Low-Fat Diet for Crohn's

Crohn's disease is a digestive disorder (a type of IBD--inflammatory bowel disorder) characterized by abdominal cramps, localized pain, diarrhea and fatigue. While there is no real cure for Crohn's, symptoms can often be minimized or eliminated through the use of prescription medication, surgery (in extreme cases) and diet. Although there is no "one size fits all" Crohn's diet, limiting the amount of fat you consume can help to prevent flare-ups.

Low-Fat Diet

• Follow a fat-restricted diet to help minimize the severity and frequency of your Crohn's disease symptoms. This means limiting the amount of fat in your diet to no more than 30 percent of total daily calories. Beyond that, you should strive to spread out your fat intake evenly across the day, avoiding individual higher-fat meals that could nevertheless trigger some symptoms regardless of how restricted the rest of your meals happen to be. In other words, if you are consuming 600 calories from fat per day (in three meals), aim to divide that intake evenly--eating 200 calories from fat per meal as opposed to a split such as 100 calories in the first two meals and 500 in the third. Additionally, you should strive to minimize consumption of trans and saturated fats. Eat most of your fats from natural unsaturated sources like nuts, seeds and cooking oils.

Rounding Out the Diet

• Round out your diet by avoiding other common types of foods that trigger symptoms of Crohn's. These food types include lactose, spicy food, alcohol, caffeine, fried food, foods that tend to produce gas (beans, fibrous veggies), raw fruits and vegetables and most types of fatty red meat. Stick to cooked fruits and vegetables along with plenty of lean protein like chicken, turkey and seafood while eating to combat Crohn's. In addition to helping you control symptoms, this dietary approach will also help you lose a few pounds in the process, providing additional health benefits and further improving your overall quality of life.