Caring for Crohn's & UC

Holiday Eating for IBD

November 21, 2012 at 6:08 pm Rebecca K. Leave a comment

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought it would be appropriate to do a short write up about holiday eating for Crohnie’s and UC-ers.

Holidays mean food and lots of it. Some is good, some is bad, and some is all around delicious. But for those with IBD, eating the wrong thing or too much of the right thing can ruin the holiday and equal hours in the bathroom.

The most important thing is to eat in moderation. As much as I know Dan would love to eat an entire pumpkin pie by himself, I won’t let him because he’ll end up in excruciating pain on the toilet all night. The best idea is to eat small meals frequently instead of gorging yourself in one sitting. That way you spread out what you eat and give you stomach time to digest some before it takes in some more (and that way you get to eat all day long!)

The other important thing to remember is steer clear of trigger foods. For some, that might be vegetables (so no green beans or salad or any other related veggie that is high fiber and hard to digest). For most, if the veggies are cooked, you should be safe to eat them but it’s different for each person.

For some, it means to avoid dairy. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of what has dairy in a Thanksgiving meal since each house differs with foods offered.

For most, it means to consume alcohol with caution. Dan’s stomach doesn’t tolerate beer very well- he can have one or two at most- but he’s fine to drink hard liquor. Each person knows what alcohol is okay to drink, so just proceed with caution.

Lastly- avoid caffeine. That means the after dinner coffee! Caffeine is HORRIBLE for your stomach- even me, who doesn’t have IBD, sometimes gets sick to my stomach after having a drink with caffeine (mainly caffeinated soda). So opt for decaf coffee, tea, and sodas if possible.

That being said- HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Enjoy your holiday celebration, eat in moderation, and have a wonderful day with family and friends.

Entry filed under: Diet. Tags: crohn's disease, Crohn's Sucks, food, holiday, ibd, thanksgiving, uc, ulcerative colitis.