My Gameplan for Beating Crohns
Legal Disclaimer: This site is for education, reference, and encouragement only based on my experience with having Crohn's and my knowledge as a human anatomy and physiology teacher. I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. But it is what worked for me.
Financial Disclaimer: On this page of my site I will be using some Amazon affiliate links for products that I use that work for me. As an Amazon Associate I (will eventually, once approved) earn from qualifying purchases.
My Gameplan for Beating Crohns
This is what works for me, and it is how I am currently beating Crohns. I hope that it works for you too if you try it! This is just my gameplan, not a full explanation of why it works. For a bit more of the science behind this, see my "learning about inflammation" page.
Very Low Sugar Intake - This is one of the hardest, yet one of the most important so I'll start with this. My protocol is simple:
Unlimited produce, with few exceptions: If something does not have a nutrition label on it, and comes from the produce section I can have as much of it as I want. The biggest exception I have for myself is watermelon, since it's pretty high in sugar and it's easy to eat a lot in one sitting, so I limit myself to one slice per meal. Any other "sugary" fruits I just try to keep to a reasonable moderation.
If it has a nutrition label, I count grams of sugar: For anything that has a nutrition label, so basically anything not out of the produce section, I count how many grams it has. This includes looking up nutritional information at restaraunts (they are usually posted online or available by request). I only allow myself to have a maximum of 30 grams of sugar total per day (which honestly isn't much) from things with a nutrition label. This is one of the biggest lifestyle changes that this gameplan requires, and you'll be amazed at how many things contain much more than 30 grams of sugar! You need to be sure that you're accounting for serving sizes, so if a label says "3 serving per container" and you eat the whole container, you have to triple the number of grams of sugar per serving to know how much you are actually getting. You also need to be considering total sugars, not just added sugars, and not confusing this with total carbohydrates. This seems simple, but so many people get confused on this I wanted to mention it. Having said that, food items with most of the sugar being added, and not naturally occurring, is a big red flag that you might want to avoid it anyway.No Gluten - This one is also hard and important, so this goes towards the top of the list too. This one is an easy rule: no gluten whatsoever - no cheating. Gluten is a group of proteins found in wheat, so obviously it's in bread and pasta. But be careful, gluten isn't just in bread and pasta. For example, beer contains gluten. Many other items that you don't think have gluten actually do, for example, Taco Bell nacho chips actually contain some wheat flour even though you'd probably think they are just corn chips. Soy sauce has gluten in it. Many soups and stews use wheat flour as a thickener even if it isn't obvious. You'll have to get into the habit of reading nurtrition labels, or asking if things contain gluten at restaraunts.
I will say that you will find those who say otherwise, that there isn't enough scientific evidence for going gluten free, but it has made a difference for me, and I have some science supporting this posted on my about inflammation page.Smart Probiotic Supplementation - You've probably heard about probiotics, "friendly" bacteria that help support your gut and fight off bad bacteria that can inflame your gut. But a key factor that often goes undiscussed is that the probiotic bacteria have to actually survive the trip through your stomach acid and reach your intestines.
There are two products that I use:
The first is KeVita Sparkling Probiotic Lemon Cayenne (I like this flavor because it is low in sugar, other flavors are high in sugar, which seems counterproductive to me). It contains a powerful strain of probiotic bacteria called bacilus coagulans GBI-30 6086, and there is evidence that it can help with Crohn's. This strain of bacteria has the ability to survive your stomach acid and make it down to the intestines where they are needed.
https://www.amazon.com/KeVita-Sparkling-Probiotic-Drink-Cayenne/dp/B00FTCA9B4/ref=sr_1_1_f3_0o_wf?crid=2ZDOU5YM9QW0V&keywords=Kevita+Lemon+Cayenne&qid=1683122682&sprefix=kevita+lemon+cayenn%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1
The second is the HyperBiotics capsules containing probiotics and prebiotics. I like these because they are packaged in a capsule that helps deliver the bacteria alive to your gut by protecting them from stomach acid. They also contain prebiotics, which are basically food for the probiotic cells.
