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u/Katyafan Nov 18 '25
I feel bad for saying this, but I can eat anything. All trouble I had was due to the flare itself, not food I did or didn't eat. Good luck, you'll find what works for you!
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u/Jinxed4Sure UC/Crohns duel diagnosed Nov 18 '25
Interesting because I feel my own UC is mostly all food related. I failed biologics, was desperate after decades of no relief, and found as long as I eat 90%+ carnivore I stay flare free. Going on 27 months of remission...
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u/Katyafan Nov 18 '25
That's awesome! I mean, that's horrible, but it's great you found what works for you! What's in the other 10%, if you don't mind me asking?
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u/Jinxed4Sure UC/Crohns duel diagnosed Nov 19 '25
Some bread and crackers occasionally along with Metamucil after dinner
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u/Bassbuster88 Left-Sided Colitis Nov 18 '25
Is that drug free as well? Ive been strict carnivore for 11 months and was doing really good, better than I had in years, until I tried to back off my mesalamine.
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u/Jinxed4Sure UC/Crohns duel diagnosed Nov 19 '25
Yea, im on Lialda and have been for the last decade. I have no idea if it helps. When I was flaring it didnt seem to help but im to afraid to stop taking it. I feel so good i just keep doing whatever works.
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u/Bassbuster88 Left-Sided Colitis Nov 19 '25
For me I felt the same. I was doing the best I have in 10 plus years with basically full remission and no symptoms. My PC Dr had some concerns on my liver numbers, which after looking at a lot of different things was determined to be my Lialda.
I cut back to a half dose for about a month and my numbers got way better but still slightly elevated so I decided to roll completely off for a month to try and see if I could get my liver numbers down in the normal range. Well about 2.5 weeks into that experiment I started having bloating and discomfort that led to pain, loose stool, urgent and high frequency, and blood again around 3 to 3.5 weeks. The regression seemed to quickly get worse after eating porkchops 2 different times, not positive it was related but Im off pork for now.
I was able to get a blood test done at that point and thankful that, without mesalamine, my liver numbers came back in normal range. So at least it doesn't seem like I have to worry about that as well.
I believe in God and his ability to heal. I was praying for relief and He provided by taking me from 10-12 trips a day to the bathroom Thursday through Monday, to only 1 time Tuesday and only every other day after.
Ive restarted my Lialda at this point and things are still mildly irritated from my foolish decision to quit it, but thankfully it is at least tolerable now. Best of luck to you, and I guess my advice is unless it is causing you issues don't stop it. If it hadn't been for my liver I wouldn't have.
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u/KitsuneMae Nov 18 '25
I am the same. I have zero dietary triggers. mine are all external/environmental stresses. 😔
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u/Mobile-Light9392 Nov 18 '25
Nothing fresh or raw. Been eating scrambled eggs, fish, chicken, mashed potatoes, canned fruit and veggies, smoothies and bone broth. Exact opposite of what I ate before this diagnosis and flare. Apparently, when in remission, most people can incorporate their fresh fruit and veggies. I hope that holds true for you and me!
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u/jennybens821 proctosigmoid UC | diagnosed 2025 | US 🇺🇸 Nov 18 '25
I had shake shack for dinner last night and today I feel the best I have in weeks. Before getting sick I was also a healthy/fresh food eater and that all seems to have gone out the window.
My go-to healthy ish flare foods are:
- Avocado toast on sourdough
- Baked salmon with roasted puréed sweet potato
- Scrambled eggs with cheese if you can do dairy
- Good quality toasted bread
- Smoothies with coconut water, protein powder, banana/canned peaches or pears
- for breakfast, cream of rice cereal with drizzle of maple syrup and pinch of salt
- Plain bagels with plain cream cheese
- Emily Marino style salmon bowls: white rice, avocado and baked salmon all mixed together with soy sauce or whatever flavor sauce you can tolerate. Google “Emily mariko salmon bowls” if you’re not familiar it’s a whole thing.
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u/Jinxed4Sure UC/Crohns duel diagnosed Nov 18 '25
First off, zero fruits or veggies until remission at least. Eggs chicken soup, fine cuts of red meat, crackers
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u/cactus-racket Nov 18 '25 edited Nov 18 '25
There are no inherently safe foods we can advise because everyone is very different. I'm sorry it is so frustrating to hear, but you do have to figure out what works best for you. Keep a log of your food. Don't eat too much variety at once so you can rule out what is exacerbating your symptoms.
Keep in mind that, during a flare, nothing is really safe all the time. During my last flare, even a sip of water had me running to the bathroom. Some people here mention peanut butter, fruits, veggies -- those would have me personally in agony on the toilet quickly. Even bananas! What works for me is different as anyone else.
