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Low Fiber/Low Residue Diet for UC

Wed, February 09, 2011 8:38 PM

Can anyone tell me what kind of diet this is and what it consist of? Can you eat maybe one whole wheat toast a day? I cannot seem to find the white bread to eat. Very confused.

carolgeb58
Joined Feb 9, 2011

Sat, March 05, 2011 8:59 PM

Reply posted for carolgeb58.

On the subject of bread. With the emphasis on whole grains it has gotten difficult to find white bread the can be eaten on a low residue diet. Try for 1 or 2 grams of fiber at most. Some brands still do make the Wonder type bread that I grew up with, but some people cannot tolerate that. I could do the potato breads. But not sourdough. Not at the beginning, but after awhile I did okay with Italian bread from the grocery store bakery (without seeds and I removed the bottom with the corn meal/semolina). Plain white hamburger and hot dog buns were okay, too.

I had to plan more time for the grocery store because I had to read all the ingredients in everything...

grumpycrohnie
Joined Jan 26, 2009

Sat, March 05, 2011 8:47 PM

Reply posted for carolgeb58.

I was on a low-residue/lactose restricted diet because my colon looked (as my GI said) like raw hamburger. The diet was to rest my colon so it could get better. And it did. I still have fistulas, but the inflamation in my colon is gone and I am getting back to a normal diet. It was not really to treat the crohn's but to avoid more irritation to my colon and to give it a chance to heal. As with diverticulitus, any seeds, nuts, coarse grains would get caught.

A dietician did help, though we kept having to refer to different print outs I found on the web as she kept talking about things that used corn meal or raw veggies. I looked up low-residue diets on the web, printed out those I found, modified for my allergies and did trial and error with some things (like broccoli). It was difficult because it is not so much what you eat but what is in what you eat.

I spent alot of time listening to cooking shows to see what went together and making my own recipies of things I could eat. I bought herbs in powder form. Cooked roasted vegetables (there was a carrot and sugar snap peas recipie we found last holidays that I wish had known about 10 years ago). Make a big pot of roast or stew to eat all week long.

I would never had thought I would miss fresh fruits and vegetables before I was diagnosed, but the only raw ones I could eat were iceberg lettuce and bananas... I seem to want fresh blueberries, carrots and apples everyday. lol

grumpycrohnie
Joined Jan 26, 2009

Mon, February 14, 2011 11:48 AM

Reply posted for alanschachter.

Tell Laura I couldn't either ;-) until we tried them prepared like this....my father-in-law who loves to harass my hatred of brussel sprouts sent me a blog entry about learning to love them......

Oven to 450 degrees, halved brussel sprouts in baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 15-18 minutes. Shouldn't be mush (I hate mush!) - still a little firm/crispy.

My daughter gets her love of veggies from her Daddy. I can't take credit for it at all!! We ate them again last night. Ha ha.

Take care,

azmom
Joined Jul 20, 2009

Fri, February 11, 2011 4:26 PM

Reply posted for alanschachter.

Yes, Claire was ecstatic to have her veggies back too. I don't think they have to be a "never" for anyone. Her latest favorite is roasted brussel sprouts. I wish I had been as good an eater as she is at that age!

Claire's Mom

azmom
Joined Jul 20, 2009

Fri, February 11, 2011 11:17 AM

Reply posted for carolgeb58.

Carol - The Mayo Clinic website has a good explanation of the low fiber/low residue diet. You are right though in that it is not good for you long term and certainly not healthy to follow for long periods of time.

There are a lot of opinions about diet. What I will tell you is just what we experienced with my daughter. We left the hospital on low fiber/low residue and then also found a lot of good suggestions in "What to Eat with IBD" by Tracy Dallessandro. She is a Dietician that has Crohns. Anyway it was very common sense to me and we found it helpful. As Claire's GI tract calmed down, she was able to return to a normal diet. I probably have the only kid in the world wanting to eat raw peppers and steamed broccoli but my girl missed her veggies! :-)

Wishing you well, take it one step at a time,

Claire's Mom