Gut Feelings - by The Crohn's & Colitis Dietitians – Details, episodes & analysis

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On this episode we talk with Andy De Santis, RD MPH. Andy is a private practice dietitian and 11x published author from Toronto, Canada.  Having been a generalist early in this career, Andy has spent the last several years focusing on the fatty liver space given the broad prevalence and significant health implications of this increasingly common condition.

We discuss with Andy:

• nutrition for fatty liver disease and general liver health
• making nutrition guidance accessible for patients and how Andy likes to include lightheartedness and humor, especially on social media.
• benefits of the Mediterranean diet that can be customized for the individual
• some interesting additions to our meals, like capers, which have big benefits
• how small changes over time can have a large impact
• different herbs and spices we like that have great benefits

You can find Andy on Instagram @andytherd

Kale studies: Kale Contains Many Unique Anti-Cancer Compounds - American Institute for Cancer Research % (aicr.org)

Frontiers | Kale improves bowel movements in constipated women and affects some intestinal microbes and metabolites: a pilot study (frontiersin.org)



Want to work with The Crohn's and Colitis Dietitians but have questions?
Book a call - HERE

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
License code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

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In this episode we have a very honest and straightforward discussion with Breanne Sich about the reality of life with IBD.  Breanne has Crohn's and has started the Crohns Colitis Collective Co. 

Breanne describes the collective: "It was started as a way to bring awareness to this invisible disease, and encourage people to reach out, get gutsy, and talk about sh*t. To talk about how you are feeling. To talk about what this disease really looks like. We need to collectively raise awareness so one day, we can beat this disease. To date we have been able to donate over $80,000 to help fund a cure, and there is no sign of us stopping anytime soon!"

We discuss:

• Breanne's story of getting diagnosed and how she became an advocate for IBD patients.
• the importance of creating a community that helps to educate others about the struggles of IBD patients 
• how talking about her personal struggles has helped others know they don't have to suffer alone
• the challenges of kids having IBD and the support Breanne wishes she had in middle school and high school. 
• what she would tell someone who is newly diagnosed with IBD
• how she came to accept her challenges with IBD and why it is so important to empower others 

You can find Breanne on Instagram: @bresich and her apparel is sold at crohnscollective.com.


Want to work with The Crohn's and Colitis Dietitians but have questions?
Book a call - HERE

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
License code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

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In this episode we talk with Neha Shah, a Registered Dietitian specializing in GI and IBD for close to 20 years. Neha runs her own IBD nutrition private practice, aiming to provide specialized care to the community and she also offers a subspecialty in South Asian GI and IBD. 

We discuss:

• Neha's background and how she got into specializing in GI nutrition
• The relationship between culture and food and how to navigate that when a patient has IBD
• What food culture is and how it plays a role in our food choices
• How dietitians can show more cultural sensitivity and cultural competence
• How a patient can navigate diet around religious observances, such as fasting, and holidays within the culture, such as Diwali
• Including more cultural fibers into diet
• Weight inclusive approach 

You can find Neha on Instagram at: @nehagastrord. Her website is: nehashahnutrition.com.

Want to work with The Crohn's and Colitis Dietitians but have questions?
Book a call - HERE

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
License code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

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In this episode we discuss what we mean by "IBD friendly"

We start off by discussing some common misconceptions about determining what IBD friendly is.  The most common ways people determine what to eat for IBD without triggering symptoms are through dietary tracking and looking on google or forums.

We discuss how dietary tracking can lead you down the wrong path often with IBD and lead to unnecessary restrictions while not truly answering the problem.

We also discuss how conflicting the internet can be - and how it definitely isn't a great dietitian (and isn't individualized).

We discuss common misconceptions about what IBD friendly is - and how we use certain fibers to reduce symptoms in our patients.

Resources mentioned: 

• Our "How to Tolerate Fiber in IBD" e-book: HERE
• Our brand new program: 🌱Plant Magic- What to Eat & How to Reduce Symptoms in IBD using the Power of Nutrition. Check it out HERE

Want to work with us but have questions?
Book a call - HERE

Special thanks to those who help us keep this thing going....
Podcast edit by: Christopher Garza
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
License code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

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In this episode, The Crohn's & Colitis Dietitians - Ashley Hurst and Danielle Leffler interview an expert in the field of GI psychology, an emerging new specialization that focuses on the gut-brain connection.

This episode is jam-packed with useful resources and affirming insights on the IBD journey and how the gut-brain connection is important for us to learn more about.

