The Truth About Living with IBS, Colitis and Crohn's Disease

The good news about IBS, Colitis and Crohn's Disease is that it is almost never fatal. But the downside of this is, the painful side effects and complications associated with these chronic illnesses may make you wish that you were dead. IBS, Colitis and Crohn's Disease is a disease of bouts of suffering broken up by periods of remission. These periods of remission can last for a long time and can become a permanent cure, if managed correctly. Quality of life for sufferers can be improved dramatically by using a number of practical techniques to manage and control the symptoms.

The minute a doctor tells you that you have IBS, Colitis and Crohn's Disease is the time to begin learning all that you can about these diseases. Start by asking him or her for very specific information about support resources for the illness. Be very proactive by jumping on the internet to locate support groups, books and papers written about management, control as well as the diet you must adopt to gain control. Identify a website where you can go for the latest and newest information on the field of research.

Many modern researchers, not necessarily medical doctors, have come to the conclusion that diet and lifestyle changes will control, and in fact cure or heal IBS, Colitis and Crohn's Disease. At the very least choosing your food carefully will go a long way in improving your quality of life. Doctors and researchers stress the need to eliminate so called trigger foods from your daily meals. Trigger foods are those foods that bring on attacks, such as dairy products, spicy foods, or foods high in fiber or fat. If you get pain or other problems such as diarrhea after eating a certain food, then immediately take that food out of your diet. You don't have to eliminate them permanently, just eat smaller quantities and don't eat them as often as before.

A number of researchers and food experts have begun to recommend that IBS, Colitis and Crohn's Disease sufferers move to a raw food diet of organic produce. This involves juicing fruits and vegetables in order to ease digestion. This is important to allow healing of the wounded and damaged digestive tract, especially in the very beginning of change toward a healthier lifestyle. One must also guard against malnutrition in the beginning because Crohn's is the type of illness that conditions the body to absorb the wrong amounts of nutrients. A loss of appetite also contributes to this problem. Consult your doctor and have him or her refer you to a dietitian who can create a diet that will sustain you complete with foods, supplements and and vitamins.