Vitamin D Supplementation - Vitamin D deficiency can cause inflammation, and a lot of us are deficient. It's especially worse in people with inflamed intestines since absorption of Vitamin D can be poor in an inflamed gut. More on this in the about inflammation page, but there are basically two ways to get vitamin D
The first method: Allow your body to make your own Vitamin D from UV light. Exposure to UV light is a required step in the biosynthesis of vitamin D. Without it, your body simply can't make Vitamin D. In the summer, try to spend some more time outdoors and soak up some rays. Obviously you need to consider how fast you sunburn, but even a few minutes of sun exposure can produce lots of Vitamin D.
In the winter months, you can get artificial UV to continue making your own Vitamin D using this product. It's pricey, but it works.
https://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Northern-Lights-Sperti-Sunlamp/dp/B01LBI1BIO/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2OQSQKA560RE6&keywords=UV+lamp+for+vitamin+D&qid=1683123640&sprefix=uv+lamp+for+vitamin+d%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-7&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.2b70bf2b-6730-4ccf-ab97-eb60747b8daf
Supplementation can help too. There is some science here that suggests that it's best to take vitamin D and vitamin K together. I take one of these daily:
https://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-K2-MK7-Supplement-Vegetarian/dp/B0771R5L28/ref=sr_1_6?crid=LAOVHZGWVDY8&keywords=vitamin%2BD%2Bwith%2BK%2Bsupplement&qid=1683123788&rdc=1&sprefix=vitamin%2Bd%2Bwith%2Bk%2Bsupplement%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-6&th=1Clean eating, preferably cooked at home, including lots of olive oil and lots of fiber - I try to minimize processed food and eat a clean diet consisting of lots of fiber and olive oil. The best way to do this is to have a plan when you go to the grocery store, and that's going to include spending a lot of time in the produce section of the store. As I build out the site I'll add some healthy eating recipes on my resources and video blog page.
But whether you use my recipes or your own, generally you're going to want a lot of healthy plant-based fiber, and also a lot of olive oil.
-You don't want a high-fiber diet if you're in the middle of an active Crohn's flare-up. But in remission, plant-based fiber has been shown promise in supporting remission from Crohn's, science here. I'm not saying that you have to go vegetarian, but rather that you just want plant-based fiber to be a big part of your diet. There's a lot more to say about fiber, so I'll hope to do a video blog post about it soon.
-Olive oil has a lot of natural chemicals in it that are anti-inflammatory and even cancer fighting. Seriously, read about the science here.
I'm not saying you can never dine out, my wife and I have a weekly date night where we usually go out, but you're going to want to cook the majority of your food at home. Or just dine out at healthy places, making sure to check the nutritional information of course :)
When I get the chance I'll try to make a video on my blog page about various types of cooking oils, which are good for fighting inflammation and which make inflammation worse.
Collagen bone broth (especially homemade) - Collagen is a protein that can actively repair the connections between gut cells. Read up on the science here. You can buy bone broth but you have to be careful - only products labeled "bone broth" (not just "broth") contain decent amounts of collagen. I good way to tell is that it should have 8-10 grams of protein per serving.
But the best way by far to make high potency collagen bone broth is to make it yourself by cooking soup bones in a slow cooker. It will be much more potent than what you can buy at the store. (Recently my mom was having a flare-up before a trip, I made a large batch of bone broth and asked her to take several doses of it, thinking of it as medicine rather than food. Her symptoms cleared up and she had a great trip). I love to incorporate this into my homemade beef stew. Check out my collagen bone broth beef stew recipe.Regular exercise and staying in shape - I lost a lot of weight when I was hospitalized for Crohns, dropping about 50 pounds in a couple months. This was because I was so sick I just wasn't eating. Not a healthy way to lose weight!!! But I decided that I would maintain a healthy weight in a healthier fashion after getting out, so I took up weightlifting and running. Nothing crazy, I just try to lift a couple times a week, and go for a couple runs a week. Just make sure that you're exercising in moderation, not pushing your body beyond what it is ready for, as going too hard can actually increase inflammation. But rest assured, healthy exercise with periods of rest in between can help! Science here.
Healthy Fats - The types of fats, or lipids, in our diet has a profound effect on our inflammatory state. I have mentioned olive oil above, fish oils are great too. You can supplement with them, or get it from your dinner. Fatty fish like salmon (sockeye and coho are the best varieties) are a great source. I will try to make a video with more detail on this soon.