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Most of us feel that we should be eating a lot more fruits and vegetables than we're currently able to eat, but a recent report released by the CDC, based on a survey, shows that most other people aren't eating the government-recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, either, so maybe we're not as far removed from the norm as we think we are.
The surveys suggest that only 33 percent of adults meet the recommendation for fruit consumption, and only 27 percent eat the recommended number of servings of vegetables. Only 32 percent of high school students report eating at least two servings of fruit daily, and only 13 percent say they eat at least three servings of vegetables each day.
Heck, on the average, we probably do better than that.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I go lots of days with no fruit, except for the miniscule amount in my yogurt. I try to eat bananas everyday, but I slacked off. Once in awhile I eat an apple, an orange or a pear, cherries in the summer and a few plums and nectarines, grapes, but for the most part I don't eat much fruit.
Veggie wise I eat atleast two big servings a day. Usually broccoli, cauilflower, carrots, or corn or green beans, mushrooms oh and lots of potatoes and squash once in awhile. Lettuce, salads. I eat dried beans only in home made chili. Oh and I use tomatoes and tomatoes sauce alot.
I can eat pretty much anything I want if not having a flare up, then of course just about everything I just listed is a no-no for me.
Deb
Hypothyroid 06/01
LC 12/06
Dwell on the positive.
Happiness is a result of a decision to be happy.
I tried eating apples this week. First day I just sliced a red gala. I got stomach gurgles. Tried again but peeled the apple, again got big gurgles.
Seems like the only fruit I can eat is banana's and melon's. I do miss fruit!
I love those Gala apples. Typically, with most fruit and vegetables, most of the fiber is in the peel, so removing that is definitely a step in the right direction. Cutting down the portion usually helps, since fiber, (in all fruit), sorbitol, (in most fruit), malic acid, (in apples), or fructose may be part of the problem. Cooking often helps, and another option is to make smoothies, using your favorite frozen fruit, berries, etc., along with a source of liquid, such as apple juice, apple cider, or coconut milk, (if you need more calories). They worked for me, while I was healing, even though I usually couldn't tolerate fruit, in whole form.
Here are some old discussions about making smoothies:
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Don't mean to sound too ignorant, but i really don't understand how pureed veggies or fruit are any different to our intestines than whole fruit or veggies that have been chewed and eaten. I don't see how it affects the fiber content?
Like so many, i still can't eat most fruits and veggies - tho i couldn't let summer go by without eating a juicy, fresh, sweet, tree-ripened peach (i'm salivating just writing it). It caused a bit of upset and gas, but i was on Entocort and it was okay.
This is sooooo frustrating - like the others, i worry about not eating fruits and veggies. i take vitamins and mineral supplements, but i still worry about Osteoporosis from lack of REAL food. But hey, if starches are good for you, i should be great - i eat rice or rice pasta, rice protein, rice milk as my staples EVERY day.
I get soooo jealous watching people just shove anything in their mouths without having to give a bit of thought to its consequences (my husband is one of them!). And i really wish i didn't have to make two separate menus for each meal - he gets the good stuff, i get the same old bland rice something and some veggie or meat that i've had 3 or 4 times already that week.
Btw, i didn't exercise the patience i should have in stopping my Entocort - i thought i was well enough to eat the same as i did while i was taking it. I was starting to branch out adding asparagus and yams and i was adding a pinch of granulated garlic to meats. Still no fruit except bananas - but alas, the problems began to reappear (just as you said they might) and i was well on my way to another full-blown flare - so started up the Entocort again. Funny thing tho, it didn't test for almost 2 weeks - and now it's testing a two a day. Guess my body had it's reasons for wanting to be rid of it for a while, but my intestines won out and want it back. This time i'm going to have to be smarter and slower about tapering and maybe when i cut back the Entocort i need to go back to rice and bananas and slowly add back foods just like in the beginning.
Well, okay, so much for the pitty party, but i would like someone to explain the juicing/pureeing effect on fiber.
The Lord never said it would be easy - He only said it would be worth it!
