Meal and Food Ideas for Someone Suffering from Crohns Disease

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Foods to Eat with Crohns Disease

The hardest thing that those suffering from this condition have to do is find a diet that agrees with them - and their bodies. Crohns disease is sometimes “set off” by the foods and beverages consumed on a daily basis, so eliminating the foods that cause trouble is a step toward managing this condition and finding a happy medium. While following a list of foods and recipe ideas have proven effective for a variety of Crohns patients over time, your body may be slightly different, meaning that some of them may not be good choices for you. With some trial and error, you and your doctors can come up with a good Crohns disease treatment meal plan that will keep you full, happy and excited to face each day.

Crohns Disease Approved Foods and Meals

Though you may have to browse the list and find food items that you enjoy eating, the following list of foods have been identified by doctors and patients across the globe as foods that they can eat to avoid severe Crohns disease flare ups. A good Crohns disease treatment will manage the condition without impeding your daily activities, as that is what you’re trying to avoid by seeking treatment in the first place.

Breakfast foods like eggs, oatmeal and almond milk are gentle on the stomach and leave very little residue within the body. Bananas, peanut butter, papaya, and avocados are great snacks, because not only are they delicious, but their smooth textures help the body easily digest them - and they are also full of nutritious things. Vegetables like beans, lettuce and roasted red peppers are highly recommended, too. These foods are meant to provide a variety to patients, ensuring that they are not limited to the same things day in and day out; though finding foods that work is necessary, eating the same foods each day can get very boring.

Sample meals for keeping the Crohns disease symptoms at bay include peanut butter and jelly french toast, herb roasted chicken or salmon, blended fruit and yogurt shakes, and different assortments of vegetable soup. Many doctors will even have sample “menus” and meal planning guides which will help you to reach your goal of finding the right diet to manage your condition with ease. The better managed your 

Crohns is, the less likely you are to have a flare 

up that will impact your life and your ability to live as you please.

Lifestyle Changes After Having Bariatric Surgery

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Weight loss surgery Washington DC offers patients a chance to lead full, happy and healthy lives. These changes all are made possible by having the procedure (which involves shrinking the size of the stomach to a fraction of what it truly is to promote consuming less food) done at a time when patients realize that they need to make changes in order to live better lives. After having the surgery done, you’ll need to make many different changes in order to ensure that it is as successful as it can be, and to keep yourself living comfortably for many years down the road.

Bariatric Surgery Lifestyle Changes

In addition to changing the amount of food you consume, you’ll need to change the types of foods that you eat. Eating less means that there is less of an opportunity to consume vitamins and nutrients that you need. It is recommended that you take vitamins and supplements to ensure that your nutrition doesn’t suffer.

Slowly reintroducing exercise into your day is necessary, too. Bariatric surgery Washington DC patients often have not extensively used specific muscle groups for long periods of time, but even five to ten minutes of activity per day, like walking, stretching or simply moving are enough to slowly strengthen these muscles. This will allow you to work up to doing more over time, which is extremely helpful and something all health care professionals will recommend.

Dietary Changes After Bariatric Surgery

To begin, patients that have recently had bariatric surgery will not be permitted to eat or drink for about 48 hours to give their stomach a chance to begin healing. From there, liquids will be reintroduced slowly. This leads up to soft or pureed foods including lean ground meats, eggs, cottage cheese, and soft fruits or cooked veggies that have been blended and mixed with liquids like broth, juice or water.

You may be really sensitive to certain things like spicy or heavily seasoned foods, and your stomach may also react to consuming things that are either very hot or very cold. This will improve over time, so be patient. Weight loss surgery DC patients go through stages as their stomachs heal, meaning that after a few weeks of pureed foods, you can add in things like canned fruit, cooked veggies and even ground or diced meats. This will transition to solid foods after two months or so. But even at this point, nuts, popcorn, carbonated beverages and tough meats should be avoided.

Preparing for Bariatric Surgery

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Explaining Bariatric Surgery

Also known as “weight loss surgery,” this procedure is used to decrease the size of the stomach, allowing for smaller portions of food to be consumed before patients feel full. This surgery has been popularized by reality TV shows and celebrities, but the truth about it is that it is extraordinarily useful for those who are morbidly obese and need to lose weight because their lives depend on it. The bariatric surgery Washington DC process is not much different than that available in other locations across the world; surgeons and specialists are well trained and experienced in their fields, and are prepared to help as many patients as they can. In some cases, this surgery is used to help patients slim down and prepare for other necessary surgical procedures down the road.

Getting Ready for Bariatric Surgery

In many cases, this type of surgery takes months to prepare for. Many people are under the assumption that weight loss surgery DC will cause them to shed a great deal of weight overnight, but this is not the case. Bariatric surgery requires patients to follow strict diet and nutrition as well as exercise programs. Before even being approved for the surgery, many specialists will consult with candidates, challenging them to prove that they can set a diet and stick to it, losing a predetermined amount of weight in the few months before they are approved. This shows that patients are willing to work for the weight loss, not simply expecting the surgery to do it all for them.

There are many guidelines that you must follow, and learning these as soon as possible will help with post-op recovery, too. Your diet will need to change, and many foods will need to be cut out. As your stomach will be much smaller, you’ll need to focus on eating for nutrition rather than pleasure. For example, caffeinated and carbonated drinks are discouraged, because they stretch the stomach, and sugary and fatty foods are also meant to be limited to promote the consumption of fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and nutrients.

Bariatrics and weight management DC programs are available for those considering and approved for the surgery as well as for family members that will act as caregivers. This will teach people about the surgery, the aftermath, the care necessary to ensure that it is successful, and the things to avoid and eliminate. Every little bit that is done to promote success will be useful, and having a back up support system is helpful to those experiencing the changes in their life that surgery will bring. In many cases, the first few days after surgery are difficult, as patients are not permitted to eat or drink for 48 hours following surgery in order to promote healing, and then a liquid diet progresses to “normal” foods in the weeks following. Having help will make this less stressful and much more manageable.