Diet + other factors
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and dealing with ANY health related problems I am NOT recommending you take the same unconventional approach as I have in my battle with Crohn’s disease. Any changes you wish to make in your care plans should be done in partnership with the team of qualified healthcare providers who treat you.
Are we guaranteed success when attempting to fight IBD through diet?
Sadly no… but let me give a little context for this post… It’s been five months now since I released my first post on this blog and I haven’t addressed the elephant in the room…
I have focused a majority of my posts specifically on my diet changes for two key reasons: 1) because so far over my 20 years with Crohn’s disease, diet has been the one factor that I have seen the most direct correlation to my symptoms and 2) diet has been one of the easiest factors to control, track, and tie back to symptoms. I am up 50 pounds, off medication, and my last major flare was in 2018 - this is all thanks to finding around 20 trigger ingredients during an elimination diet.
But is diet the only factor that plays into IBD?
Oh I wish it were that easy!! I recently had a conversation with a fellow IBD warrior who has tried many of the prescribed diets for IBD out there (SCD, low FODMAP, etc.) and these diets only made her sicker. It was heartbreaking. IBD is a very complex set of diseases with what seems like an infinite number of variables so it is never that easy. In her case, there could still be a trigger within those prescribed diets that she isn’t aware of yet, it might be something other than food triggering her symptoms, or she could be having an immune response to something she has no control over at all.
I had the privilege to speak with naturopathic doctor Caroline Methe recently about her protocol for treating Ulcerative Colitis (about 75% of her patients have digestive issues and they have seen tremendous success in symptom reduction). Dr. Caroline explained to me that our bodies want to heal.
The first step she focuses on with her patients is to remove factors that trigger an immune response - most of the time these are foods but not always. I’m paraphrasing a little here, but Dr. Caroline used an example of someone who cuts their finger - if this person leaves the cut alone, the area around the cut will become a little red, swell slightly, and will form a scab (this is healthy inflammation at work) - but if this person continues to mess with the cut, picks at it, digs into it, or continues to irritate it then it won’t be able to heal and will likely become infected (the inflammation will only get worse).
We have to first remove the irritants (the things that are picking at our gut) and give our bodies time to rest. Dr. Caroline continued explaining that sometimes the irritant can be an out of balance microbiome due to bad bacteria such as c-diff or giardia, the stress of being unable to let things go, or even a wide variety of other factors that add strain to our immune systems and bodies - but she does believe diet is the most important factor to look at first.
When I started this blog, I wanted to show what was possible when you feel like you are out of options. My story was that medication was losing its effectiveness and my only option was surgery. When I tried diet I immediately saw a noticeable improvement in my symptoms - but everyone’s story is different, and that’s ok. We all have the same goal to be healthy again and that’s what I hope for everyone with IBD.
You have to find what works for you. That can be medicine, it can be surgery, it can be finding and removing trigger foods, or it can be moving to Hawaii and relaxing on the beach with a pina colada in hand. (I want that last one! Why can’t that one alone keep me in remission?? ha!). Likely it’s a combination of these.
So the next time you ask.. Was it something I ate? Was it something in my environment? Am I stressed? Do I have a stomach bug? Know that you aren’t alone and it’s healthy to be mindful of what is happening in your body.
However, I strongly encourage you take that next step in your journey (if you haven’t already) and get some help from any of the amazing specialists highlighted in the IBD Community. I’m living proof that my life is drastically different because of the types of things you’ll learn from any of these experts.
Diet might not be the only factor that triggers symptoms but it’s a great place to start.
Update: November 2023
I really enjoy the opportunity to talk with people about their journeys. The stories are heartbreaking and we shouldn't have to go through the pain we do.
I get a little frustrated with the limitations in modern chronic care. There are many things that we don't understand today - even by medical professionals who spend their entire lives in the field - and the people who do understand often can only communicate those ideas at a level that requires a medical degree and years of specialization to comprehend. Those of us with IBD get left out.
Our issues with chronic care extend broader however because even if we did fully understand how our immune systems worked, concepts like tolerance and prioritization are so individualized that it's almost impossible to give broad guidance that can meet someone specifically where they are at in their journey.
This is why I'm very thankful for people like Dr. Caroline and others I've interviewed who can help to bridge this gap and walk people through the process of listening to their bodies to find their triggers. If you are waiting for science to solve IBD my fear is that you'll be waiting for a long time. Take steps today to move closer to health.
Original note:
Check out my full interview with Dr. Caroline Methe here
