UC Cuisine: The Best Ulcerative Colitis-Friendly Ingredients

When one has ulcerative colitis, cooking is a major part of trying to maintain balance as far as impact on the bowel. There are some cooking methodologies that are very helpful and some that cause problems. I have learned several things through sometimes painful trial and error.

Virgin olive oil is clean oil that is mild and is useful in mild frying. Further, it tastes wonderful when used in conjunction with basting such as asparagus. Heavy grease such as shortening can cause pressure on the bowel and it saturates the food. It enhances the negative impact of fried foods. In this same vein, even vegetable oil can be damaging but has to be used in many dishes because virgin olive oil is too light.

When one thinks of the best ingredients when cooking to minimize side effects from the ulcerative colitis, there are certain ingredients that I have found to be quite irritating to my colon and my ulcerative colitis condition.

A large amount of pepper, garlic, cumin, green onions, peanut sauce and hot peppers can and have caused a big problem for me when I have used them in cooking. These are ingredients that offer a lot of taste. An additional offender is cooking wine; alcohol no matter how minimal can cause a problem.

I have found that if I bake certain foods or ingredients instead of frying them, they are more easily digested. An example of this would be mushrooms. They can cause gas but when cooked in an oven, they don't seem to have the same effect as when fried.

We know that certain foods are going to aggravate ulcerative colitis conditions and, as with most illnesses, we find what we like are usually not good for us. The seasonings mentioned, colored peppers, chili powder, hot sauce, hot mustard, Asian Zing sauce as well as a list of "hot foods" such as one might find in chili.

We have to determine how to cook food in a way that isn't bland; remains enjoyable, and, still does not aggravate our ulcerative colitis condition.

Baked potatoes are a great food. They can be baked with water and are incredibly soft when done; they digest pretty easily. They can be doctored with Allspice, margarine or butter buds and, light sour cream. Adhering to this method will keep the ulcerative colitis under control.

What about cooking spices? I like to enjoy tasty food. I use a meat or poultry tenderizer that is very mild and does not include monosodium glutamate. Monosodium glutamate is a known bowel and stomach irritant and most restaurants today keep it out of their menu for that reason. I use an all-natural rub which does not include any spicy ingredients. It is made up of dried fruits and vegetables within a basic tenderizing base.

There are those people I know who say all spices are bad for you, but certainly dried foods add flavor while cooking and can actually be healthy and assist the ulcerative colitis condition.

Baked fish, poultry or beef (I must be careful of animal fats) are the least offensive when baked. Rather than seasoning when cooking, it is sometimes better to have a "dip" on the side. Often when dipping food, it is easier to measure irritation than when it is cooked within the food.

Low fat butter is great cooking medium and the nice thing about it is that it automatically add flavor to whatever dish you are making, however, the lighter the dish (fish or poultry), without breading, the better.

Remember, the most important things you can do are to drink lots of water and exercise. This keeps anything in your body diluted and moving through the body in the right way.