We discussed:

• Dr Navidi's background and how he got started as a leader in the field of GI psychology
• The emergence of GI psychology - there are only 400 in the world
• What is GI psychology? 
• What are DGBI's - why we need to know about these with IBD
• Although Crohn's & Colitis are not considered disorders of gut-brain interaction - those of us with IBD are more prone to have them
• How medical trauma and DGBI's can impact our symptoms even when IBD is considered stable
• How we often underestimate the power of the brain & trauma in gut symptoms
• How trauma to the gut impacts our symptoms - it's not in your head - the impact is real and common
• Anxiety & Depression - is it more common in IBD?
• Introduction to clinical hypnosis for GI disorders 
• What clinical hypnosis is and what it is not
• What is trance vs. dissociation?
• Reframing Anxiety as "misguided imagination"

What we mentioned:

• Clinical hypnosis breakdown - https://www.gipsychology.com/gi-psychology-and-the-atlantic-discuss-clinical-hypnosis-for-ibs
• Research mentioned: PMID: 33721557, PMID:34684663, PMID: 33251075

Podcast edit by: Christopher Garza
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
License code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

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Has your doctor ever told you your labs look good but... you still have IBD symptoms?

It's actually pretty common! In this episode we talk about this in more depth.

Discussion points:

• Personal updates - Danielle shares about being snowed in, Ashley shares about the two new additions to her family (0:00 - 9:00)
• With Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis & Microscopic colitis - What is going on when our labs are fine but we are still symptomatic? Our own personal experiences, the importance of multiple providers from different specialties (9:00 - 18 minuites)
• Possible reasons for symptoms outside of IBD - malabsorption (18 - 20 minutes)
• Why we don't usually recommend low fodmap in IBD (20-23 minutes)
• Fiber and how we navigate it, how food tolerance can change over time, why getting support with nutrition can improve your quality of life with IBD, medical trauma with IBD and learning to trust your body... and more!

Our website: https://crohnsandcolitisdietitians.com/

Book a call with us HERE

Podcast editor: Christopher Garza
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!)
https://uppbeat.io/t/the-lakes/bluebird
License code: FTTITUEPIFAD2VEO

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

Send us a text

Ashley Hurst and Danielle Leffler discuss their "IBD In's & Outs" for 2024 and their personal intentions for the year.

You can join the RAINBOW™ movement by downloading our free rainbow game. You can also find our fatigue e-book on the page below:
https://crohnsandcolitisdietitians.com/resources/

Are you looking for an IBD nutritionist and licensed dietitian? Want to work with us specifically? We are now back to accepting patients again! Check out our 1:1 program by clicking the link below:
https://crohnsandcolitisdietitians.com/ibd-nutritionist-support/

In the pod we mentioned Danielle's new t-shirt from our new line. If you want to check our our new shirts and sweaters we mentioned, click the link below!
https://crohnsandcolitisdietitians.com/product-category/merch/

See you next week for our interview with Dr Navidi! You won't want to miss it.

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

Send us a text

Welcome to season 2 of the Gut Feelings podcast!

In this episode, we talk all about:

• How fiber is often misunderstood with IBD
• A breakdown of the different types of fiber
• How food tolerances can improve over time
• Fiber's important role in our microbiome in IBD
• Navigating strictures and fiber in IBD

Check out our rainbow challenge here:
http://expert-teacher-5890.ck.page/eat_the_rainbow

Our fiber e-book:
https://crohnsandcolitisdietitians.com/resources/

Want to work with us? 
https://p.bttr.to/2VpevRX

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

Send us a text

Ashley and Rebecca from The Crohn's & Colitis Dietitians talk about all things IBD-related. In this episode, we are joined by Danielle, one of the IBD specialized dietitians on our team! We discuss what it was like for Danielle to be diagnosed with Crohn's as a teenager and Celiac disease a little later in life.  We also talk about our big takeaways from the Digestive Disease Week conference we attended. 

0-10 minutes
We talk about how exciting it was to meet in person recently! Danielle shares one of her favorite experiences in the US: Trader Joe's! Danielle dives into her gut sensitivities as a child and her journey getting diagnosed at age 14 with Crohn's disease. Her illness sparked her interest in her current career as a dietitian. In 2018 she was diagnosed with Celiac.

10-15
Danielle discusses dealing with Crohn's as a teenager and sharing the news with her softball team. She talks about her biggest support system- her parents.

