Can Organic Foods Make a Difference in Crohn's Disease ?

Cooking and eating can be a difficult and often hit-or-miss effort for people with Crohn's disease. Some experts say patients with Crohn's should eat a high-fiber diet to stay regular; others say that a high fiber diet, especially one with a lot of vegetables, can cause flares of Crohn's disease, or make on-going flares worse. It's hard to choose what to eat, and to some extent, it depends on the individual and the present state of health of that individual.

In Bismarck, North Dakota, where I live, there are not many organic offerings at stores, although the major chains here do have organic sections. Most organic food available consists of fruits and vegetables; it takes extra efforts to find things such as pasta, breads, canned vegetables, or other foods, but they are there. The best place that I've found to shop is a grocery store called Central Market, which unfortunately is also one of the more expensive stores in the area. They have a reasonably good selection of both raw and processed organic foods.

I've found that for myself, raw vegetables can only be eaten if I'm doing really well; they can sometimes bring on a Crohn's flare, and if I'm already having a flare, they will make me absolutely miserable. Cooking vegetables does seem to make a difference, however, and cooked vegetables rarely begin a flare, although I tend to avoid them if I'm having a Crohn's flare. The available organic vegetables depend to some extent on the season. In a recent trip to Central Market, I found tomatoes, small red potatoes, artichokes, yams, green beans, and baby corn. I passed on the baby corn, as organic or not, corn will begin a Crohn's flare for me. I also passed on the artichokes, because (a) I don't like them, and (b) it was over $5 for one. I don't know if that's a lot or not, but it seemed excessive to me. I did buy organic tomatoes, red potatoes and yams, and green beans. The prices were only slightly higher than those of their non-organic counterparts, except for the new red potatoes.

I steamed the green beans and the red potatoes (not together; and I left the nutritious peel on the red potatoes); I baked the yams, and I ate the tomatoes raw. I was taking a chance with the tomatoes; Crohn's experts often say that tomatoes can trigger a flare. These were pear or Roma tomatoes, and I ate them sliced, and they didn't trigger a flare. Now here's the reason I bought organic red potatoes instead of the non-organic ones: I wanted to eat the peel. I feel that no matter how much you scrub potatoes that have not been grown organically, it is impossible to remove all the pesticide residue from them. With organic potatoes, you don't have that problem. Why that especially matters to me, as a Crohn's patient, is that my immune system is impaired, and I am much more sensitive to pesticides and other chemicals than the average person. I feel like I am taking less of a risk of triggering a Crohn's intestinal flare or inflammation if I can avoid those pesticides, and I'm willing to spend the extra money to do it.

It isn't widely known, but North Dakota produces more organically grown wheat than any other country, much less other state. We also have the largest area of contiguous organic cropland. This is important because it means that crops grown there are less likely to be contaminated by pesticide "drift" from neighboring fields. Because of this, I also found locally grown and/or processed organic flour, beet sugar, chokecherry jam, pasta, pre-flavored pasta (lemon-thyme), goat cheese, and yogurt. I purchased organic olives and frozen spinach that weren't local, but looked good. I made a Greek salad yesterday that would have been better had the spinach been fresh, but was still pretty good, and thankfully didn't induce a Crohn's flare (any salad is a risk). I'll be baking later today and tomorrow with the flour and sugar.

I recommend choosing organic fruits and vegetables for Crohn's patients, especially if they are things you won't be peeling. The risk of pesticides and chemicals from the field, as well as those applied in the stores to make non-organic fruit and vegetables look "fresh and tasty" is just too high for Crohn's patients who are already suffering from impaired or "insulted" immune systems. While processing foods may, in some cases, eliminate the chemical risk, in other foods, chemicals are added. The benefit of organic foods, which you will learn if you read the labels, is that almost everything in, for example, organic pasta, is real food, and not chemicals or things you can't pronounce. There are no chemical preservatives, and no unnecessary emulsifiers or anything else.

What the best organic foods are for you may depend on what is available in your area. For me, it is green vegetables like green beans and snap peas, root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and yams, and organic pastas. I almost always need to cook vegetables to prevent a Crohn's flare; you will learn from trial and error what works for you. I also choose organic oatmeal, which is only slightly more expensive here than non-organic, and is one of the few whole grains that doesn't cause a Crohn's flare for me.

One of the few things that a Crohn's patient can have absolute control over is what she or he eats. Make sure that you are eating the healthiest possible foods, and know what foods work for you. If tomatoes cause Crohn's flares for you, find another source for your vitamin C, and make sure that you add a good multi-vitamin to your diet. Digestive tracts impaired by Crohn's disease cannot always process the nutrients from foods. But by choosing organic foods over non-organic whenever possible, you are eliminating chemicals from your diet. Wash produce, organic or not, with filtered water. Make sure that meat you may eat doesn't come from livestock that have been given anti-biotics or growth hormones. It may cost more at the grocery store, but you'll make up for it by saving on medical costs.