Healing Diet
With Crohn’s, I’ve learned that the medication prescribed to me and to others suffering from most anything, simply reduce the symptoms; it doesn’t cure what is causing the symptoms. Meaning the if my colon gets inflamed, my immune system will attach and the medication they are giving me will not prevent this from happening.
The healing diet is about what you should eat to give your GI tract a rest. To only eat what will not irritate your Crohn's or colitis. If you keep it from being irritated by anything, then there is no inflammation and your immune deficient T-cells won't attack.
Therefore, I began have not only researched the only book published that claimed it could CURE the disease, I found a holistic gastroenterologists, and most recently found another doctor that has promising information.
Self Healing Crohn’s and Colitis by David Klein was the only source I have every been able to find that talked about healing Crohn’s. Every other source I found on the Internet, including all medical sources, refers to Crohn’s as a chronic issue that could not be healed, and remission was the best case scenario.
Realistically, the book was about mostly diet. It unfortunately didn't heal Crohn's or colitis, but instead, kept the disease from flaring up by healing active ulcers and eliminating inflammation. The diet had a few objectives in order to heal the ulcers so I could become healthy again:
- Eat easily digested foods so that the body doesn’t have to work very hard to digest what is ingested.
- Eat raw foods so that the maximum amounts of nutrients from the food could be digested.
- Eat plant based whole foods only.
- Eat only alkaline based foods.
- Do not eat foods high in fat.
David’s book suggests a different diet for the healing phase than after healing. Meaning, as long as there are active ulcers, the diet was more restrictive than after the ulcers are healed. The diet for the healing phase meets the rules above, and includes the fruits and vegetables below:
Fruits:
- Bananas
- All melons
- Pears
- Raisins (soaked)
- Dates (soaked)
- Apples (peeled)
- Grapes
Vegetables: The leafy items were juiced only due to their roughage. Otherwise, I would juice them or steam them.
- Romaine
- Bok Choy
- Sweet potatoes
- Squash
- Celery
- Sweet peppers
- Cucumbers
On this diet I begin feeling much better and have always been able to wean off medication within a couple months.
You must get Self Healing Crohn’s and Colitis if you are a sufferer of either disease. I would suggest that you do not read the entire book at first, but go immediately to The Healing Diet on page 155 and begin following it immediately. Then read the entire book. Just don’t delay even a day starting the diet. Just give it a try for a month and see how you feel.
Post Healing Diet
Avoid The Following
Nutrient Deficient Foods: We need to eat foods that are rich in minerals in order to digest properly. Digestive enzymes are made by the body from the nutrients in the food we eat. So if you eat foods that are nutrient deficient, the food will be harder to digest because you won't produce the appropriate level of digestive enzymes needed to digest the food without aggravating your digestive system. This means that candy, pastries, ice cream, etc., are not good for your digestive tract.
Excessive Cooked Foods: Consider that we are the only ones of God's creatures that cook their food, and we are the only ones that have widespread illness. There is a correlation. Protein, vitamins and minerals are virtually destroyed by cooking.Cooking actually makes food toxic. Ultimately, cooking food makes it nutrient deficient and for all of the reasons noted above, nutrient deficient foods make the digestive system work too hard for proper digestion and this can cause a flare up. I make it a habit to not eat more than one cooked meal a day.
Poor Food Combinations: If you eat foods in poor combinations, you can trap foods in the stomach longer than it is necessary and the food can spoil in your stomach. Then as the spoiled food enters your intestines it will likely cause inflammation which leads to a flare up. So eat foods in proper combinations or in order of the quickest digestive foods first. Eat melons alone. They digest very quickly and leave the stomach within 20-30 minutes. If you eat them with other foods the slower digested food will trap the melon in the stomach longer than it is supposed to be there causing the melon to ferment. So melon eat alone. All other fruit you can combine with other fruit, or non-starching vegetables. Starchy vegetables only eat with other vegetables. Don't eat protein with starchy vegetables because they require acidic and alkaline enzymes respectively, and these enzymes together neutralize each other so your intestines have to work harder to digest them than when they have digestive enzymes to help. Eat protein with non-starchy vegetables.
