Crohn's & Warm Weather Cuisine

Summer means a change in diet for most people. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available in both a wider variety and a greater quantity. And sometimes even at a lower cost. It's time to sit on the front porch drinking lemonade or iced tea; to bring out the grill for cook-outs; to load up on hot dogs and beer at a ball game, and to eat summer specialties like watermelon, lobster, and corn on the cob.

The thought of all that deliciousness brings joy to many, but can bring a different feeling to a Crohn's patient. I wonder each year what I'll be able to eat without suffering. I wonder if I'll be out having fun with friends and family, or if I'll be home tied to the bathroom.

Crohn's disease is a relapsing-remitting illness. When a Crohn's patient is in a remission phase, he or she can usually eat almost everything that a healthy person can. Many can eat fresh fruit with no problem. Melons, including cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon, are mostly water, and are generally easy to digest. Peaches, apricots, and nectarines are well-tolerated by most patients, and not as well by others. I love melons, and can usually eat them when I'm in remission, and can sometimes tolerate small amounts when I'm in a relapsing phase or "flare." I need to peel most other fruit even between flares. Berries are among my favorite foods, but during a flare I have to avoid strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries because the little seeds wreak havoc with my already-inflamed intestines.

Baseball game food such as hot dogs, peanuts, and beer, can be tricky for many with Crohn's. For me, nuts and alcohol both trigger flares, so I avoid them. Some Crohn's patients share my sensitivity, while others can tolerate them when in remission. Hot dogs usually contain too much fat for me to eat comfortably, but that may be due more to my missing gall bladder than to Crohn's disease.

Fair food, or festival food, is another area that Crohn's patients have to navigate with caution. A lot of fair food, like funnel cakes, and, at least in my region, Indian Tacos, practically drip fat. I can't even think about eating them without feeling cramping in my intestines. I do try to stay hydrated at outdoor events, but whether I can drink lemonade or iced tea depends on how my stomach is doing. Crohn's can affect the stomach as much as the rest of the digestive tract, and I tend to have chronic acid reflux. Lemonade and iced tea can be too acidic for me to tolerate; in lemonade, it's the citric acid, and in iced tea, probably tannic acid.

The other worrisome factor about food at fairs or other outdoor venues is the availability of bathrooms, or the lack thereof. The facilities are typically portable chemical toilets, which quickly become soiled and smelly with excessive use in hot weather. I try to drink just enough to be hydrated, but not so much that I have to urinate while I'm still there, and I usually avoid food completely, since I really don't know how it will affect me.

It's important to remember that every Crohn's patient is unique. What bothers some can be well-tolerated by others. Finding out what you can and can't tolerate may come down to trial and error. Use common sense: a high fiber food like corn, on or off the cob, is more likely to irritate your intestines than a low fiber food like watermelon. A greasy food like buttered lobster is probably going to be harder to digest than a low-fat food like a grilled chicken breast. Make your choices, and enjoy as much of the taste of summer as you can.