This post is somewhat rambling, prompted after coming across a study (link below) about Walnuts perhaps being preventative for Colitis.
For years, nuts (mainly almonds) were something I’d eat with a caution and obviously not while in a flare. Perhaps I’ll delve into this in another post but somewhere along the line I came to understand that, anecdotally at least, patients with Colitis were having good results with sunflower seeds and cooked spinach. In any case, at some point many years ago, I began eating Sunflower Seed Butter (unsweetened and w/o added sodium), and stuck to nut butters over nuts.
Now, after a short course of Uceris in June to tackle some mild yet smoldering inflammation, I’ve optimized my diet (again), and as I’ve been feeling good have been experimenting with foods such as nuts. Knowing how beneficial walnuts are supposed to be, I’ve been eating a small amount now, daily, for months. I’ve also added other varieties like macadamias. So far, no issues at all.
I think a lot of IBD’ers live in fear that some food item could send them into a flare. And who can blames us? A lot of foods or questionable ingredients (many of which I’ve covered on this blog and will cover in the future) can wreak havoc on our digestive systems and bodies.
That’s why it’s important to have your “avoid” list (which takes time, though trial and error as well as research), and also to be informed about nutritional basics, such as the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber.
Over time though, you can develop a fear-based eating pattern. Eventually you figure out a safe list and discover you’re cycling through the same meals. That is not great for nutrition or health generally, and it’s not good for IBD. Eating diverse foods (e.g. variety of veg., fruits, complex carbs) is what results in a diverse microbiome). So…perhaps in an effort to avoid a flare, you avoid your potential triggers, and stick to a limited “safe” list. In turn, your nutrition suffers and low and behold you slide into a flare…
When not in a flare, I don’t dig into pizzas and fries and greasy food (for example) so I can eat like a “normal” person. I like eating healthy as it is, but for me it’s also important to eat things that will prolong remission (and certainly not put me at risk for another).
Which brings me back to walnuts. Whenever I see a research study like this, I make note of it and if it’s reasonably convenient, I try to incorporate it into my diet. I’ve done that with walnuts and now, as I said, I eat them daily. My point is that, for a long time, I avoided nuts in their whole form, thinking they’d be a problem. At this point, more or less in remission, they aren’t.
Am I saying you should eat walnuts? No. What I’m saying is, just as you exercise caution with what you consume, you should also be careful about backing yourself into a corner food-wise where you end up avoid/cutting items that could be helping you.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190812130850.htm
The Colitist 