TITANIUM

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Diet
I have seen some of our members posting that they have U/C and or Crohn’s Disease. I was diagnosed about 5 years ago. And it was devastating. I lost about 20 lbs before it was under control. So, I am going to list my diet in hopes that it can help other members on this forum.


Now, there is definitely some talk about how and if you can cycle. I will pass on my own experiences with this, in hopes of clearing some of the questions you may have. As far as cycling goes, I have been very successful. I have actually done better on them then not. Now, I am not condoning the use of steroids if you are diagnosed by a physician to have these diseases. You have to either ask your doctor if it is safe to proceed or basically experiment on your own. I have not been able to find any documentation or studies to show what the effects steroid use has on these diseases.


You should not cycle while on prednisone. It is a completely different drug than our body building counterparts are. Prednisone and prednisolone are members of the glucocorticoid class of hormones. This means they are steroids but, unlike the anabolic steroids that we hear about regarding sports medicine, these are "catabolic" steroids. Instead of building the body up, they are designed to break down stored resources (fats, sugars and proteins) so that they may be used as fuels in times of stress. Cortisone would be an example of a related hormone with which most people are familiar. Glucocorticoids hormones are produced naturally by the adrenal glands.


The medications that are my maintenance meds are librax and pentasa. Librax is a capsule containing a combination of chlordiazepoxide and clidinium. Chlordiazepoxide is in a group of drugs called benzodiazepines. Chlordiazepoxide affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause anxiety. Clidinium reduces stomach acid and decreases intestinal spasms. Librax is used to treat stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, and intestinal infections..


Pentasa affects a substance in the body that causes inflammation, tissue damage, and diarrhea. Pentasa is used to treat ulcerative colitis, proctitis, and proctosigmoiditis. Pentasa is also used to prevent the symptoms of ulcerative colitis from recurring. PENTASA (mesalamine) for oral administration is a controlled-release formulation of mesalamine, an amino-salicylate anti-inflammatory agent for gastrointestinal use.


Diet is key, as we all know, to be able to build muscle tissue. I have been able to not only put my weight back on, but been able to successfully add muscle with foods I am listing. There is no dairy listed. This is due to the fact that you may become lactose intolerant or it just makes your life miserable to include it. This depends on the individual. My physician only allows the use of these medications only 4 times a day. So eating 6 meals is impossible to do. Basically, even though I need to eat 6 times a day, I can’t. But, you can try eating different things at different times, and see what works for you.


This is what goes into the food cart when I shop (listed below). Some of this is simple to make and prepare. Whey protein is no problem for myself, but I want to get as much nutrients from my food as possible. No junk food at all is allowed at any time. No alcohol is permitted. This will keep you out of the doctor’s office and hopefully the hospital. Remember, it may taste good going down, but catastrophic on the other end. It’s just not worth it.


Steak-cooked with nothing on it at all- plain

Tuna-plain, right out of the can

Potatoes-plain

Rice- white or whole- plain

Broccoli-plain

Bread-wheat, with no milk added (buy the best natural bread baked daily)

Fruits- these need to be cooked. They are easier to break down in the GI tract.

Juice- only 100%. Stay away from acidic juices.

Bananas

Oatmeal- this is another great food. Stay away from the flavored ones.

Chicken- 100% chicken, broiled or boiled - plain

Beef franks- 100% beef franks, not hotdogs (there is a difference)

Peanut butter-100%, no chunky or mixed
Pasta- plain

Hamburger- 100% ground beef- plain


Try to keep this as organic as possible. Preservatives only make things worse. This diet is very basic, but gives you everything you need. You can adjust the amounts of each when you are bulking or cutting. Remember, these are foods that I have found to be intestinal friendly. You can go over this with your doctor, as he can advise you better. Protien is key. Then carbs and fats. I’ll go into the supplements next.


A good multi V. GNC has a good one.

Fish oil capsules

Amino acids- I like Twin labs.

Whey protein- True protein makes one of the best. Nothing added to it. Plain in a glass of water.

Acidophilus- This is real important, as it corrects the natural flora in your GI tract.

Bavolex- This helps a lot. It’s a herbal mixture in capsule form.


Aloe Elite- This is another supplement that I use. Expensive, but excellent (anti inflammatory/healing properties).


I am not going to get into what get’s eaten when. As we all know about breaking the meals up as much as possible throughout the day. Before working out, and post work out. It changes for me a lot depending if I am on cycle or off. You can find what works for you best. You can balance your “macros” from this diet fairly easy.


This diet will kill your social life, but I don’t have time for that anyways. I’m either at work, training, eating, or sleeping. I take a day off a week to get errands done, and so forth. I hope this helps with the medication and diet aspects of things. I think that it is important that I pass this along, so members don’t have to think about hanging up there BB careers over it. And also get their diets more in check if you are having issues adapting to these diseases.

Best


T