Diet for ulcerative colitis

In ulcerative colitis, diet is important as part of complex therapy. Often, patients neglect the doctor's recommendations and do not follow dietary restrictions, which prolongs the recovery period and can cause a deterioration in the condition. It is the change in diet that allows you to reduce the unpleasant symptoms of the disease, increase the effectiveness of drug therapy, replenish the loss of nutrients due to diarrhea, in addition, therapeutic nutrition for ulcerative colitis allows you to save the colon from removal.

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Diet 4 for ulcerative colitis

Therapeutic nutrition No. 4 is prescribed for exacerbation of intestinal diseases.

The main goal of such a diet is to reduce fermentation, putrefactive processes and inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, normalize the functioning of the digestive tract and replenish the lack of nutrients that occurs with any digestive disorder.

First of all, dietary table No. 4 excludes any products that can cause rotting or fermentation, increase intestinal motility and promote increased secretion of gastric juice.

The diet involves reducing fats and carbohydrates, which makes it low-calorie (the protein content corresponds to physiological needs).

Such a diet cannot provide a full supply of nutrients and microelements, so diet No. 4 should only be followed for the recommended number of days (on average, the diet is prescribed for 5-7 days).

As with other gastrointestinal diseases, food should not be too hot or cold; dishes are served only in a pureed form.

Allowed are thin, unroasted rusks, soups with dietary broth, slimy, lean meats (beef, veal, turkey, chicken, rabbit, fish), cottage cheese, no more than two eggs per day, heat-treated vegetables (in soups, boiled, etc.), mashed porridge from rice, oatmeal, buckwheat flour, kissels, jelly, decoctions of pear, quince, blueberries, apples, black or green coffee, tea (without milk).

Excluded from the diet are bread, flour products, rich and milk soups, pasta, fatty meats, canned goods, herring, milk and other dairy products (except cottage cheese), raw, fried or boiled eggs, cereals (pearl barley, millet, barley), pasta, legumes, any snacks, sweets (compotes, fruits and berries, dried fruits, jams, preserves), spices, sauces.

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Diet for exacerbation of ulcerative colitis

During an exacerbation of ulcerative colitis, a large amount of food is poorly digested, the absorption of nutrients is disrupted, so it is recommended to eat often and little by little. Dinner should be no later than 9 pm.

With this disease, protein metabolism is disrupted, especially after remission. During this period, it is better to eat protein foods, especially animal proteins, while limiting the amount of water you drink.

After the unpleasant symptoms have subsided, the diet is expanded, but dairy products are prohibited for life.

During an exacerbation, the diet should include eggs, meat, fish, occasionally cottage cheese, porridge (semolina, rice), jelly, and berry infusion.

Also, special attention should be paid to products containing vitamins A, K, C, group B, and calcium. Any fatty, fried, dishes, pickles, chocolate, hot spices and sauces, mushrooms, legumes, plums are prohibited during an exacerbation.

There is no need to follow a therapeutic diet for a long time, since such a diet will not help restore the patient’s impaired metabolism and strength.

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Ulcerative Colitis Diet Menu

Sample menu for those prone to constipation:

• Breakfast – vinaigrette with vegetable oil, cottage cheese pudding, buckwheat porridge or vegetable salad, tea (for a snack – mashed fresh vegetables or fruits, a few cookies).
• Lunch – vegetable soup, boiled meat, stewed vegetables, jelly (for a snack – boiled vegetables, cottage cheese or carrot puree).
• Dinner: meat cutlets, vegetable casserole, pumpkin soufflé, tea.

If you are prone to diarrhea, the menu is slightly different:

• Breakfast: steamed cutlets, vegetable puree, tea (baked apple for a snack).
• Lunch – soup with mashed meat, beetroot puree, steamed cutlets. If you are prone to diarrhea, experts recommend avoiding snacks between lunch and dinner.
• Dinner: buckwheat pudding, mashed cottage cheese, rice porridge with water, baked apple.

You can drink some jelly before going to bed.

Useful recipes

Buckwheat pudding: 100g cooked buckwheat, 2 eggs (separate whites and yolks), 1 tbsp butter, sugar to taste.

Grind the porridge in a blender with butter, yolks, and sugar. Beat the whites separately into a foam and carefully add to the buckwheat-yolk mixture. Put in a mold and bake until done for 15-20 minutes.

Soup with egg flakes: diet broth 1l, 2-3 potatoes, onions, carrots, 2 eggs, greens.

Finely chop or grate the onion and carrot, fry in oil, chop the potatoes and add to the boiling broth, after 5 minutes add the onion and carrot.

Beat the eggs and carefully add them to the soup. As soon as the eggs have curdled, remove the pan from the heat. You can add herbs if desired.

Pumpkin soufflé: pumpkin 100g, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp flour, 40g butter, 2 tbsp sugar.

Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, bake in the oven and grind in a blender. Add flour to the melted butter and mix well, add sugar. Separate the whites from the yolks, beat the whites into a foam. Add the mixture with butter, yolks to the pumpkin puree and mix well, then carefully add the whites and transfer the mixture to the mold. Bake at medium temperature for about 20 minutes. The finished soufflé can be sprinkled with powdered sugar.

The diet for ulcerative colitis should be more standardized than strict. With this disease, it is necessary to eat foods that contain the necessary nutrients and microelements, fasting can only worsen the condition. It should be remembered that with colitis, you need to eat warm food in a mashed form, in small portions. Also, the diet should not be too long, usually on the 6-8th day, experts recommend gradually returning to the usual diet.