Fiber is typically composed of cellulose, dextrins, inulin, lignin, waxes, chitins, pectins, and a few other types of plant tissue that are wholly, or partly indigestible. Fiber is typically divided into two types, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber, like all fiber, cannot be digested. But it does undergo some physical changes as it passes through the digestive tract, (it's fermented by bacteria in the colon). Soluble fiber also absorbs water to form sort of a gelatin, as it passes through the intestines, and it's claimed to "improve" bowel function. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, passes through the GI tract largely unchanged. Fiber is also known as "roughage", (especially in the livestock feeding industry), and the term "roughage" is a very apt description of it's primary physical characteristics. Fiber is very resistant to digestion, (unless you're a cow, and you have 4 stomachs), so that it tends to maintain a relatively coarse texture, (especially insoluble fiber), even as it makes it's way through the intestines. Since it is resistant to digestion, it acts to increase intestinal bulk, and to stimulate peristalsis. Most, (not all), of us with MC, don't need improved peristalsis - our intestines are too active already, and for those, increasing the motility can obviously lead to less than ideal BMs.
Obviously, pureeing does not alter the fiber content, but it does make some of the digestible components of fiber easier to digest, (the few that are digestible in the first place), by providing more surface area, (relative to the particle volume), for digestive enzymes to act upon. Most importantly, pureeing makes fiber less irritating to the mucosa of the intestines, by altering the texture, abrasiveness, etc., (smaller particles are less abrasive), which is important, since most of it is going to pass through largely undigested.
Pigs have a monogastric digestive system, (only one stomach), which is very similar to the human digestive system, (in fact, some parts could be interchangeable), and pigs don't handle roughage very well. Except for gestating sows, (where weight can be a problem), fiber has to be restricted in swine rations to about 5% or less. That's not much fiber. Evidence indicates that our paleo ancestors' diet typically contained less than 5% fiber, also, though that figure was subject to change with the seasons, depending on availability of preferred foods at various times of the year.
Depending on the degree of inflammation, and sensitivity, pureeing may not work for everyone, but it will generally allow us to increase our fiber intake, with a minimum of adverse consequences, all else being equal.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
The abrasiveness factor with insoluble fiber seems to be a big issue for me. I don't have a lot of strength in the muscle contractions along my GI tract and before I started cooking fruits and veggies well and/or pureeing them, my EGD's would show a pattern of angry redness where food just kept sloshing and rubbing like sandpaper. Fortunately, I never had issues with H. pylori or ulcers, just a lot of irritation.
Veggies cooked to a mush aren't always the most appetizing and as the weather gets cooler, I don't always want a cold smoothie. I have found a few fruit/veggie "pudding" combos that work for me hot or cold and are low on the abrasiveness scale. I've found I get a finer texture if I puree everything raw in the blender and then cook it. I use stevia or truvia for a little added sweetness if needed (diabetes is rampant in my family, so I try to avoid sugar). I use agar (you can use gelatin if you prefer) and/or a vegetable gum (guar, xanthan or konjac) to thicken if needed. The vegetable gums will make a more slippery texture and if you use a lot of agar or gelatin, you can make squares that travel well as finger foods. You will need to boil the puree for a few minutes if you use agar or gelatin and then refrigerate to get it to set. I will adjust the texture depending on what kind of day I'm having. The slippery texture from the vegetable gums can be soothing to irritation, but if things are racing through that day, slippery isn't the way to go. Everything is peeled and seeded, of course. Anyway, here are some of the combos I like:
cucumber with cantaloupe (cold only - add a tiny bit of mint)
yellow squash with lemon juice (think lemon squares, better cold)
yellow squash with apples/applesauce (maybe a bit of cinnamon)
zucchini with pineapple or pineapple juice
zucchini with peaches (maybe a bit of ginger)
carrots with apples (maybe a bit of ginger or cinnamon)
pumpkin/winter squash with apples (maybe a bit of ginger, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
Those are great suggestions, with some novel ideas that I don't recall ever seeing before.
Thanks,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
- i eat rice or rice pasta, rice protein, rice milk as my staples EVERY day. 
(my husband is one of them!). And i really wish i didn't have to make two separate menus for each meal - he gets the good stuff, i get the same old bland rice something and some veggie or meat that i've had 3 or 4 times already that week.