Nutrients and food sources

Inflammation (redness, pain, swelling, heat) is necessary to heal. It signals the body that something is wrong and allows the body to repair itself. However when there is excess inflammation like the case of colitis, we can include more anti-inflammatory foods into our meals to offset the inflammation.
Such foods include:

• Omega3: Fatty fish, salmon, mackerel, flaxseed, walnuts, sea vegetables
• Tumeric
• Olive oil
• Garlic: Do not cook in high temperature. Best eaten raw.
• Ginger
• Dandelion root

B vitamins provide us with energy, metabolism, and allows us to deal with stress, it is not surprising that they are found in most foods. With colitis, one of the major side effects is fatigue. Stress also plays a big factor. It is crucial to get enough B's into the diet that are easy to absorb. Many drugs deplete us from B vitamins and it may be beneficial to supplement with a b-complex if not enough is provided and absorbed from diet. Some sources of B vitamins include:

• Eggs
• Whole Grains (oats, barley, buckwheat)
• Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• nuts (almond, sunflower
• Leafy greens (Spinach, kale)
• cruciferous vegetables (broccoli)

Oxidants are created by our own metabolism continuously as well as from external sources such as pollution, chemicals, pesticides, etc. Antioxidants are necessary to combat the oxidants by stabilizing the reactive particles. It is important for someone with an autoimmune disease have anti-oxidants readily available. Antioxidants preserve our immune systems's resources and will keep the immune system in check from going into over drive, like the case with autoimmune diseases. Our body provides us with a powerful anti-oxidant called Glutathione, but the many chemical pathways need co-factors to work optimally. Some of the anti-oxidants we can obtain from food include:

• Vitamin A: great for building the mucosa and found in sweet potato, carrots, prunes
• Vitamin C: red bell peppers, plantain, pomegranate, cranberry, avocado
• Vitamin E: blueberries
• Selenium: Brazil Nuts
• Glutathione
• Dark Chocolate

Glutamate is one of the most abundant amino acids created by the body. It can be converted into glutamine which has been shown to improve the lining of our intestines and contribute to the healing of leaky gut. In people with colitis, this conditionally essential amino acid might not be produced in adequate amounts. It is important to be getting this from diet and this is most commonly abundant in bone broth and can be be supplemented in the form of L'Glutamine. Protein in general are necessary as they are the immune builders.

The inflammation of the gut can cause many malabsorption issues for colitis patients. Diarrhea and bleeding means many minerals and vitamins are lost quickly. In order to address these deficiencies, it is ideal to include many foods high in those deficient vitamins and minerals or supplement as needed.

• Vitamin D: Anti-microbial, repairs DNA, bone health, and obtained from the sun
• Vitamin K - blueberries, prunes
• Iron - animal products, mussels, clams, oysters, spinach, soy, tofu, edamame, spirulina, beans, lentils, chickpeas, molasses, etc.