A number of conditions fall under the umbrella of colitis, or inflammation of the large intestine. Collagenous colitis, in particular, causes frequent bouts of watery diarrhea. Like many conditions of a gastrointestinal nature, diet factors heavily into treatment, which means you have a great deal of power in directing the course of your health.
High-Fiber Foods
While a high-fiber diet is often recommended for promoting overall health, it can actually worsen conditions such as collagenous colitis by increasing the incidence of diarrhea. No one-size-fits-all recommendation applies. You need to experiment with the amount of fiber you can tolerate. When your symptoms are particularly persistent, it is best to limit it as much as you can. Foods particularly high in fiber include beans, nuts, bran and raw fruits and vegetables.
High-Fat Foods
High-fat foods also can worsen diarrhea, and the physician-created EMedTV recommends limiting these items if you have collagenous colitis. Besides limiting the obvious items, such as fatty meats and full-fat dairy products, you also need to limit healthy fats, such as those found in oils, nuts, seeds and avocados.
Gluten
Wheat and various other grains contain gluten, a type of protein. In recent years, research has been linking gluten allergies and sensitivities to a host of conditions. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic note a ‘’high frequency’’ of collagenous colitis patients who also have celiac disease, or gluten allergy. Based on this finding, they wanted to examine the incidence of this disease in patients with lymphocytic colitis. Though considered two different conditions, Mayo Clinic reports that some researchers believe this type of colitis and collagenous colitis are actually separate phases of the same condition. Their findings, published in the March 2001 issue of ‘’The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology,’’ uncovered that patients with lymphocytic colitis had a much higher incidence of celiac disease, compared to the prevalence of the disease in the general population.
Another study by researchers from Columbia University, published in the November 2009 issue of ‘’Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology,’’ found that patients with celiac disease were 70 percent more likely to have microscopic colitis -- either lymphocytic or collagenous colitis – compared to individuals without celiac disease.
Gluten can still negatively affect you even if you do not have a full-blown allergy. Gluten may affect your symptoms personally, but it is a change to consider experimenting with it to find out.
Tips for Going Gluten-Free
With growing awareness of allergies and sensitivities to gluten, it is getting easier to find products that are gluten-free. Without a product being labeled as such, however, it is important to familiarize yourself with the grains that contain gluten and the ones that do not. Besides wheat, other grains that contain gluten include barley, bulgur, rye, semolina, triticale, spelt, durham, graham, farina, kamut and matzo. Grains that do not contain this protein include amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, corn, hominy grits, polenta, quinoa, rice and tapioca.
References
- ''Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology''; Celiac Disease is Highly Prevalent in Lymphocytic Colitis;C.A. Matteoni, et al.; March 2001
- ''Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology''; An Association Between Microscopic Colitis and Celiac Disease; P.H. Green, et al.; November 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Collagenous Colitis, Lymphocytic Colitis Lifestyle and Home Remedies
- EMedTV; Treatment for Collagenous Colitis; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
- MayoClinic.com: Collagenous Colitis, Lymphocytic Colitis Definition
