Carrots are nutrient-rich and contain Crohn's-fighting antioxidants. Plus, tender cooked carrots are much easier to digest than raw vegetables. Avoid the fiber-packed skins, but enjoy the potassium-rich, soft insides of potatoes to help your body keep its fluids balanced.
High-fiber fruits and vegetables
And avoid fruits and vegetables with skins and seeds intact. Many people find that bananas or canned pears are gentler than an apple or bowl of raspberries, for instance. Also steer clear of gassy veggies like broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.
Cooked vegetables: Well-cooked vegetables such as green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes without skin, steamed asparagus tips and pureed squash. Use fresh or frozen. Canned or soft fruits: Peeled apples, ripe bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and canned fruit in fruit juice or light syrup.
Do: White Bread. Toasted bread or a bagel made with refined white flour are good for breakfast or as a sandwich base. Look for brands with 2 grams of fiber or less per serving. Low-fiber grains are easier to digest when you have Crohn's.
Opt for mango and banana during a Crohn's flare, and skip berries with seeds, which might irritate your digestive tract, but feel free to include blueberries. Fluids also keep you hydrated.
If you can't tolerate raw onions, garlic, or broccoli, strategies like cooking and juicing can be a more IBS-friendly way to get the nutritional benefits of veggies. There are also certain raw veggies, like carrots and green beans, that some people with IBS find easier to tolerate.
Helps your digestion – Carrots increase saliva and supply essential minerals, vitamins and enzymes that aid in digestion. Eating carrots regularly may help prevent gastric ulcers and other digestive disorders.
Great for Your Gut
Insoluble fiber is responsible for helping us prevent constipation by adding bulk to our stool. Taken together, carrots are powerful tools for maintaining a healthy digestive system.
Although there's no firm evidence that any particular foods cause Crohn's disease, certain things seem to aggravate flare-ups. So a food diary can help you identify personal triggers. Beyond that, limit dairy products, eating smaller meals, stay hydrated, and try to avoid caffeine, alcohol, and carbonation.
The foods best to incorporate into a Crohn disease diet include lean protein (e.g., fish, poultry, soy, eggs, nuts, tofu) and non-cruciferous vegetables (e.g., asparagus tips, cucumbers, potatoes, and squash). An individual may remove the peels of vegetables and the seeds and cook them to make them easier to digest.
Avoid high-fiber foods.
Fiber is essential to healthy digestion, but some people with Crohn's disease find that high-fiber foods, such as whole-wheat pasta or bread, and beans and other legumes, like chickpeas and lentils, can cause diarrhea and bloating during flares.
Foods such as milk, cheese, and butter can exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms because they contain lactose, the naturally occurring sugar in dairy foods. You're more likely to have difficulty with dairy when you have Crohn's disease that involves the small intestine.
Foods that are high in soluble fibre and that may help reduce diarrhea include: oatmeal, oat bran, legumes (avoid in flare-up period), rice, rice cereals, potatoes, psyllium, squash, turnips, bananas, applesauce, mangoes, turnips, yams, carrots, corn meal, barley, white breads, papayas.
Certain foods like whole grain breads, cabbage, onions, and dairy may worsen or trigger Crohn's flares. Healing your gut with targeted diet and lifestyle therapies is more effective for managing Crohn's disease than avoiding specific foods indefinitely.
It may be a good idea to avoid lettuce, raw greens, and other high-fiber foods when experiencing a flare-up. If you do incorporate lettuce into your diet, do so after your flare has passed. Eat small amounts and closely monitor your IBD symptoms.
Researchers from the Department of Food Science at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, report that daily consumption of about ¾ of a cup of strawberries may promote better gut health and forestall the onset of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and other forms of IBD.
Probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, aged cheeses, miso and real sourdough bread can help maintain a healthy gut microbiome, something that is altered in Crohn's disease.
Potatoes. These starchy veggies can be a lifesaver during a Crohn's flare-up. Just be sure you avoid potato skins, as they are high in fiber and may cause digestive distress. Bake or roast white or sweet potatoes and scoop out the middle for a simple, delicious meal that won't leave you feeling under the weather.