Can I Eat Pears & Lentils If I Have Crohn's Disease?

No foods are known to cause Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, but eating certain foods during a flare-up can worsen symptoms. Foods that some sufferers of Crohn's disease tolerate may give others problems. According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, both pears and lentils are foods that are high in fiber, causing Crohn's sufferers to question their use, but for some with the disease, can be consumed without incident.

Pears and Lentils

• Lentils are a high-fiber food and may aggravate symptoms in some people with inflammatory bowel disease. Lentils are included, however, in the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) developed by biochemist Elaine Gottschall. Some people have reported relief from symptoms enough to discontinue medication while eating, according to the SCD guidelines which prohibit grains, processed meat, sugar and lactose. Other patients on the SCD may not improve or may get worse, so do not change your diet without a doctor's supervision and never stop taking medications without first checking with your doctor.

  Pears, a fruit high in fructose, are also allowed on the SCD. Some patients do experience greater diarrhea or gas symptoms when eating fruit because of the fructose, or fruit sugar, it contains. The peel on the pears is high in fiber and may also aggravate symptoms. Try peeling the pears or eating them poached and observe the effect those preparations have on your diarrhea or gas.

  Although pears and lentils may cause problems in some Crohn's Disease patients, others eat them without incident. If pears and lentils are among your favorite foods, try them periodically and find out if they aggravate your symptoms. Even if you find pears and lentils make things worse for a time, trying again at a later time may give you a different result as your body and medications change.

Tips and Warnings

• Never make radical changes to your diet without first discussing it with your doctor or dietician. Because Crohn's disease can affect how your body absorbs nutrients, malnutrition often occurs in Crohn's disease patients. Diets with severe restrictions may prevent a patient from getting enough nutrients or calories. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration from diarrhea.

  Crohn's disease changes over time and your ability to eat certain foods may change. Just because a food has never caused a problem does not mean it will always be safe. Adapt your eating habits to your disease's symptoms over time. There is no one food that causes problems for every Crohn's disease patient and there is no one diet that helps everyone. It may take a bit of trial and error to find which foods make you feel better or worse.