Crohn’s Disease and Food Allergies
Recent research has suggested that avoiding potential food allergies can bring relief from the symptoms of Crohn’s disease
Many people with Crohn’s disease have food allergies and have been reported to do better when they avoid foods to which they are allergic.
Many types of foods can cause an adverse reaction to the intestines, but there are some that have proven more difficult to digest than others, and in fact have caused such severe allergic reactions as to cause death in some cases.
A typical example of a common food product that is known to cause allergic reactions in those with Crohn’s disease is baker’s yeast. Bakers yeast found in bread and other bakery goods is thought to be a possible trigger for Crohn’s disease. Yeast and some cheeses are high in histamine, which is secreted during an allergic response. People with Crohn’s lack the ability to break down histamine at a normal rate, so the link to yeast and dairy may not be coincidental.
The following list of possible allergic foods not exhaustive, but does provide the most common foods found to be a problem:
- Eggs
- Peanuts and other tree nuts
- Fish and Shellfish
- Milk and Lactose
- Wheat and Gluten
- Soy products
- Corn
One of the most common of food allergies found in Crohn’s patients is gluten/wheat intolerance
Many physicians recommend that patients who suffer from Crohn’s disease avoid foods with gluten as an ingredient because it tends to irritate their condition. Because gluten is in many processed foods, Crohn’s sufferers may find that eating fresh vegetables, meat and fish may minimize symptoms.
Gluten is a highly complex protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats.
Wheat is very difficult on the digestive tract and digestive lining. Among other things, wheat turns into a sugar in the body, which is particularly upsetting for those with Crohn’s disease.
Flour and starch are the enemies of Crohn’s disease. That’s right NO GLUTEN CONTAINING BREAD of ANY kind is allowed. Gluten plays a large role in Crohn’s symptoms.
In people with Gluten intolerance, Gluten actually attacks the lining of the gut, tearing holes in it. The condition is known as "Leaky Gut Syndrome". No wonder it makes you feel tired and sick!.
You need to be tested for gluten sensitivity, which is common in Crohn’s. You need to have the following tests: IgG antigliadin antibodies, IgA antigliadin antibodies, anti-endomysium antibodies, anti-reticulum antibodies, and immunoelectrophoresis (to test your levels of IgA). The above studies are sometimes referred to as a celiac panel (minus the immunoelectrophoresis).
Note: In many instances, even Crohn’s patients who have tested negative for celiac disease have reported substantial benefit when abstaining from gluten containing products.
Most Gluten intolerance is undiagnosed – resulting in serious but preventable Crohn’s disease in many sufferers.
Unfortunately many doctors still think ‘Celiac Disease’ when testing for Gluten sensitivity. When the blood test result turns out negative or inconclusive, the patient can be misled into thinking Gluten is not the problem.
There are now more sophisticated blood tests to look for NCGS, but generally in mainstream medicine in the US and Australia the new practice has not yet been integrated. As a result Gluten intolerance is notoriously undiagnosed, misdiagnosed and and under-diagnosed.
Symptoms of Gluten intolerance are often gastro-intestinal (GI) and include stomach bloating, cramping, flatulence and diarrhea. But the long term effects are more serious: anemia, osteoporosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), depression, dementia, obesity and bowel cancer.
The simple fact is that many people who suffered terribly with crohn’s disease for many years found relief when they cut out gluten containing foods from their diet.
Therefore avoid wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Spelt bread can be tried, which is usually OK for a gluten restricted diet.
Gluten free cookies pasta are widely available in many health and specialty food stores, or you can order gluten-free products by clicking on www.glutenfreemall.com.
An exception is oats. Although oats do contain gluten, research has found that eating moderate amounts of oats does not appear to cause problems for people with celiac or Crohn’s disease.
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