Eating out when you have Crohn’s disease , a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), can be a minefield. It’s often difficult to find a restaurant that serves food prepared in IBD-friendly ways while also being able to trust that any requests to omit specific trigger foods will be honored. As a result, many people living with Crohn’s believe that cooking for themselves is the simpler, more relaxed option — and the only one that’s guaranteed to deliver a meal designed specifically for their needs. By making your own meals and deciding exactly what goes in your food, you can avoid ingredients that upset your digestive system. “The upside of cooking at home is that you have control,” says Christine Lothen-Kline, RDN , a registered dietitian with Crohn’s disease, who works at Mayo Clinic locations in Wisconsin. Here are a few cooking tips from Lothen-Kline and home cooks with Crohn’s. default Making Crohn’s-friendly meals doesn’t have to be a hassle.
Identify Your Personal Food Triggers Foods that cause one person to double over in pain may not be problematic for someone else. In fact, there’s no standardized diet for Crohn’s disease that dictates which specific foods to eat or avoid, although the American Gastroenterological Association recommends a plant-based, Mediterranean-style dietary approach overall.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762947d8793b-67ec-4993-907d-00779f3eed51 The best way to find your food triggers is by keeping track of symptoms that crop up after eating by using a food diary or a smartphone app that can help you recognize patterns.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976291ab5dc8a-1a46-4e6b-bcd0-84531f57b688
Keep It Simple You don’t have to be a trained chef to make nutritious, Crohn’s-friendly meals at home. Noelle Gardner of Los Angeles, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2001, says many of her creations are one-pot dishes. “I’ll get some scallops or shrimp, toss in some fresh spinach, cut up a whole bulb of fennel, and then pour in some natural vegetable broth,” she says. “I throw it in one casserole dish and bake it for 45 minutes.” Lothen-Kline is a big fan of omelets, even for dinner. Use eggs, green pepper, and a little cheese — if you can tolerate them — and you’ve got a meal, she says. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and Crohn’s and Colitis Canada also offer nutrient-dense, Crohn’s-friendly recipes that can help you plan meals.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629e93ed362-1348-4d53-bed0-151d4df012cae60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629c9a64528-d9d2-4502-a3a0-269c14cbbeda
Juice It or Blend It As nutritious as fruits and vegetables are, their high fiber content can cause trouble for many people with Crohn’s disease. Peeling the skin off of them can remove some of the fiber, as can using a juicer , which Gardner does. “It’s so much easier to digest, and your body gets the nutrients you need without working so hard to process it,” she says.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629bde2cb3e-2d23-4552-b695-d07f1d666822e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629a897dcd6-52d0-4f75-a561-702d9b4f458c Sarah Choueiry Simkin, who has Crohn’s and lives in California, takes daily vitamin supplements and gets most of her fruit through smoothies she makes in a blender. Using a blender is another simple way to make foods more digestible; it also helps them travel more easily through your gut.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976296e9c1f0b-5419-47ed-8a95-6b768c2c70e8 If you have strictures , or narrowing in your digestive tract, you should be especially cautious about including too much fiber in your diet to avoid a blockage.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629a8d6f58e-0720-4e3c-a1f2-921505b448d8 Modifying the texture of fiber-rich foods — by chewing thoroughly or through processing, such as by blending or juicing them — can help when you have strictures, according to advice issued by the American Gastroenterological Association.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629c1c8b33d-6ae5-4cc5-9218-f96ed4d65e3b
Cook Your Produce Some people with Crohn’s disease find that fruits and vegetables cause fewer unpleasant symptoms when they’re cooked until soft.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629b02fb590-90f8-4efa-9bd7-f7930f16dff6 Most of the vegetables Choueiry Simkin consumes are cooked, and she eats only a limited amount of raw fruit. “I make a conscious effort to chew really well and use the rules of mindful eating when I do eat raw fruits or vegetables,” she says. Eating mindfully — slowing down and focusing on the direct experience of ingesting your food — engages your parasympathetic nervous system, the branch of your autonomic nervous system that helps control digestion.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629fe4b665a-ef4d-4500-93d5-7dea99c6c4c3
Make Creative Substitutions If a particular food doesn’t agree with your digestive system, you can usually find a good substitute. For example, Gardner eats rice noodles or pasta made with arrowroot rather than wheat and uses almond or coconut milk in place of cow’s milk. Choueiry Simkin makes “noodles” from long strips of zucchini or sweet potatoes and eats them in place of traditional pasta. If you need help finding ways to approximate your favorite dishes without triggering symptoms, an IBD-focused dietitian can be a valuable resource. If you don’t already have one on your team, ask your doctor for a referral; insurance often covers dietitian services for people with IBD.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629f1a8a134-2009-453e-8ddb-436298760026
Opt for Extra-Easy-to-Digest Foods During Flares If you’re experiencing a Crohn’s disease flare , you may want to reduce your intake of insoluble fiber , indigestible carbohydrates that add bulk to stool to help it move through the gut. Some find that it can exacerbate symptoms when active inflammation is present.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629edaa7fd2-89b1-464d-9ec1-023584f880e5 Sources of insoluble fiber include whole grains and products made from them, such as breads and pastas, leafy green vegetables, and fruit and vegetable peels.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629edaa7fd2-89b1-464d-9ec1-023584f880e5 On the other hand, preliminary research suggests that soluble fiber, which dissolves in water to form a gel, is better digested by beneficial bacteria in the gut, which may have anti-inflammatory benefits. You can find soluble fiber in oatmeal, beans, bananas, citrus fruit, and peeled apples and pears.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629cd668d62-607e-4138-a0e3-39fb62835878e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629ee76fb5c-b2de-40ad-b064-96fc0b7ead8c “As we learn more about digestive disorders , we come up with many more healthy, nontriggering options and food and ingredient substitutes,” says Gardner.
Plan Ahead With family, work, and other obligations, life can get so busy that pulling into the nearest drive-thru may seem like the easiest option, but the high-fat fare typically offered can exacerbate symptoms for many people with Crohn’s disease, and processed foods can also cause an imbalance in the gut microbiome (dysbiosis). With a little planning, you can prepare easy-to-digest meals in advance so you don’t feel compelled to opt for fast food when you’re on the go.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629bb50adf2-f4d7-45c1-a5ab-bab30163bfc8e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976298648761b-b260-41ef-9130-9c287ce5754a “I pack my lunch the night before,” Choueiry Simkin says. “[And] if I’m going to be really busy during the week, I’ll cook dinners on Sunday and put them in the freezer.” Also consider buying dinners made at meal-prep stores or using delivery services where you can put together several family-size dinners at once. All of the ingredients are prepped and precut for maximum time savings. Pop the prepared meals in the freezer and you’ve got healthy options ready to go when you need them, Lothen-Kline says.
The Takeaway With Crohn’s disease, cooking your own meals is often the best way to avoid food triggers because it gives you control over what goes into every dish. Try blending or juicing high-fiber fruits and vegetables, cooking produce until soft, and making food substitutions like zucchini noodles instead of wheat pasta. During a Crohn’s flare, opt for easy-to-digest foods by reducing insoluble fiber.
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