Don't Overeat or Eat Constantly: Both of these actions over works your intestines and this can lead to inflammation which can cause a flare up. Your digestive tract needs to rest between meals.
Other Irritants: Stay away from spicy food, salt, gluten (an undigestable protein), caffeine, and any other stimulant. If the food is spicy to your tongue it will aggravate your intestines. Salt is corrosive to your body.. Digestive enzymes don't work on gluten, so it is only your chewing that digests gluten. Clearly this can aggravate your intestines as they try to digest something that cannot be digested. And stimulants deplete your digestive nerve energy. Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco do this as well.
Mucous Forming Foods: Cooked meats, dairy, soy, beans and grains are typically mucous forming and this leads to constipation and play a role in Crohn's. I have elimiated all animal products and eat cooked beans and grains in moderation. I will typically only have cooked beans or grains (quinoa is the best - gluten free as an alternative) once per week.
Acid Forming Foods: This is really the biggest thing to avoid from my experience. We have metabolic waste acids throughout our body and we require alkaline minerals to neutralize it. If we eat too many acid forming foods, our bodies have to work extra hard to neutralize the acid and it resorts to our calcium reserves in our bones for neutralization, which cal lead to osteoporosis. A constant acid environment stresses the body and depletes nerve energy which is needed in order to prevent a Crohn's flare up. Below are the most common acid forming foods:
- All animal products except clean fish
- All grains and flour except amaranth, millet and quinoa (no gluten)
- All beans except lima, peas, green beans, soybeans and sprouted beans
- All nuts except almonds, chestnuts, coconuts, pine nuts and sesame
- White sugar, processed sugar and high fructose corn syrup
- Carbonated soft drinks
- Coffee and alcohol
Excessive Fat: Cooked fats are a prime cause of Crohn's. It causes diarrhea accompanied by inflammation, triggering a flare up.
Meat: Meat is the biggest irritant of Crohn's because it is mostly indigestible and it poisons the intestines, bloodstream and tissues while acidifying the body. Even infrequent meat eating can trigger a flare up. Meat is especially harmful to the colon and is a known cause of colon cancer. Animal food is acid-forming, mucous-forming, high in fat, lacks fiber and low in water content. They require an overload of energy to digest, and usually spoil in the intestines. If you want to live symptom free, you will have to eliminate meat from your diet.
Increase the Following
Water: Distilled, purified and spring water does wonders for cleansing the intestines. Drink plenty of water as it also helps increase nerve energy.
Fruits and Vegetables: Uncooked fruits and vegetables are the best to eat because they help the body produce the levels of digestive enzymes necessary to digest the food properly. They also provide bacteria and fiber needed in order to maintain healthful bacteria in the intestines. Raw fruits and vegetables, when chewed properly, is also the most nutritious.
Rest: All healing requires nerve energy, and you replenish your nerve energy when you sleep. I make sure I get ample sleep. Prior to being diagnosed with Crohn's I would only sleep about six hours per day. Now I insist on getting my eight hours a day. It not only keeps me healthy, but it seems to reduce my daily work stress.
Fresh Air and Sunshine: Clean air helps oxygenate your body which clearly adds to your body's healing ability. Also, a few minutes of sunshine a day gives you the vitamin D that you need that you don't get from a meat free diet.
Other Helpful Hints
When eating out, I typically get a salad or I asked for grilled vegetables. A common meal will be vegetarian fajitas with corn tortillas. I will only do this no more than once a week. I hold the onions, sour cream and cheese. I'll even add black beans if they have it.
Many times when eating out, I can get a couple of their side dishes as my meal: broccoli, asparagus, baked potato, etc. Something like this wouldn't even be considered an exception and perfectly follows my diet plan.
