What do you eat in a flare?

What do you eat during a flare? What are safe foods for most people?

I would say some foods were more painful (salad, raw carrots, anything spicy), but nothing really helped make the flare better.

In the beginning when I was really bad I didn't eat at all which is not a good idea
But as I started to respond to treatment I was ok with
White pasta, white crackers ( not greasy ones) pretzels
I also forced myself to drink some ensure to get more nutrients
If it's too painful to eat don't force yourself but make sure to tell your doc
They may want to put you on fluids or nutrition therapy
Feel better

I avoided foods that I knew made my flares worse. Other than that, I could eat anything. There were no foods that made my UC better, only foods that made it worse.

I’m surprised juicing doesn’t get more attention on these forums.  I don’t think it’s a cure all or will bring you out of a flare, but is there anything better for getting the most nutrition with the least amount of pain?

First post!  UC sufferer for ~ 10 years.  Just stumbled across this site – lots of good info.

Thanks!

Matt

Hi Matt, Sorry you have to be here but welcome to HW!

Believe me, we have had a ton of posts in regards to juicing here at the forum, many do it, especially to give their bowels a rest during really tough flares. Like with everything though, some find it helpful and others not necessarily...trial and error as with everything when it comes to IBD.

There's a search bar at the top right hand side of the page where you can look for all the juicing topics we've had here in case you're interested in reading through them.

I came across a website and videos stating that meats were good for UC. At the beginning i avoided some meats such as beef that were harder to digest, but i thought about it, fish, chicken, ground pork ( even higher quality hotdogs, mild, like a high quality bologna ) all seemed to work well. Doctors hear that I'm eating hot dogs and think its a bad idea, but my system seems to process it quite well, i think thats because its well ground to begin with. My doctor suggests to blend up all my food if needed.

I always find it interesting when doctors give eating advice and their patients take it like it came from God. Often the advice is all over the place. When I first came down with UC I searched the internet over and came up with so much conflicting advice it was laughable. Don't eat meats. Meats are good for you. Don't eat fiber. Eat fiber to bulk up your stools. Limit fruits and veggies. You need to eat healthy foods like fruits and veggies. Do a bowel cleanse. Don't do a bowel cleanse. Don't eat white breads and pasta. Only eat white breads and pasta (no grains). For every place that says don't do something there is another place saying do it or it is OK to do it. about the only thing that is consistant to a small degree is avoid dairy, gluten, and grains and many, including myself, have zero problems with any of them, even when I was at my worst. If life isn't hard enough on us already, going on a restrictive diet that doesn't help is just one more thing to make our lives more miserable. Unfortunately, you often don't know until you try. I wound up going on a lactose free diet for three weeks only to find that I don't have a problem with lactose.

garylouisville said...
I always find it interesting when doctors give eating advice and their patients take it like it came from God. Often the advice is all over the place. When I first came down with UC I searched the internet over and came up with so much conflicting advice it was laughable. Don't eat meats. Meats are good for you. Don't eat fiber. Eat fiber to bulk up your stools. Limit fruits and veggies. You need to eat healthy foods like fruits and veggies. Do a bowel cleanse. Don't do a bowel cleanse. Don't eat white breads and pasta. Only eat white breads and pasta (no grains). For every place that says don't do something there is another place saying do it or it is OK to do it. about the only thing that is consistant to a small degree is avoid dairy, gluten, and grains and many, including myself, have zero problems with any of them, even when I was at my worst. If life isn't hard enough on us already, going on a restrictive diet that doesn't help is just one more thing to make our lives more miserable. Unfortunately, you often don't know until you try. I wound up going on a lactose free diet for three weeks only to find that I don't have a problem with lactose.

Exactly.

Salmon, canned spinach, P-seed powder, chicken, simple protein powder.

White rice
Baked or poached fish
Apple sauce
White toast
Canned green beans
Cooked carrots
Canned peaches
Baked or mashed potatoes
Eggs

Rice milk
Special K
Rice Krispies

Avocado when I was feeling a bit better

Not much else

I always go on a low-fiber diet during flares. I call it my white diet because a lot of things on it are white. I learned of this type of diet while in the hospital - they call it "super bland." The theory is to avoid anything that adds bulk to your poo because you want to process less volume. That way you have less to deal with at the other end (and in between). I find it has enough variety to keep me interested in eating - that's a good thing when you're having a long drawn out flare.

Here's a link to a version on MedlinePlus:

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000200.htm