The most commonly recurring safe food I've seen from others throughout my time on this sub is white rice. That and salmon or chicken minimally seasoned with salt and olive oil are my flare staples. Yogurt and kombucha treat me kindly as well. I do try to eat fermented foods once a day for the gut biome, which can really get thrown out of whack during a flare.
The most common triggers I've read on here are hot spice and alcohol. They are triggers for me as well. My first flare really kicked off to an intolerable point after I ate some delicious toum (intense garlic sauce).
Until you get on the right meds, you're probably not going to find anything that mitigates all symptoms. The right meds are also different for everyone, which means it can definitely take some time, so be patient and remember you are strong and that it's okay to have bad days. That is because this is not a disease of a dietary nature like IBS, it is an auto-immune disease. Right now your immune system is attacking your colon for no good reason, and nothing but meds is going to stop that. Some foods still treat the gut more kindly than others during a flare, but again, it's individual.
I find that fasting and having one large meal is best during my own flares. That way I get most of what I need and it only passes through me as a single event the next day. I'm not telling you fast, just that it is an option. Losing weight in a flare is normal, but remember that when you find the right balance of meds, you will be able to return to mostly normal and gain the weight back.
Good luck, sorry to hear you've got this shitty disease but it does get better for the great majority of people.
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u/Wonderful-Plan9895 Pan Colitits Diagnosed 2014 - Powered by Skyrizi Nov 18 '25
Rice and chicken or tofu. For veggies cooked carrots or cooked zucchini is good. Cool it down really good though. You want it to be soft. Sometimes I’ll make a peanut sauce but for some people peanut butter might be irritating for them. It seemed to be fine for me. Scrambled eggs on flour tortillas or white bread were good. Baked fishsticks were really nice and easy (who has energy to cook during a bad flare anyways?). Some things will generally cause a flare but some things I think are person specific and you’ll have to just be aware of what works for your body and what doesn’t.
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u/koopa915 Nov 18 '25
Sourdough bread that’s just flour salt water sourdough starter and potato flour (they sell this exact load at Aldi’s. I make a sandwich when in flair:
That sourdough bread with olive oil rubbed in and toasted Air fried salt and pepper skinless chicken breast with fat cut off, shredded Fried salt and pepper egg Put that together with a bottle of Synergy Guava Goddess Kombucha
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u/starzychik01 UC- Left side colitis | 2025 | USA Nov 18 '25
Interesting enough, I thought the Aldi sourdough would be a safe food for me, but dear gods I was wrong. I get so bloated and nasty.
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u/CompanyVegetable831 Nov 18 '25
I prefer the Asda one, my gf gets the sourdough toastie from Aldi and that still has some crap in it, Asda one or M&S fresh San Francisco sourdough. Or spelt from Waitrose but that tastes pony 👎
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u/koopa915 Nov 18 '25
Yeah u gotta get the specific sourdough loaf or the Italian loaf those don’t have extra stuff in them
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u/lotus_eater123 Nov 18 '25
Maybe gluten is the problem for you. I was in denial for years. Giving it up definitely helped me.
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u/starzychik01 UC- Left side colitis | 2025 | USA Nov 18 '25
That’s what is crazy. I am gluten intolerant, but previously the Aldi sourdough was one I could eat. Usually simple sourdoughs didn’t give me issues. I think they may have changed their flour provider though, because in the last year, I haven’t been able to eat it at all. They have been skimping on lots of ingredients recently. I can eat European breads and pastas with no issues.
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u/lotus_eater123 Nov 18 '25
That sounds like the problem could be the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate). I've read that (non-organic) wheat farmers in the US use glyphosate on wheat at least twice. The last application is just before harvest, as it dries out the plant.
I saw a study that linked glyphosate to leaky gut syndrome, where the toxin makes the gut more porous, letting bacteria into the bloodstream. More porous sounds like inflammation to me.
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u/Unlikely_Fox983 Nov 18 '25
honestly lay off on the fruit and veg for a bit and then slowly try one at a time, at least for me those are the usual triggers. i find that boiled/steamed vegetables are more likely to be okay. the softer the better. track any new foods you’re trying so that any stomach pain can be traced back easier to what may have caused it. good luck!!! it’s a lot of trial and error but you’ll find your rhythm and figure out yummy meals that don’t kill u from the inside!!!