When having a salad, I tend to get a dressing without milk, such as a balsamic vinaigrette. Cows milk is an issue. Anything from a cow is an issue. Both the oil and vinegar must be used in moderation, and use extra virgin olive oil when possible.
I'll also have pasta on occasion. Quinoa is my favorite. I've twice now also had gluten free, rice pasta and it seems to be okay. Another treat for me is pizza. Brixx's pizza has a gluten free crust and vegan cheese. I've had this with roasted red peppers, green peppers and mushrooms as my once per week exception as well and my gut seemed fine.
If there is desert, I will usually only taste one bite of someone else's desert. Deserts simply have too much nutrient poor ingredients and they typically include milk so I only have tastes.
Any time I have grains or beans, or even a taste of desert, I don't eat anything else the rest of the day or at least for six hours. These take longer to digest and aggravate the digestive tract more than fruits and vegetables so I want it fully digested so that the GI tract has a break before it has to work again.
Avoid The Following
Nutrient Deficient Foods: We need to eat foods that are rich in minerals in order to digest properly. Digestive enzymes are made by the body from the nutrients in the food we eat. So if you eat foods that are nutrient deficient, the food will be harder to digest because you won't produce the appropriate level of digestive enzymes needed to digest the food without aggravating your digestive system. This means that candy, pastries, ice cream, etc., are not good for your digestive tract.
Excessive Cooked Foods: Consider that we are the only ones of God's creatures that cook their food, and we are the only ones that have widespread illness. There is a correlation. Protein, vitamins and minerals are virtually destroyed by cooking.Cooking actually makes food toxic. Ultimately, cooking food makes it nutrient deficient and for all of the reasons noted above, nutrient deficient foods make the digestive system work too hard for proper digestion and this can cause a flare up. I make it a habit to not eat more than one cooked meal a day.
Poor Food Combinations: If you eat foods in poor combinations, you can trap foods in the stomach longer than it is necessary and the food can spoil in your stomach. Then as the spoiled food enters your intestines it will likely cause inflammation which leads to a flare up. So eat foods in proper combinations or in order of the quickest digestive foods first. Eat melons alone. They digest very quickly and leave the stomach within 20-30 minutes. If you eat them with other foods the slower digested food will trap the melon in the stomach longer than it is supposed to be there causing the melon to ferment. So melon eat alone. All other fruit you can combine with other fruit, or non-starching vegetables. Starchy vegetables only eat with other vegetables. Don't eat protein with starchy vegetables because they require acidic and alkaline enzymes respectively, and these enzymes together neutralize each other so your intestines have to work harder to digest them than when they have digestive enzymes to help. Eat protein with non-starchy vegetables.
Don't Overeat or Eat Constantly: Both of these actions over works your intestines and this can lead to inflammation which can cause a flare up. Your digestive tract needs to rest between meals.
Other Irritants: Stay away from spicy food, salt, gluten (an undigestable protein), caffeine, and any other stimulant. If the food is spicy to your tongue it will aggravate your intestines. Salt is corrosive to your body.. Digestive enzymes don't work on gluten, so it is only your chewing that digests gluten. Clearly this can aggravate your intestines as they try to digest something that cannot be digested. And stimulants deplete your digestive nerve energy. Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco do this as well.
Mucous Forming Foods: Cooked meats, dairy, soy, beans and grains are typically mucous forming and this leads to constipation and play a role in Crohn's. I have elimiated all animal products and eat cooked beans and grains in moderation. I will typically only have cooked beans or grains (quinoa is the best - gluten free as an alternative) once per week.
Acid Forming Foods: This is really the biggest thing to avoid from my experience. We have metabolic waste acids throughout our body and we require alkaline minerals to neutralize it. If we eat too many acid forming foods, our bodies have to work extra hard to neutralize the acid and it resorts to our calcium reserves in our bones for neutralization, which cal lead to osteoporosis. A constant acid environment stresses the body and depletes nerve energy which is needed in order to prevent a Crohn's flare up. Below are the most common acid forming foods:
Excessive Fat: Cooked fats are a prime cause of Crohn's. It causes diarrhea accompanied by inflammation, triggering a flare up.
