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Bent Willow wrote: > I have a young friend in the throws of severe colitis (she has a history of > the disease). Her physicians are temporarily out of the area and she needs > information about the kind of foods she should, and should not, be eating. > Could you help please? Dear Mary Ann, Unfortunately, colitis is so highly individualized, and individual responses to foods vary so widely, that I really hesitate to offer suggestions, other than very general dogma. In fact, as she has a history of colitis, she is probably a much better judge of "trigger foods" that even her doctor. I don't work much with GI disease, anyway, so I'll just mention what I know from colleagues. In the acute stage, a bland diet is generally better accepted, with less fiber, and eliminating spicy foods. Certain foods, such as nuts, seeds, whole grains, and often fresh fruits and vegetables, seem to be more likely to offend than others, but this depends on the individual. If by chance she suffers from microscopic colitis, or pseudomembranous colitis, antibiotics may be needed to eliminate the organism. A colleague of mine has her clients increase soluble fiber (rice, rice bran, white grape juice, applesauce) to help with diarrhea, adding yogurt containing active culture. Additionally, she adds a probiotic supplement of live culture (Kyo-Dophilus) TID. If she has ulcerative colitis, she might ask the doc about apple pectin, ordered from a company in New York (1-888-263-5227). Could gluten be a problem? If she hasn't tried an elimination diet, this might be a good place to start. For gut healing, has her doc tried glutamine and omega-3 FAs? Sorry I can't be of more help, but the disease is far too complex for a quick-and-easy solution, and really requires close interaction with her physician -- and I realize that s/he is out of town. What about calling a registered dietitian in the area who specializes in GI problems? The American Dietetic Association Hotline will help her locate such an RD: 1-800-366-1655. A specialist RD would be the best possible solution for nutrition-related aspects of colitis. Also, has she seen any of the websites on IBD? She might try: Irritable Bowel Syndrom Website http://www.panix.com/~ibs/ Creative Colitis Cookbook http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/colitis_cookbook/ Crohn's, UC, and IBD Page: http://qurlyjoe.bu.edu/cduchome.html Please let me know how your young friend is doing; if there is any information that I CAN provide, I'll certainly do so. My very best regards, Kathrynne -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD "Nutrition you can live with!" Medical nutrition therapy http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ Tel: 970-493-6532 // Fax: 970-493-6538