Danielle Gaffen
Experience is Power
Danielle’s life experiences as a caregiver have given her unique insight into the power of diet and lifestyle changes in all things gut related. Now she is taking her lessons learned and helping others struggling with IBD.
In the fall of 2013 Danielle's life took an unexpected turn. Her mom was hospitalized for 66 days after her colon had ruptured in three different places. Her doctors removed 2 feet of her intestines and were forced to feed her through an IV. Danielle's mom lost 55 pounds in the process and over the next two years Danielle became her mom's primary caregiver. Ironically as Danielle's mom was becoming fully independent again Danielle met her now husband, Ari. Ari is a Crohn's survivor.
It's inspiring when our greatest struggles become our greatest strengths. Danielle's experiences turned into a passion for all things health and nutrition. Danielle went back to school in 2016 and completed her Masters in Nutrition and the Didactic Program for Dietetics. After completing over 1000 hours of supervised practice and passing the nationally recognized board exam, Danielle is now a Registered Dietitian whose virtual/telehealth practice focuses on the specific needs of IBD patients.
Danielle's husband Ari was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at 17 years old. At his worst he weighed 127 pounds even though he stands six feet tall. "When I met Ari", Danielle recalled, "he was around 135 pounds and I quickly learned his life experiences had given him a fear of food. One day early on in our relationship I was curious and opened up his refrigerator - I was shocked! It was completely empty! Ari didn't know what to eat and because of it he had developed some nutrient deficiencies in the process (Iron and B12). His doctors had told him diet doesn't play any role in IBD - 'Keep on eating how you are eating' they said. But Ari knew every time he ate he would experience more pain and diarrhea."
It is very common for those of us with IBD to develop a fear of food. Danielle knew that she had to get Ari eating again but she also knew she had to determine the individual ingredients that triggered Ari's symptoms. As she began to work with Ari they realized that he had several triggers including some forms of dairy, red meat, caffeine, and alcohol. Additionally she worked to restore his nutrient deficiencies. Now she is excited to report that after these changes Ari has recently hit his maximum weight of 185 pounds! Way to go Ari!
"There is a lot of noise on the internet on how to heal from Crohn's disease. My goal is to provide evidenced based research while knowing that an IBD Warrior knows their gut more than anyone else. This is key - everyone's journey with IBD is different - but I can help provide guidance to help cut through all of that noise and help you find your own personal food triggers while ensuring you don't have any nutrient deficiencies in the process! The goal is to have as balanced of a diet as possible while making adjustments for one's personal triggers."
Thank you for sharing your story Danielle! I'm excited to see you continue to guide others with IBD to health through nutrition!
For anyone interested in taking the next step with Danielle at Eat Well Crohn's Colitis, here are a few resources for more information. I HIGHLY recommend taking a few minutes to listen to her podcast below! Fantastic!
Danielle website: eatwellcrohnscolitis.com
View Danielle's Instagram here
Listen to Danielle's interview with Autoimmune Simplified here
