Healing through Food

So my adventure with colitis has been quite the roller coaster ride since I was diagnosed in December. We have tried many medications, with each initially seeming to work. And then I will get worse again. I went to see my doctor the beginning of April, and he was worried that I may have a viral infection, so I went in the NEXT day for another scope. Fortunately, all the biopsies came back negative for cancer, bacterial/viral infections. Unfortunately, fasting does not currently agree with me. I tried fasting in February, and ended up in the ER. The two weeks following the scope were miserable. Probably the hardest of my life. And my doctor was out of town for one of them, so trying to get medication was "fun". I was finally able to start a new medication mid-April. It helped a little, but not as much as I expected or hoped.

Then my sweet cousin randomly texted me, and shared a blog she had come across. The blogger has colitis and has found healing through changing her diet. Now, my doctor has repeatedly said that diet has no impact on colitis. So I have never really looked into it (and I also didn't have a strong desire to completely change my diet). But pain is a great motivator. As I looked into, I found many other bloggers who had found healing through food for their colitis. Many referenced the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) outlined in the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle". The book was first published over 20 years ago, and many have said it has helped them or their child recover from colitis, Crohn's disease, celiac, even autism.

I felt impressed to look into this diet, and borrowed the book from the library. Basically, the gist is that when the bacteria in your gut get out of whack, then your body goes into this vicious cycle where it secretes more mucous to defend itself from bacteria, but the mucous covers your digestive enzymes, so the food you can no longer digest ends up feeding the bacteria. So the idea of the diet is to only eat simple sugars that your body can absorb which will starve off the bad bacteria. It's also important to replenish the good bacteria through homemade yogurt and probiotics.

So I started the diet on April 23, and I noticed a huge difference within a few days. I have felt good and in control of my health. The book recommends doing the diet for 2 years for colitis, and then you can reintroduce food. Two years seems like a long time, so I don't know how long I'll do it. But it does take time for your body to fully heal, so we'll see.

Foods I can't eat: all grains (including corn, soy, rice), milk, sugar, most processed foods.

Foods I can eat: fruit, vegetables (except potatoes), meat, fish, most cheeses, eggs, nuts.

So it's been a crazy 3 weeks trying to figure out what to eat. I'm grateful for the internet and bloggers who have shared their SCD recipes. It's almost overwhelming how many recipes I have found to try.,

Meanwhile, my family has enjoyed eating a lot more fresh fruit and veggies.

Both kids decided they loved raspberries. And P2 decided they looked good in her hair too: