Vitamins, Crohn's Disease, & Whole30

Perhaps I should have said this in an earlier post, but, I am not a doctor (well, I am, just not a medical doctor). Anything I suggest is based off of what works for me and what makes my body feel great! Anything I can pull from the Whole30 literature I will, in addition to offering my thoughts and suggestions, but it should go without saying that you should always consult your doctor before putting anything into your body (or excluding something from your diet for that matter).

I have Crohn's Disease. To be more specific, I have Ileocolitis which is Crohn's Disease that affects the end of the small intestine and large intestine (the colon). I was diagnosed when I was 20 but had symptoms as young as 12. At my best I can run a half marathon and at my worst I'm burning up with a fever, needing to stay within feet of a bathroom, and barely able to walk because my joint pain is so severe. And, oh yeah, my body is often covered in eczema and psoriasis.

Vitamins (and the lack thereof) have been a part of my life for a long time. As my disease waxes and wanes so do my nutritional needs, to include what my body is absorbing (or not) at the time.

Before my first round of Whole30 I always felt my best (which still wasn't very good) when I was taking a probiotic. I have tried several different kinds and I found Align Probiotic Supplement to have the best results. Again, this is what works for me, but another brand might work better for someone else.

On several occasions in the past 4 or so years I have had to take 10,000 units of Vitamin D per week just to get my levels up to the minimum required for my body to be considered healthy. I haven't had to do this in over a year, but, it is based on this history that I chose the Vitamin D3 2000iu for my daily vitamin d supplement. According to 'It Starts With Food' Vitamin D has benefits ranging from immune support to bone health and because it is fat soluble they recommend taking it first thing in the morning with your fat-rich breakfast (see pages 252-253).

Lastly, I have only ever heard good things about Fish Oil and found a smaller pill size on Amazon (Fish Oil Pearls 500mg). According to 'It Starts With Food' Fish Oil has benefits ranging from improved blood cholesterol content, acts as an anti-inflammatory agent, improvement in inflammatory bowel disorders, and can play a role in improved brain and heart health, to name a few (see pages 250-251).

During my first round of Whole30 I only had one day when I had a problem with my Crohn's. This is absolutely astounding to me as I can't remember the last time I was symptom-free for 29 days! Restoring my gut health through diet as a primary intervention with some supplements to support this new lifestyle was truly remarkable. For 29 days I wasn't in pain, wasn't bloated, I had no accidents, and I just felt overall great! Whole30, along with vitamins that suit my needs, made me a much healthier and pain-free/symptom-free individual.

Who Cares About You Karen? What Does Whole30 Have to Say?

Dietary supplements are a supplementation to, not a substitution for, a balanced, nutrient-dense diet.

Here is Whole30's stance on supplements taken from their website. The short answer is that "...it may still be a good idea to supplement with the basics; the proven stuff that you know you may not be getting enough, because of a stressful lifestyle, less than perfect food quality while traveling, or just because it makes sense to you. Based on our experience and the scientific literature, we believe many people would benefit from taking high-quality fish oil, vitamin D3, magnesium, and maybe some digestive help, like enzymes or probiotics. These are cost-effective (not pushing real food off your plate), have well documented benefits in the literature, and come with generally very few down sides, if administered reasonably."