Category: Diet and Nutrition

Talking About Protein, Anemia, Eating as a Vegan Ostomate, and More! (w/ video)

On March 15th, 2017 I spoke to the members of Ostomy Toronto as a guest speaker.

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Transitioning to a plant-based diet, especially when you have IBD, will require some planning.

Hospitals aren’t known for serving 5-star meals, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer through them.

For the longest time, I remember fiber being the sworn enemy of someone who has Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis.

In fact, the suggestion to go on a low-fiber diet when you have IBD is often one of the first ones you’ll hear – but is that the best thing to do?

Vitamin B12 for vegans, ibders and ostomates

Having been vegan for so many years, I’m aware of the significance in getting enough Vitamin B12. But if you have Inflammatory Bowel Disease or an ostomy, did you know that B12 deficiency is also a concern for you too?

Here’s the lowdown on this vitamin!

One of the things I do from time to time is to audit my diet to see if I’m getting in enough nutrients from the food I eat. It was especially important for me to do this while I was in a Crohn’s flare, but it also came in handy after my ostomy surgery.

In this post, I’ll explain how to do this.

Once you’ve passed your post-op healing phase (usually six weeks), and you’ve gotten tired of the restricted post-op diet, it’s time to start getting back into a more standard diet that will support you long-term.

Fortunately, most ostomates can return back their old diet, but there are some exceptions that ileostomates should know about.

Diet can be a very complex subject when it comes to living with a digestive disease. People who have an ostomy can also find that eating certain foods simply don’t work for them. I’ve written about ways in which we can substitute certain foods HERE, but in this post I’ll be explaining a bit more about how I tend to eat.

Food. I enjoy it now, but I was tormented for years by the pain that eating or even smelling foods caused me. These fears meant that I’d often skip meals or stopped eating partway through a meal, and ultimately lead to a very weak, underweight and anemic me.

While you can find some great information about diet and nutrition online, the most qualified information comes from Registered Dietitians. In fact, your GI or surgeon may refer you to one if you’ve got any questions about nutrition (and they should!).