for Our Patients
- Everyday questions on Crohn's disease
- What is Crohn's disease?
- How is Crohn's disease diagnosed?
- What will happen if my Crohn's disease is left untreated?
- How can I limit the impact of Crohn's disease on my daily life with diet and lifestyle choices?
- How do I explain my condition and special needs to co-workers and teachers?
- Can I still travel with Crohn's disease?
- Are there any new Crohn's disease treatments on the horizon?
- Where can I find additional information on living with Crohn's disease?
How can I limit the impact of Crohn’s disease on my daily life with diet and lifestyle choices?
As mentioned above, patients with Crohn's disease should not smoke cigarettes.
Eliminating that factor from your life may have a more positive impact on disease control
and your overall health than any medications that we can provide. In addition, I highly
recommend regularly scheduled visits with your doctor even when you are feeling well.
These so-called "healthy visits" offer an opportunity for you to review your disease state, to
discuss advances in the field, to emphasize and remind you about adherence to therapy, and
to update your doctor about your needs and hopes for the future of your management.
In addition, it is extremely important to plan ahead and understand the limits that the disease may have on you. If you are not feeling well and you have an important social event coming up, or a trip planned, you should talk to your doctor early rather than waiting for the disease to spontaneously remit. Such "wishful thinking" often leads to more complications and we know that earlier interventions, when the disease is acting up, can result in much better outcomes.
Finally, although it makes perfect sense that foods make you have more symptoms when your Crohn's disease is active, and certainly each individual is aware of specific foods that may make them feel worse, we do not have evidence that any foods drive the inflammation of Crohn's disease or, for that matter, control the inflammation of Crohn's disease. Nonetheless, understanding whether you are lactose intolerant, or whether you have other problems with specific foods, is important so that you can avoid them and keep yourself healthy.
A general rule that applies to all chronic diseases and healthy living is moderation. This should include your choice of diet, your exercise, getting healthy sleep, and avoiding stress. Although we do not have confirmatory evidence that stress drives Crohn's disease flares, we certainly appreciate that many of our patients believe that this does aggravate their disease. Taking control of your life and eliminating the avoidable stressors is very important.
In addition, it is extremely important to plan ahead and understand the limits that the disease may have on you. If you are not feeling well and you have an important social event coming up, or a trip planned, you should talk to your doctor early rather than waiting for the disease to spontaneously remit. Such "wishful thinking" often leads to more complications and we know that earlier interventions, when the disease is acting up, can result in much better outcomes.
Finally, although it makes perfect sense that foods make you have more symptoms when your Crohn's disease is active, and certainly each individual is aware of specific foods that may make them feel worse, we do not have evidence that any foods drive the inflammation of Crohn's disease or, for that matter, control the inflammation of Crohn's disease. Nonetheless, understanding whether you are lactose intolerant, or whether you have other problems with specific foods, is important so that you can avoid them and keep yourself healthy.
A general rule that applies to all chronic diseases and healthy living is moderation. This should include your choice of diet, your exercise, getting healthy sleep, and avoiding stress. Although we do not have confirmatory evidence that stress drives Crohn's disease flares, we certainly appreciate that many of our patients believe that this does aggravate their disease. Taking control of your life and eliminating the avoidable stressors is very important.