Meat: Meat is the biggest irritant of Crohn's because it is mostly indigestible and it poisons the intestines, bloodstream and tissues while acidifying the body. Even infrequent meat eating can trigger a flare up. Meat is especially harmful to the colon and is a known cause of colon cancer. Animal food is acid-forming, mucous-forming, high in fat, lacks fiber and low in water content. They require an overload of energy to digest, and usually spoil in the intestines. If you want to live symptom free, you will have to eliminate meat from your diet.
Nutrient Deficient Foods: We need to eat foods that are rich in minerals in order to digest properly. Digestive enzymes are made by the body from the nutrients in the food we eat. So if you eat foods that are nutrient deficient, the food will be harder to digest because you won't produce the appropriate level of digestive enzymes needed to digest the food without aggravating your digestive system. This means that candy, pastries, ice cream, etc., are not good for your digestive tract.
Excessive Cooked Foods: Consider that we are the only ones of God's creatures that cook their food, and we are the only ones that have widespread illness. There is a correlation. Protein, vitamins and minerals are virtually destroyed by cooking.Cooking actually makes food toxic. Ultimately, cooking food makes it nutrient deficient and for all of the reasons noted above, nutrient deficient foods make the digestive system work too hard for proper digestion and this can cause a flare up. I make it a habit to not eat more than one cooked meal a day.
Poor Food Combinations: If you eat foods in poor combinations, you can trap foods in the stomach longer than it is necessary and the food can spoil in your stomach. Then as the spoiled food enters your intestines it will likely cause inflammation which leads to a flare up. So eat foods in proper combinations or in order of the quickest digestive foods first. Eat melons alone. They digest very quickly and leave the stomach within 20-30 minutes. If you eat them with other foods the slower digested food will trap the melon in the stomach longer than it is supposed to be there causing the melon to ferment. So melon eat alone. All other fruit you can combine with other fruit, or non-starching vegetables. Starchy vegetables only eat with other vegetables. Don't eat protein with starchy vegetables because they require acidic and alkaline enzymes respectively, and these enzymes together neutralize each other so your intestines have to work harder to digest them than when they have digestive enzymes to help. Eat protein with non-starchy vegetables.
Don't Overeat or Eat Constantly: Both of these actions over works your intestines and this can lead to inflammation which can cause a flare up. Your digestive tract needs to rest between meals.
Other Irritants: Stay away from spicy food, salt, gluten (an undigestable protein), caffeine, and any other stimulant. If the food is spicy to your tongue it will aggravate your intestines. Salt is corrosive to your body.. Digestive enzymes don't work on gluten, so it is only your chewing that digests gluten. Clearly this can aggravate your intestines as they try to digest something that cannot be digested. And stimulants deplete your digestive nerve energy. Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco do this as well.
Mucous Forming Foods: Cooked meats, dairy, soy, beans and grains are typically mucous forming and this leads to constipation and play a role in Crohn's. I have elimiated all animal products and eat cooked beans and grains in moderation. I will typically only have cooked beans or grains (quinoa is the best - gluten free as an alternative) once per week.
Acid Forming Foods: This is really the biggest thing to avoid from my experience. We have metabolic waste acids throughout our body and we require alkaline minerals to neutralize it. If we eat too many acid forming foods, our bodies have to work extra hard to neutralize the acid and it resorts to our calcium reserves in our bones for neutralization, which cal lead to osteoporosis. A constant acid environment stresses the body and depletes nerve energy which is needed in order to prevent a Crohn's flare up. Below are the most common acid forming foods:
- All animal products except clean fish
- All grains and flour except amaranth, millet and quinoa (no gluten)
- All beans except lima, peas, green beans, soybeans and sprouted beans
- All nuts except almonds, chestnuts, coconuts, pine nuts and sesame
- White sugar, processed sugar and high fructose corn syrup
- Carbonated soft drinks
- Coffee and alcohol
Excessive Fat: Cooked fats are a prime cause of Crohn's. It causes diarrhea accompanied by inflammation, triggering a flare up.
