Hi....

I have ulcerative colitis, not Crohn's- but I think the dietary restrictions are similar. I used to be on Rafassal and Asacol, but stopped because I was worried ofthe long term damages, not to mention the idea of being 23 and forced to take 6 pills a day bothered me. While I do not recommend actually stopping to take medication for everyone, I do think that following a certain diet greatly helps in fending off attacks. Firstly, I take Slippery Elm ( Ulmus Fulva) which helps to soothe my stomach. I found that it is very helpful- you can find it in any health food store. Camomile and Fennel tea are also very soothing.

As far as my diet is concerned, I do not eat any dairy, animal products, sugar, oil (except olive oil), yeast and wheat. The majority of my diet consists of cooked vegatables, such as sweet potato, potato, zuccini, and carrots. Personally, I find tomatos, peppers and onions to be very difficult to digest, as well as al spices, and the only raw vegatabls I eat are lettuce and cucumbers. As for fruit, I peel everything, stay away fro grapes, and eat mostly red apples, bananas, mango and melon. Plain rice is okay, as well as all rice flour, corn flour and potato flour based food.Occasionally I eat tofu and almonds (without the peel).  I defnitly stay away from all alcohol and caffieine; coffee, tea, and chocolate, (although personally bitter chocolate in small quantities is okay).

Its a very restricted diet, however as long as I follow this diet, the attacks are less frequent. During an attack, I only eat cooked potato and zuccini, as I have found these to be easy to digest- and stay away from all raw foods.

I hope this helps.

Ronnie