Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory condition that affects the linings of the large intestine. This chronic disease can keep you in pain and discomfort for days together. While medications help bring down the inflammation, the food you eat can re-trigger it. Therefore, choosing the right foods matter a lot. Here is a list of foods to avoid with colitis.

  • Caffeine: People with UC have to definitely stay away from all kinds of caffeine-related drinks. This includes tea, coffee, energy drinks, and carbonated caffeine drinks. Caffeine can speed up the processing time of food in the colon and irritate the linings of the intestine, leading to stomach pains and diarrhea.
  • Raw fruits and vegetables: While fruits and vegetables are generally considered healthy, raw fruits and vegetables are foods to avoid with colitis. Raw veggies and fruits can be hard to digest and these cause issues like bloating, gastritis, and diarrhea. These also causes irritation in the stomach linings.
  • Legumes, beans, and peas: Most of the legumes, pea, and bean variants are in the list of foods to avoid with colitis because they are fiber-rich and cause gas formation in the stomach. Fiber-rich food quickly passes through the intestine and increases your chances of developing diarrhea.
  • Dried fruits: Dried fruits are also not considered great when you have UC because of their high fiber content. These can instantly trigger all the symptoms of the condition.
  • Dairy products: It is advised that people with UC try and limit their dairy intake. A lot of people with the disorder also seem to be lactose intolerant and dairy products can trigger similar symptoms, which can be difficult to handle every day.
  • Popcorn: While popcorn is a wonderful snack to munch on while you are at the movies, do you know that this is one of the major foods to avoid with colitis because it is very high in fiber.
  • Alcohol: All kinds of alcoholic beverages can stimulate and overexcite the intestine. This, again, is not great for those with UC. Alcohol mainly triggers diarrhea in people with the disorder.
  • Dry seeds: Seeds of pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, and pine are sources of insoluble fiber. These can cause a lot of ulcerative colitis-related side effects like bloating, gas, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. You should also limit your intake of dry fruits, which are difficult to digest and may be a trigger.

Living with UC is not easy and it takes a lot of time to understand the triggers for your body. Keep notes on what foods triggered the condition for you and with time, you will end up with a list of safe foods. All these above foods to avoid with colitis are generally problematic for people with this condition and can lead to negative responses in the body. So, avoid or limit their consumption as much as possible.