Meat: Meat is the biggest irritant of Crohn's because it is mostly indigestible and it poisons the intestines, bloodstream and tissues while acidifying the body. Even infrequent meat eating can trigger a flare up. Meat is especially harmful to the colon and is a known cause of colon cancer. Animal food is acid-forming, mucous-forming, high in fat, lacks fiber and low in water content. They require an overload of energy to digest, and usually spoil in the intestines. If you want to live symptom free, you will have to eliminate meat from your diet.
Increase the Following
Water: Distilled, purified and spring water does wonders for cleansing the intestines. Drink plenty of water as it also helps increase nerve energy.
Fruits and Vegetables: Uncooked fruits and vegetables are the best to eat because they help the body produce the levels of digestive enzymes necessary to digest the food properly. They also provide bacteria and fiber needed in order to maintain healthful bacteria in the intestines. Raw fruits and vegetables, when chewed properly, is also the most nutritious.
Rest: All healing requires nerve energy, and you replenish your nerve energy when you sleep. I make sure I get ample sleep. Prior to being diagnosed with Crohn's I would only sleep about six hours per day. Now I insist on getting my eight hours a day. It not only keeps me healthy, but it seems to reduce my daily work stress.
Fresh Air and Sunshine: Clean air helps oxygenate your body which clearly adds to your body's healing ability. Also, a few minutes of sunshine a day gives you the vitamin D that you need that you don't get from a meat free diet.
Other Helpful Hints
When eating out, I typically get a salad or I asked for grilled vegetables. A common meal will be vegetarian fajitas with corn tortillas. I will only do this no more than once a week. I hold the onions, sour cream and cheese. I'll even add black beans if they have it.
Many times when eating out, I can get a couple of their side dishes as my meal: broccoli, asparagus, baked potato, etc. Something like this wouldn't even be considered an exception and perfectly follows my diet plan.
When having a salad, I tend to get a dressing without milk, such as a balsamic vinaigrette. Cows milk is an issue. Anything from a cow is an issue. Both the oil and vinegar must be used in moderation, and use extra virgin olive oil when possible.
I'll also have pasta on occasion. Quinoa is my favorite. I've twice now also had gluten free, rice pasta and it seems to be okay. Another treat for me is pizza. Brixx's pizza has a gluten free crust and vegan cheese. I've had this with roasted red peppers, green peppers and mushrooms as my once per week exception as well and my gut seemed fine.
If there is desert, I will usually only taste one bite of someone else's desert. Deserts simply have too much nutrient poor ingredients and they typically include milk so I only have tastes.
Any time I have grains or beans, or even a taste of desert, I don't eat anything else the rest of the day or at least for six hours. These take longer to digest and aggravate the digestive tract more than fruits and vegetables so I want it fully digested so that the GI tract has a break before it has to work again.
If there is desert, I will usually only taste one bite of someone else's desert. Deserts simply have too much nutrient poor ingredients and they typically include milk so I only have tastes.
Any time I have grains or beans, or even a taste of desert, I don't eat anything else the rest of the day or at least for six hours. These take longer to digest and aggravate the digestive tract more than fruits and vegetables so I want it fully digested so that the GI tract has a break before it has to work again.
Fasting Mimicking Diet
If you need some urgent relief, I suggest fasting. I don't want to give the details here, because it definitiely should be done under a doctor's supervision. A fast does a few things but the most important things from my perspective a fast accomplishes is the following:
- It gives your GI tract a rest
- It puts your body in life saving mode. Autophagy occurs. This is a detox process your body undergoes to clean out damaged cells and regenerate new ones. A protein called p62 activates to induce autophagy. The cool part is that it has been proven to clean out the immune deficient T-cells and generate health immune cells among other things.
