Pro inflammatory foods, promote inflammation in the body. If you want to heal your body from IBD, or any other inflammatory disease, one thing is clear. You must eat an anti-inflammatory diet.
Luckily a diet full of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats can taste delicious. It offers a wide range of meals, and best of all – it can literally heal your body.