Good Diet For Crohn's Disease?

Hi. I was recently diagnosed with Crohns Disease. I just saw a Gastroenterologist and he talked a lot and very fast, so I didn't get everything. He also has an accent. I tried to concentrate on all that he said. I will see him again next month. Basically, he told me to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day instead of 3 large ones. He also said to stay away from gas producing foods such as beans and avoid lactose and to make sure I was drinking plenty of fluids. He also said to avoid wheat and gluten which I don't understand. We are testing me for Celiac but I don't think I have that. I've always ate wheat or whole grain breads because I like them better than white and feel they're healthier. Now I don't know what to eat!
I'd also like to lose some weight. I don't want to be stuck with a bland diet for the rest of my life, but I do tend to get upset stomachs a lot from things I eat.
He also said to take a chewable childrens vitamin instead of an adults vitamin because I can process it better?? I don't understand that one. He said to take Folic Acid too.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone here has Crohns or any other digestive problems like ulcers who can give me some ideas of things to eat.
I want to eat healthy. I want to lose weight and I want to have more energy, all without upsetting my stomach. Any ideas?

[Renee Radenberg]

Would you please state your weight (in kgs. or lbs.) so I can asnwer your question properly. Thank you.

[April2]

I'm 5 foot 7 inches and weigh about 175 right now. I'd like to weigh 145, so I want to lose 30 pounds.

[April2]

Oh and I don't know if this matters or not but I'm 42 years old and it seems like I can't lose weight as easily as I did when I was in my 20's! I had a baby 3 years ago and two surgeries since then and it seems like I just haven't been able to lose that weight. I try to eat healthy for the most part. I don't eat white breads or rice. I prefer brown rice and whole grain breads. Our family does eat a of chicken. We rarely eat fried or breaded stuff unless we go out for fast food. I don't make it at home. I don't think I drink enough water. I know that. I'm a stay at home mom so I do tend to eat when I get bored, so I know I need to break that habit. Anyway, I wasn't sure if the extra information would be helpful or not! I tried Weight Watchers awhile back and dropped out. I got discouraged that the scale barely moved. I also tried diet shakes and got too hungry and bored with that.
Any helpful advice would be great!

[Renee Radenberg]

Thank your answer and you are about 30lbs overweight. It is harder to loss weight as we get older because our body's metabolism decreases. If you want to loss weight, it is eating healthy and exercise. All you need to do is increase your physical activities to 1/2 hour a day. That 1/2-hour can be broken up through the day, 10 minutes here and 20 minutes there. The diet you need to control your Crohns disease will help with weight loss also.
Your MD was right about the diet for Crohns disease. I am glad to hear your MD is testing you for Celiac disease. Celiac disease is the most misdiagnosed disease in the USA due to the syndromes is very similar to other gastric diseases. With Crohns disease and other gastric diseases it is recommended to eat 5-6 small meals so there are no large peaks and valleys of the digestive system as with 3 large meals. 5-6 small meals keep the system stable and help lower incidents of indigestion. Think of the 3 meals you eat now and just break them up into 5-6 meals (breakfast, small snack, lunch, small snack, dinner, small snack). The foods to avoid with Crohns disease are the gas producing foods, milk products (lactose), and lower the fat in your diet will help.
If your MD advises you to not eat wheat products, then you need to avoid them too. This seems like there is nothing to eat but there is. For milk products there are rice and soy products to substitute, such as soy or rice milk, soy yogurt, soy cheeses, soy ice cream, to name a few. To substitute wheat products there are all complete rice products and corn products you have to use. Rice cakes, rice noodles (just like pasta), rice, rice cereal, all corn breads, corn flake cereal, and corn tacos are some ideas. You do decrease your wheat fiber consummation, however, you can use brown rice (not wild rice, that is a wheat product) and increase intake of seeds, nuts, vegetables and fruit, as tolerated. Lowering fat intake will also help the disease. Try to eat only monounsaturated oils (olive, peanut), polyunsaturated oils (sunflower, corn), and no saturated fats and Trans fats. Fish, nuts and seeds (if you can tolerate them) will give you omega 3 fats that are a polyunsaturated fat.
The reason your MD told you to switch vitamins and take folic acid is because Crohns disease and Celiac causes the small intestines to not absorb the nutrients we eat as good as before due to damage of the disease.
Hope this helped you.

[April2]

The blood test came back negative for Celiac. Does that mean I still have to give up wheat and gluten? I forgot to mention that. I just got the card in the mail saying what my blood tests were.

I still don't understand why he said to take a childrens chewable vitamin rather than an adults multi vitamin. Do you know? I went and looked in the regular stores and natural food stores and all the childrens chewable vitamins had sugar. I was hoping to find one without sugar.

You didn't mention if I should eat a certain amount of calories? Also, what do you think of the Atkins diet? I heard you can lose a lot of weight fast on that. I wasn't sure though if all that protein/meat would be harder to digest though.

I hope you don't mind me asking a few more questions! I'll try to not bug you anymore after today! :) Thanks for your help.

[Renee Radenberg]

I would see what your MD says about the negative result for Celiac disease before you start eating wheat again. He may want to run additional tests. As I stated before, Crohns disease affects the intestines' abilities to absorb nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Children multi-vitamins would absorb better into your blood stream then regular adult vitamins. Use the type that has the least amount of sugar.
You should eat about 1600 calories daily. I do not recommend you go on the Atkins diet due to the Crohns disease and too much fat into the intestines. If you follow the Crohns diet and stay with 1600 calories a day, with exercise, you will lose weight. Your digestive system is stressed right now due to Crohns disease so you want to loss weight slowly. That would be 4-5 lbs a month or 1 lb. a week, which is considered good weight loss. I suggest you learn more about Crohns disease so you can get a better understanding of the diet. Best of luck.

[April2]

Thank you! I appreciate all your advice. I will see the Gastroenterologist in 11 days so I will talk to him some more then. And thanks for clearing up the children's vitamin thing. That one had confused me! LIke I said, he had a really thick accent and talked real fast last time so I had a hard time understanding everything. Maybe I'll understand more next time I see him.
Thanks again!

[Renee Radenberg]

You have the right to ask him to speak slowly so you can understand what he says. Good luck!