- Up to an 800% increase to your stem cells, which will be the cells used to regenerate other cells and tissue repair. People play thousands for stem cell injections. This simple diet gives you more of your own stem cells at a fraction of the cost.
It's not the easiest thing to do to fast, and there are dangers so make certain to work with a doctor if you go this route. A bit safer route to take is a Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD). A FMD tricks your body into believing you're fasting and you get similar results without the loss of muscle duriing the process.
It's quite complicated to figure out on your own. If you wish to do so, check out the book The Longevity Diet by Dr. Valter Longo.
You can also get a prepackaged diet for about $225 to $250 for five days. I know it seems expensive but what's the cost of medication every month? At a minimum, you're spending maybe $20 a day for your food minimum any way. So the effect cost is only really about $150. The results are certainly worth this investment.
Check out the FMD here:
- Prolon.com (Gallagher Chiropractic most likely has this in stock if you're in Charlotte)
- ValterLongo.com
Longevity Diet
Eating the Longevity Diet is what I intend to do in order to live a healthy long life. It's really not that much different than the Post Healing Diet other than adding some fish, but here are some guidelines.
Follow a Pescetarian Diet. Aim for a diet that is close to 100% plant based with fish two or three times a week. Avoid fish with high mercury content such as tuna, sordfish, mackerel and halibut.
- Miniminze bad fats and sugars, and maximize good fats and complex carbs.
- Observe time restricted eating. If you can reduce the time between your first meal and your last, it gives alkaline based foods.
- Observe time restricted eating. If you can reduce the time between your first meal and your last, it gives alkaline based foods.
Based on your age, also consider implement the following:
Prior to Age 65:
- Consume protein in the amount of .31 to .36 grams per pound of body weight.
- Miniminze bad fats and sugars, and maximize good fats and complex carbs.
- Eat twice a day and a snack. Three meals a day isn't necessary. Give your GI tract a break.
After Age 65...or as soon as you begin losing muscle mass due to age:
- Consume protein in the amount of .4 to .47 grams per pound of body weight.
- Eat three times daily.
It's not the easiest thing to do to fast, and there are dangers so make certain to work with a doctor if you go this route. A bit safer route to take is a Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD). A FMD tricks your body into believing you're fasting and you get similar results without the loss of muscle duriing the process.
It's quite complicated to figure out on your own. If you wish to do so, check out the book The Longevity Diet by Dr. Valter Longo.
You can also get a prepackaged diet for about $225 to $250 for five days. I know it seems expensive but what's the cost of medication every month? At a minimum, you're spending maybe $20 a day for your food minimum any way. So the effect cost is only really about $150. The results are certainly worth this investment.
Check out the FMD here:
- Prolon.com (Gallagher Chiropractic most likely has this in stock if you're in Charlotte)
- ValterLongo.com
Longevity Diet
Eating the Longevity Diet is what I intend to do in order to live a healthy long life. It's really not that much different than the Post Healing Diet other than adding some fish, but here are some guidelines.
Follow a Pescetarian Diet. Aim for a diet that is close to 100% plant based with fish two or three times a week. Avoid fish with high mercury content such as tuna, sordfish, mackerel and halibut.
- Miniminze bad fats and sugars, and maximize good fats and complex carbs.
- Observe time restricted eating. If you can reduce the time between your first meal and your last, it gives alkaline based foods.
- Observe time restricted eating. If you can reduce the time between your first meal and your last, it gives alkaline based foods.
- Consume protein in the amount of .31 to .36 grams per pound of body weight.
- Miniminze bad fats and sugars, and maximize good fats and complex carbs.
- Eat twice a day and a snack. Three meals a day isn't necessary. Give your GI tract a break.
- Consume protein in the amount of .4 to .47 grams per pound of body weight.
- Eat three times daily.
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