Inflammatory bowel disease includes four separate conditions--the fairly common Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, along with lymphocytic colitis and collagenous colitis, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Collagenous colitis causes chronic diarrhea. Although many cases of collagenous colitis seem to resolve on their own, your physician may recommend you make some diet changes to treat your condition.
Cause/Symptoms
When you have collagenous colitis, you have inflammation that affects your colon, also known as your lower intestine, according to the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Both collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis also go by the umbrella term microscopic colitis, because you need to have a biopsy to identify inflammation and damage to the lower intestine. To perform this biopsy, your doctor will remove a small piece of tissue from the inside of your colon during a colonoscopy. Symptoms of collagenous colitis generally include watery diarrhea, potentially with pain and cramps.
Diet Changes
If you've been diagnosed with collagenous colitis, your doctor will probably ask you to change your diet before prescribing any medications for you to take, according to the website MayoClinic.com. You should decrease the amount of fat you consume, because that may ease your symptoms. In addition, you should avoid caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea and chocolate, completely from your diet. Diets for collagenous colitis also ban dairy products that contain lactose, a form of milk sugar. You can find lactose-free milk products to purchase instead.
More Foods to Avoid
If you've been diagnosed with collagenous colitis, you may also need to make changes in the fruits and vegetables you consume, according to MayoClinic.com. Vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower all may cause increased diarrhea and bloating, so you should avoid them. Raw fruits also can cause an increase in your symptoms. You may need to experiment with your diet to determine which foods trigger your symptoms.
Celiac Disease
Up to 10 percent of collagenous colitis patients may in fact have celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which you cannot digest certain grains properly, according to Baylor College of Medicine. Your doctor may decide to test you for celiac disease if your collagenous colitis symptoms fail to clear up with diet changes and antidiarrheal medications.
Gluten-Free Diet
If your testing for celiac disease comes out positive, you'll need to follow a gluten-free diet, which currently represents the only treatment available for the condition, according to MayoClinic.com. Under a gluten-free diet, you'll avoid all foods and products containing the ingredients wheat, barley and rye. The diet can be tricky to follow, especially at first, so you may want to consider getting help from an experienced dietitian.
