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I'm diagnosed with moderate/severe U.C. as of June. I'm heavily medicated with asacol, prednisone, etc., but I have yet to hit any remission. I'm really working to find a diet that will do what my medication has yet to achieve. The first book I read about diets was the "Maker's Diet" in "Patient Heal Thyself" by Dr. Jordan Rubin, but from what I can tell, a lot of his book is bogus. I've heard nothing good about his soil-based probiotics, and his antipathy for shellfish and lean pork is based in scripture (as opposed to research).  For the last 9 weeks I've been following a cross between his diet and the conventional diet: no spicy foods, lots of chicken breasts, lots of bananas, all veggies roasted, all bland pasta. The thing is, I just got a copy of "The Inflammation Free Diet Plan" by Monica Reinagel, and it says the opposite! In this book, we're supposed to be avoiding bananas, poultry, organ meats (big in 'The Maker's Diet"), white bread, white rice, and gatorade. The crazy thing is that the good anti-inflammitory foods are all spicy. Garlic, tabasco, chilis, curry, lentils, cayenne, onions, and tomato juice are all on the list for necessary foods. I've been avoiding spicy foods like the plague, thinking that that would exacerbate my symptoms. Has anyone else tried this diet? I'm going to eat nothing but Indian and Pakistani food for a week just to give it a shot, but this seems to contradict everything that I've read up until now. Has anyone had any experience with the Reinagel diet? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! My medication is not inducing a remission and I'm really trying to turn to diet for help. Thanks.

 Reply posted for infoarch2.

No I haven't, but I'll definately check it out. Thanks!

 Reply posted for The Andychrist.

I read his book when my daughter was first diagnosed with Crohn's.  There is some validity to what he says, but much of what he talks about is to market his products.  I'm not sure if you've heard of Consumers Labs at all, but they tested some of his products and they weren't quite at the level as advertised.

Have you read "Listen To Your Gut" by Jini Thompson?

 Reply posted for mutterse.

I've read that book and a couple of others, but at this point I honestly don't think I'm one to give advice, as I haven't found anyhting that's really "worked" for me.  I'm kind of in a head-spin as far as diets go right now. The one thing I do know though, is that when I was really sick and I couldn't eat anything but applesauce, sushi was totally easy. It's also high in protein and iron and all that good stuff. Other than that I can't help much. Good luck!

 Reply posted for The Andychrist.

Shoot!  My 18-y.o. son was diagnosed this week with Crohn's Ileocolitis and I had just started reading Patient Heal Thyself by Jordan Rubin.  I logged on specifically to ask if anyone has read the book and tried the recommneded foods and supplements.  So, if anyone else has read it and has some information I would appreciate it.  I am intriqued by all the goats milk products!  Thanks a bunch...Sue

 Reply posted for ibdauthor.

Thanks for the advice. I realized half-way through that book that it's geared towards pretty much all other inflammitory diseases other than Crohn's/Colitis, and that spicy food isn't the best idea. I'm going to start from the bottom with sauerkraut and applesauce for a while, and work my way up to see if anything changes. Thanks again for the feedback!

 Reply posted for The Andychrist.

It's all very confusing, I know. But truly am not sure you should start eating spicy foods if you're still in a flare.

It's hard but you need to be patient, and while I know after 2 months you must be thinking that's a lot to ask but I have UC and my first flare, even with Asacol, took a good 6 months or more to get under control and I wouldn't say I was in 'remission' for at least the first year.

Instead of a specific 'diet' try just eating what you normally eat and keep a food diary - write down everything you eat and drink, then note how you feel after you eat. Do this for a week or two and take a look at what has made you feel worse, better, or the same. Then go from that.

Or, you can try an Elimination diet where you eliminate certain food groups from your diet then add back one food source at a time and not how you feel. There are web sites and books that give details of this. It's not easy to do, but the results can be well worth it. I did this and it is what helped the most diet-wise for me.

Also, you simply need to understand that what one IBDer can eat doesn't mean all IBDers can eat. And if you're reading books written by people who don't have IBD then chances are they're writing their information for the population at large, not for people who specifically have IBD. Check out some of the books in the bookstore on this site, they could be helpful to you as well.

Good luck,
Elizabeth