I read your post regarding your daughter’s health improvement with great enthusiasm and hope. I live in the UK, was diagnosed with very mild crohn’s in April 2018 and was taking mesalazine up until about three weeks ago. I haven’t taken that medication for my condition since then and feel perfectly fine. I have adjusted my diet enormously and rarely eat refined sugars, dairy and occasionally eat some low GI carbs. I have cut out a lot of inflammatory foods and take turmeric and omega 3 supplements.
I was notified in February 2020 that my liver enzyme levels were too high and they have been fluctuating up and down ever since. I had a biopsy on my liver recently and auto-immune hepatitis was thankfully ruled out although the Drs now think that I may have a subtle form of PSC. There was some mild fibrosis noted however.
I am hoping that my liver levels may have returned to normal as I have been off the crohn’s medication for some time. At the same time I also believe that the diet you mentioned is probably the right way to go in terms of sorting this condition out for good. Would you mind sharing the details of your naturopath or a diet plan that he/she suggested? Also how is your daughter doing these days?
Increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids but only from marine fish (not from supplements).
In patients with Crohn disease (CD):
Increase the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed. (However, in symptomatic or significant fibrostricturing CD, restrict insoluble fiber intake.)
Reduce consumption of saturated fats.
For both conditions:
Reduce the intake of emulsifiers and thickeners (e.g., carrageenan) and processed foods containing titanium dioxide and sulfites.
Avoid trans fats.
Limit intake of foods containing maltodextrin and artificial sweeteners.
Do not consume unpasteurized dairy products.
Evidence was insufficient to recommend restriction of wheat and gluten or any specific changes in consumption of complex carbohydrates or refined sugars and fructose. No consensus was reached on a recommendation regarding pasteurized dairy products.
Cody, thanks for posting.
That is good info.
I would encourage keeping a food diary, as PSC is so individualistic, it can help track patterns of what works and what doesn’t.
Jeff
Absolutely false, diet has everything to do with PSC and UC - its all about inflammation. My diet that has all my Liver Function Tests in normal range now:
Mediterranean diet
Coconut Milk
Olive Oil for salad dressings, food prep
Fish - Salmon
Organic - salads, fruits et al
Nuts
No Red Meat
No processed sugars - feed the inflammatory bacteria
Natural sugars ok - honey
Give this a try along with exercise, and mindfulness mediatation, I take no meds now and I normal liver function test results. Tom
Doctors are not trained in nutrition as part of their regular practice.
Through my own research (and anecdotal evidence) I know more than many doctors on that topic. My hepatologist actually somewhat consults with me on this lol. He knows I research a lot and am versed in the food side of things.
A few good short clips on this below. Bottom line is…be your own advocate and don’t take anything as gospel. Do your own research (from verified sources, peer reviewed articles, look for research funding biases, double blind randomized studies and meta analyses when possible).
In addition, there is a good book is called Fiber Fuelled…by a gastro (not hept) which provides an interesting take on his journey on the relationship with fiber and illness. Not gospel, but a worthwhile read for perspective.
I am vegan (I take B12 and D supplements and try to incorporate foods to ensure I have the right balance of required nutrients that aren’t in my regular foods (e.g. Brazil nuts for selenium…small amount) and always feel better when I go back to eating low fat and less processed foods. Going vegan changed bowel inflammation to a clean one. Regular one day fasts have also helped keep my itching at Bay (personal experience as in another thread).