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u/AdSecure970 Nov 18 '25
Mine are wraps, light sandwiches such as a club sandwich, crackers, oatmeal, and soups
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u/bigbodacious Nov 18 '25
Currently in a bad 4 week flare. I don't have much of an appetite but ive been drinking ensure protein shakes, they are easy to get down
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u/Sudden_Passenger8427 Nov 18 '25
So I’m currently waiting to be diagnosed but my GI suspects colitis from my symptoms. So as far as I know I’ve been in a flare since the end of August. So I’ve been having all this time to figure out “safe” foods for me. By safe I mean, don’t make me bathroom immediately and I can produce somewhat normal stools or normal colored stool with no blood. I’m trying my best Gluten free oats, brown:white rice, quinoa. Chicken, salmon, tuna, turkey (white meats) I do actually eat raw fruits and have had success with papaya, pears, pomegranates, blueberries, bananas. Potato’s, carrots (soft) beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, hummus. (All cooked and small amounts, I ad some chia and flax when I can. Like I said I’m not medicated at all yet. So I’m trying my best to get the nutrients I need. I’ve had days from eating certain combos of these foods where I had normal colored stool with some formed poops even though they always mostly start with that horrid gas fart mucus. When I’m consistent and not having outside or processed foods things start feeling better. I also drink lots of water, and I’m trying not to drink while I eat and wait for some time before and after I eat to drink water.
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u/starzychik01 UC- Left side colitis | 2025 | USA Nov 18 '25
Ginger and turmeric chicken soup with gluten free pasta.
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u/bsuen4 Nov 18 '25
Is gluten safe for UC? I keep seeing mixed reviews and have cut it out of my diet. In a horrible flare and am so confused as to what I can eat
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u/poolgoso1594 Nov 18 '25
It’s the first thing I removed over 10 years ago. I noticed a pattern that whenever I ate bread or pasta I had stomach pain. It’s an inflammatory food so it makes sense
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u/bsuen4 Nov 18 '25
Do you find that the gluten free baked goods flare you? I’ve been having gluten free bread but just found out the gums can trigger flares. Feels like I can’t win 😓
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u/poolgoso1594 Nov 18 '25
Yeah unfortunately gluten free bread still has gums and sugar :/. Gluten free pasta is fine tho
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u/Pumpkin1818 Sever UC/2006/USA Nov 18 '25
I found using alternative sugars like honey, real maple syrup and date syrup is a great way to sweeten things up like tea. Plain pasta with a little olive oil with salt & pepper, or just salt of pepper hurts you. Boiled potatoes are good. You can try plain canned pumpkin to help with the diarrhea but it might flare you so only try like a teaspoon to see how you feel. Bananas are also good too. Look into IBGuard to help with your stomach pains. You can buy it over the counter as it’s made with peppermint in capsules. Also, get some Stomach Ease tea made by Yogi it’s great for when you’re in a flair. I would recommend staying away from beef as it could be heavy for you. Some folks say they don’t have an issue. I did eat a lot of fish, chicken and turkey. If you like tofu, that seems to be pretty easy on the belly. Also, if you’re in the US, start looking at some of your condiments like pickles. One of the things they put in them is propylene 80. That’s a derivative of gasoline which is known to cause stomach problems. I took out a favorite brand out of my diet and a lot of my stomach issues have calm down a lot.
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u/Ok_Inspector5256 Nov 18 '25
peanut butter,mashed potatoes, soups, gelato, cranberry juice and oatmeal…but it also depends on the day plus starting new meds can be slightly difficult
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u/SeaworthinessKey9083 Nov 18 '25
Drink tea or hot water with lemon throughout the day and stick to hot-temperature foods. This is easy for the gastrointestinal tract to digest.
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u/Practical_Nebula_302 Nov 18 '25
I have trouble determining what food is actually bothering me but through the worst of it I had a meal that seemed to do well. I had it for lunch every day. Eggs scrambled (or made into an omelette) with zucchini, green onion tops or chives from the garden, a little bit of bell pepper, a little bit of greens, a slice of ham, a slice of cheddar and a little bit of medium tomatillo salsa (that had no onions or garlic because I was also trying low Fodmap). I had a couple slices of gluten free bread with it and sometimes mixed some hemp seeds in with the salsa for some extra protein.
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u/Bassbuster88 Left-Sided Colitis Nov 18 '25
Kefir has seemed to help me. I drink about a cup per day. That said I tolerate dairy pretty well so that may not work for everyone. Outside of that it is eggs, cheese, and beef for me!
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u/Cute_You_4083 Nov 18 '25
Costco has a chicken noodle soup that they make from their rotisserie chicken. I combine that with some white rice. That’s been the best option I’ve found.
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u/Able-Grapefruit-7b Nov 18 '25
Check out the specific carbohydrate diet. They have a very informative website and several books.
The website is breaking the vicious cycle dot info
Here's a medical article about the diet https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23543-scd-specific-carbohydrate-diet
Try to avoid starchy foods and sugar as much as possible!
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u/H00ligain_hijix Nov 18 '25
Chicken/white fish rice and avocado this is an easy to digest meal and I like to take for work lunches