So does anywhere else here have any experience with training with Crohn’s disease? Had a word to my doc who told me that because it causes inflammation in the intestine walls, the body’s ability to absorb nutrients decreases significantly. Now ive had the condition for nearly 4 years now, but only just started thinking about its effects on my training.
So is this something i should be worried about or will the difference in results be quite negligable in regards to my training supplements effectiveness??
All I can think of is, if it is in the small intestine that some nutrient absorption may be impaired, but if it is in the large intestine then nutrient absorption may be fine (for the most part).
I really can’t say more than that, as I have little experience with disease states. (Sorry for the technically correct but awful sounding term)
Its effects can be dramatic. I would think vitamin/mineral testing would be helpful, although I don’t know which forms of the tests are appropriate, however you can easily figure out which ones are the best by talking with your Dr.
Yeh it affects the lower intestine. Havent tried glutamine yet…but will soon. Was hoping to hear from ppl who actually have the disease and train hard. Just to get a sense of their supplement effectiveness.
I train with a guy with Ulcerative Colitis - similar to Crohn’s. I have assumed that his absorbtion of nutrients gets pretty bad 'cause his arse usually explodes when he trains hard. He doesn’t seem to be able to eat enough to stay on top. We’ve found that a lot of the better supplements (even good quality protein and fish oil) mess with him and he can’t take them. I know that a lot of doctors don’t know a whole lot about supplements, but if you have a good one it might be worth finding out if particular things will add to the inflammation.
I know that Crohn’s is pretty similar. Do you have the same problems when training hard or have you found a workaround?
I would make sure to see a doc who specializes in IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) if at all possible. I did learn a few things about this when I was rotating on the pediatric GI service up here though.
You almost definitely need your B12 level checked, this is going to to be the most dramatically affected due to the anatomic location of where Crohn’s activity is at its highest. But in general, a lot of nutrients’ absorption is going to be affected. This is something that you should almost definitely work in conjunction with a doctor/nutritionist for.
You need to pursue food elimination diets as well. Others ahve mentioned this already so I won’t get into too miuch detail.
Someone already mentioned glutamine. I would also make sure you are getting your Omega-3s as there is some high quality evidence for that as well. Finally, the best evidence for the beneficial effects of resveratrol in humans is for inflammatory bowel disease, although at pretty high doses if i recall.
[quote]Nukz wrote:
Yeh it affects the lower intestine. Havent tried glutamine yet…but will soon. Was hoping to hear from ppl who actually have the disease and train hard. Just to get a sense of their supplement effectiveness.[/quote]
Well there was a guy in the O35 forum who said he had cured his crohns. Unfortunately, he did tend to eat well, reducing his symptoms and then would immediately switch back to the foods that irritated him.
So, let me ask you this: I take it you avoid gluten, wheat, oats, dairy and anything artificial, yes?
If not, why not? You do realise that it’s going to be the foods you ea,lt not the supplements you take that will determine the course of your disease, right?
BBB[/quote]
No offence bushido but this isnt necesseraly true, while its possible certain foods may exacerbate symptoms there is little evidence that food intolerance is a causative factor. OP, malabsorption occurs in some but not all crohn’s sufferers and is less likely during times of remission. You can ask your doctor to test for b12, folate, iron defficiency etc. You would benefit from seeing a gastro-dietitian. I am a regeistered dietitian but not my speciality area.
Whats your diet look like right now? what can/cant you handle w the crohns? not every case is the same so supps and diet will vary for what works between dif ppl w crohns…
x2 on the fish oil, if you can handle it. look into curcumin too, adding more tumeric to your diet. look into some really good anti inflamitories, like reservatol and quercetin. also, if you can handle the fats, try going low on some fats in your current diet and swap them out for coconut oil, it has some good anti inflamitory effects and deals with proper bacteria levels. Kill all sugar in your diet, that knock off the balance of good bacteria. and kill the splenda too… look into a study by Duke about its effects on gut bacteria (try stevia, not as good in sweetness but natural and is crohns friendly). and also use as much of the fish oil as you can… dont touch the shit you arent supposed to, watch your mood and stress levels and always have good quality food, protein should be cooked well to help w digestion and grab a digestive enzyme and make them your friend. I know all of this by advising my gf to use this stuff and it works quite well… good luck man.
general idea. the more proccesed it is the better
I would certainly look into probiotics. Some of them are very effective, equaling the effectiveness of some of the commonly used drugs. Bifido-strains and E coli nissle especially.
The probiotics are a useless route to go, stick w eliminating stuff that knocks off on bacteria balance (sugar, high acid diet including proteins and splenda). I have a research article somewhere talking about a study w them and how they were not effective, let me see if i can find it…
Hey guys,
Ive had crohns disease for over 2 years now and let me tell you it is the hardest disease to cope with
I blame N.O. EXPLODE for my disease as I was fine taking those pre workout supplements until that bsn product ruined my life
Anyways, back on topic
I lost 40 pounds as I was 210 before crohns almost killed me
As I got off prednisone I started to workout once again at a skinny 170 pounds (im 6’1")
I was referred to a dietition (sp?) and she literally saved my life
With a strict diet and many pills later I can finally live my life again
As stated above omega 3s are so vital I take 6 a day, with multivitamins as well
ive been taking glutamine for over 2 years same with protein(lactose free), plus creatine
I am back up to 215 and stronger then ever
I guess the only plus I can get out of having crohns is that it makes me stick to a healthy diet
To anyone who has this disease my heart goes out to you cause it is truly a terrible disease to have especially in your teens like myself.
fmaurice, i disagree. Have a look at Heidin et al, Evidence for the use of probiotics and prebiotics in inflammatory bowel disease: a review of clinical trials. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2007), 66, 307â??315. They evidence is not as good for CD as for UC, but it seems to me that there is some benefit to be found. I will read the article you posted when i get the chance and return with comments. At my lab, some work is being done on phenols and either cd or uc, and so far it seems to do something.
BBB: i dont think anyone would argue that eliminating the triggers are vital before anything else is to be done, I am merely suggesting that there might be a benefit from eg. probiotics.
Gulls, good to hear your back on your feet. One of my friends, a heavy drinker in his prime (from 13-22 years) was diagnosed with UC, likely because the alcohol. What pills did you get?
[quote]Nukz wrote:
So does anywhere else here have any experience with training with Crohn’s disease? Had a word to my doc who told me that because it causes inflammation in the intestine walls, the body’s ability to absorb nutrients decreases significantly. Now ive had the condition for nearly 4 years now, but only just started thinking about its effects on my training.
So is this something i should be worried about or will the difference in results be quite negligable in regards to my training supplements effectiveness??[/quote]
From my experience (diagnosed with ulcerative colitis almost 2 years ago) I found that protein powder supplements affected me for the worse more than any other supplement. Had that slippery feeling inside where I could almost feel food and liquids going right through my digestive track. different brands, including Metabolic Drive, all caused similar reactions.
Leucine has seemed to be helpful with absorption with no impact on UC symptoms, which was helpful because sometimes food of any kind feels like the cause of pain.
As far as training hard, I took it slow for the first few months (went from 175 to 130) until I felt confident with being able to just eat again. I have been able to go hard since then. Just be smart, control other outside stressors. Rhodiola has been very helpful with this. For me just keeping life in balance was my first priority. If things at work/life were getting crazy then I’d scale back the training and vice versa.
I’ve done probiotics (nothing too noticeable either way) and glutamine (helped give a soothing feeling to intestines).
Really hope that some of this was helpful. Best of luck with everything Nukz
and splenda). I have a research article somewhere talking about a study w them and how they were not effective, let me see if i can find it…