How I Came to Love What I Thought was the Worst Diet in the World

Being sick can be a wake-up call that food truly is medicine

For most of my adult life, I took pride in following what I thought was the healthiest diet in the world: the Mediterranean Diet. I also ate lots of fiber. That all changed recently after another bowel obstruction from my Crohn’s Disease. The bowel blockage was my third hospital admission in five years. I was fortunate to escape surgery. One week later, the inflammatory bowel disease specialist I saw had a sobering and frank conversation with me.

“You have to stop eating a high fiber diet (HFD),” she told me. As someone who thought this diet was the Holy Grail for heart disease and cancer prevention, I was stunned. My Crohn’s condition was getting worse, and if I have any hope of avoiding surgery in the future, significant changes were vital. Good-bye, whole wheat bread and grains. Hello to white bread, white rice, and blandness. Three weeks into my remission and new diet, I am feeling a lot better. My pain is gone, and even my bowel movements are more regular with the reduced fiber.

The point is that often, diets can not be generalized. What is suitable for someone may not be good for someone else. And what was good for me years ago may no longer work because of my disease. With each attack of partial bowel blockage, there is some risk of structural changes to my gut and permanent scarring and damage. To help the foods “slide on through” my small bowel without irritation, I need to eat smaller-sized foods, fewer nuts, no seeds, and less fiber. Ironically, in the early stages of Crohn’s, fiber is beneficial. But things have changed, and I must adapt.

Now I am focused on eating healthy but with less fiber. I chew and eat slower. Some have called this “mindful” eating. Not a bad idea, no matter what diet you choose to follow. I have more frequent smaller meals and smaller portions. I eat low to medium fiber fruits and veggies, like avocado, asparagus, artichoke hearts, bananas, and apples or pears without the skin. Carrots are cooked and cucumbers peeled. I enjoy seedless…

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