Ulcerative colitis is a serious gastrointestinal condition that is usually accompanied by weight loss, bloody diarrhea, abdominal distension, pain, anemia, osteoporosis and fatigue. Although some medications can help manage ulcerative colitis, no cure has been found yet. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, specialist in neurological and gastrointestinal disorders and author of "Gut and Psychology Syndrome," or GAPS for short, claims that using specific food combinations allowed her to cure many of her patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Broth
According to Dr. Campbell-McBride, broths are an essential component of her nutritional program, called the GAPS diet, because of their role in repairing the damaged gut lining of patients with ulcerative colitis. If you have ulcerative colitis, your intestines are inflamed, and bone and meat broths, from chicken, beef, lamb or any other meats or poultry, can be very beneficial to decrease the inflammation and heal your intestines. The GAPS diet has you include a cup of broth at each meal, whether you drink it before your meal or include it as part of a soup or stew at your meal.
Animal Foods
The complete protein, cholesterol and fats found in animal protein are also parts of the foods that you should include on a daily basis if you have ulcerative colitis, according to the GAPS protocol. This nutritional approach recommends that you include animal products, especially poultry, beef, pork, fish, eggs and game meats, as well as butter, lard and fermented full-fat dairy products, at each of your meals. These foods can be included in your soups or stews with broth or cooked in a way that you can tolerate well. Boiling is the first cooking method recommended when starting the GAPS protocol, which can be followed by grilling and barbecuing at more advanced stages.
Vegetables
If you have ulcerative colitis and suffer from malabsorption, it is important that you fully cook your vegetables to facilitate their digestion and absorption. Dr. Campbell-McBride also recommends her patients to start with easy-to-digest vegetables, such as carrot, zucchini and cauliflower. These vegetables should be boiled until very soft and pureed to make them less irritating and more nourishing for your intestines. You can also cook these vegetables in your broth, soups and stews to combine these well-cooked nourishing vegetables with the broth, animal protein and animal fats that can contribute to healing your gut with ulcerative colitis, according to the GAPS nutritional program. Fermented vegetables, such as raw sauerkraut, should also be combined with your meals to provide your intestines with gut-friendly bacteria, called probiotics.
Grains, Starchy Vegetables and Sugar
The basis of the foods you should combine at every meal should include broth, animal foods and thoroughly cooked vegetables that your intestines can tolerate. Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends avoiding carbohydrate-rich foods, with the exception of nonstarchy vegetables and limited amounts of easily digestible fruits, to prevent the overgrowth of bacteria in your intestines. A healthy gut flora can help you heal your gut, and too much of the wrong bacteria, which feeds on the carbohydrates found in grains, starchy vegetables and sugar, can contribute to the inflammation and damages of your gut lining with ulcerative colitis. The GAPS approach recommends avoiding breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, sweets and desserts for a year or two to allow you to heal and seal your gut and recover your health.