16-20
Playing softball with IBD; Rebecca shares about playing sports with IBD also. The experience made Danielle feel stronger and inspired her to help others with IBD so they feel supported.

20-27
Danielle discusses when she knew she wanted to be a dietitian working with IBD patients. She loved learning about the body and nutrition as a teenager. She shares her experience with a dietitian in the hospital.

27-35
We talk about our experience at the Digestive Disease week conference. Ashley's big takeaway: she enjoyed the connections she made. Rebecca found it invigorating to see how many people are dedicated and passionate about finding a cure for IBD. It was cool to see different ways to improve IBD patients' lives.  Danielle thought that some moments were challenging as an IBD patient.

35-39
favorite lectures from the conference:
Rebecca enjoyed the study on sulfur microbial diets in IBD . There is a higher prevalence of IBD in western countries. Foods with higher sulfur content are linked to an increased risk of Crohn's and colon cancer; but no association was found with UC, which was surprising. 

39-43
Danielle found the study about the Hispanic diet interesting and noted that there is some inclusivity lacking in research.  She wonders how many dietary patterns are we missing? 
We found it comforting that one meal isn't going to make or break anything. From an inflammatory standpoint it is more important to look at patterns and we can let go of black and white thinking.

43-51
Ashley liked the study about fiber and how it is important to reduce inflammation. She shares some notable facts about IBD patients and brings up a common bias. It was also brought up that rates of IBD are rising. We met some interesting companies including one who advocate for patients, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. It was so good to

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley

Send us a text

Ashley and Rebecca from The Crohn's & Colitis Dietitians talk about all things IBD-related. On this episode we talk about interpreting nutrition recommendations, and why looking at "the how" and the rationale behind these recommendations is so important. We discuss what has improved our outcomes as Ulcerative Colitis patients and how things have changed for us since we were first diagnosed. 

0-12:00:
- we talk about the role of the dietitian and how they help patients with "the how" of implementing new recommendations
-how dietitians can clarify terminology, interpretations and the rationale behind recommendations.
-how beneficial plants are and their powerful properties
-looking at our approach vs. the Mediterranean diet

12:00-18:00:
-nutrition guidelines can be complex and dietitians can bridge the gap and interpret this information
- maintaining a healthy relationship with food 
- we don't want it to be just about restrictions but an overall good balance

18:00-27:00:
- nutrition is very individualized
-when looking at the Mediterranean diet and we see something recommended in "moderate" amounts- what does that even mean? We'd like to see more clear guidelines.
-Ashley likes to understand "the why" of recommendations. She wants to understand the concept and degree of importance and impact on the individual.
- We have fun and talk about how we would approach things if we were each others' dietitian.

27:00-32:00:
-Ashley explains how someone can understand a concept but can only implement it to the degree that you understand the impact of it.
-If we understand what is possible, we are more likely to make positive change and have trust in the process

32:00-38:00:
- Rebecca discusses the process of researching Ulcerative Colitis, especially when she was first diagnosed. 
-Rebecca talks about how implementing plant foods changed how she felt and improved her symptoms. 
-Rebecca emphasizes how her family and support system, therapy and looking for ways to ground herself greatly improved her quality of life and improved her outcome as an Ulcerative Colitis patient. 

38:00-41:00:
- Ashley talks about what has helped her Ulcerative Colitis. She shares that her access to meds, a nutrition plan, connection with others and stability all have helped her tremendously.
-Ashley still struggles sometimes with overdoing it, especially since she enjoys her work so much. She is aware that she surpasses her threshold at times.

41:00-48:00:
-Rebecca discusses how things have changed since her Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis. She has a better awareness of her self and what she is able to handle.
-Rebecca and Ashley explore their social capacity and honoring when they need a break.

48:00- 53:23: 
-We talk about how it's not easy t

Follow us on instagram @crohns_and_colitis_dietitians
Follow us on youtube @thecrohnscolitisdietitians

We love helping provide quality content on IBD nutrition and making it more accessible to all through our podcast, instagram and youtube channel. Creating the resources we provide comes at a significant cost to us. We dream of a day where we can provide even more free education, guidance and support to those with IBD like us.

We need your support to do this. You can help us by liking episodes, sharing them on your social media, subscribing to you tube and telling others about us (your doctors, friends, family, forums/reddit etc). Can you do this for us? In return, I promise to continually level up what we do here.

💜
Ashley