Crohn’s Disease is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that causes inflammation throughout the digestive tract. There are two stages of Crohn’s: active flare and remission. During an active flare, inflammation is worse and symptoms are active. During remission, there are no symptoms present. The goal of Crohn’s treatment and management is to achieve and maintain remission. Diet therapy plays a major role in Crohn’s management.
If you have Crohn’s Disease, you’ve probably spent some time searching the internet to figure out how to manage your condition. The good news is that the internet has a ton of information. The bad news is that the information you read about Crohn’s management can often be contradicting and confusing. So how are you supposed to find relief from your Crohn’s symptoms? Thankfully, we’ve done the hard work for you. We put together a how-to guide to help you best manage your condition.
The most common symptoms of a Crohn’s flare are:
Significant changes in the frequency of bowel movements or unusual stool appearance can indicate a problem, especially when these changes accompany other symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, or abdominal pain.
Diarrhea is characterized by abnormally loose or watery stools. Most cases of diarrhea are due to bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Digestive system disorders can also cause chronic diarrhea.
Black, tarry stool may point to a bleed in your upper GI tract. As a general rule, the darker the blood, the higher the source of the bleed. Bright red blood is usually a sign of a bleed in the lower GI tract. This section consists of the large intestine, rectum, and anus.
Crohn’s causes inflammation of the digestive tract lining, which results in pain, gas, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and bloating.
Crohn’s disease can cause inflammation in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. IBD can reduce the body’s ability to digest food properly or absorb nutrients, which can lead to malnutrition and weight loss.
Unfortunately, Crohn’s Disease is lifelong, but can be managed effectively through consistent food choices. The tough part is, there are different dietary recommendations for each stage of the condition: active and remission.
During an active flare, inflammation is worse and symptoms are active. During remission, there are no symptoms present. The goal of Crohn’s treatment and management is to achieve and maintain remission. Diet therapy plays a major role in Crohn’s management.
A flare is the reappearance or worsening of disease symptoms. With inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis (UC), specific symptoms will depend on which condition you have and the part of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract that is inflamed. For Crohn’s Disease, the active inflammatory response can lead to a symptom flare. Over time, symptoms can change or get worse (a term called a progressive disease).
When Crohn’s is active, let the bowel rest and heal as much as possible. Therefore, we recommend a low fiber, low residue diet.
When Crohn’s is in remission, eat a varied, nutrient-dense diet. Once symptoms have subsided, we recommend introducing high fiber foods to ensure your body is getting adequate nutrition. It’s important, however, to increase fiber-containing foods slowly and carefully to avoid irritation.
Whenever possible, eat a diet rich in fiber and nutrients. However, when managing a condition like Crohn’s, sometimes it’s important to make temporary dietary adjustments to relieve symptoms. The key is to change your dietary intake based on your needs at the time. Confused about how to manage your Crohn’s flare? Our team can help!