6-7 bone in chicken pieces.ie. drumsticks, thighs, breasts ect.

2-3 tbs Olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup butter

2-3 celery stalks diced

2-3 carrots peeled and diced

1/2 onion peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 -1 cup dry red wine

4-6 Roma tomatoes diced

Heat olive oil in large saute pan on medium. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. Place in hot oil. Cook until golden on all sides, turning chicken pieces and adding oil as needed. Remove from pan and set aside. Add butter to pan and melt while scraping up the bits on bottom of pan. Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute until onions are transparent. Add red wine and tomatoes. Stir and salt and pepper again. Place chicken pieces back in pan. Bring liquid to a small boil. Then cover and simmer on low about 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stirring occasionally. Serve over spaghetti squash and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And enjoy this Italian classic!!!!!!

In December 2011, the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (Worcester) released an abstract of a recent study on a diet very similar to the SCD. Professor Barbara Olendzki and her team treated 11 patients (8 with Crohn’s, 3 with UC) who were not responding to medication regimens. Over a 6-10 month period, patients were instructed on how to follow the diet and given cooking instruction. Disease activity was measured pre- and post-treatment.

100% of patients treated with the new diet showed significant improvement in their symptoms. Additionally, the majority of subjects were able to reduce their reliance on medications to treat their IBD.

The researchers call their version of the SCD the Anti-Inflammatory Diet for IBD (IBD-AID). Their description follows:

“The Anti-Inflammatory Diet for IBD (IBD-AID), which is derived and augmented from The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), is a nutritional regimen that restricts the intake of complex carbohydrates such as refined sugar, gluten-based grains, and certain starches from the diet. These carbohydrates are thought to provide a substrate for pro-inflammatory bacteria. The second component of the diet involves the ingestion of pre- and probiotics to help restore an anti inflammatory environment.”

Click HERE to read an abstract of the study.

Click HERE for a more complete summary of the study with statistics.

Click HERE for a Raman’s summary at scdrecipe.com

Ingredients:
chicken tenderloins – 1 pound
Honey – 1/4 cup
Mustard – 1/4 cup
Almond Flour – 3/4 cup (may need to add more or less)
Salt
Pepper

Instructions
1. Mix together honey and mustard in bowl
2. In a large plastic bag mix salt, pepper, and almond flour.
3. Toss tenders in honey mustard mix.
4. Add tenders to bag of almond flour and shake
5. Add chicken to greased pan
6. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

You may need to play with the amounts. It is trial and error.

It is called “Gold Chicken” due to the price of Almond flour, but it is worth it! Enjoy!

Serves 4
The fall flavor combination of pears and blue cheese brings a seasonal element to an otherwise simple chicken dish. Great for a dinner party! To learn how to make this recipe, watch the Secret Ingredient cooking show.

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup diced red onion
4 to 6 cups (1 large bunch) loosely packed spinach (not baby), washed, dried, stems removed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 ripe Anjou pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously season each chicken breast with salt and pepper. In a large, oven-proof skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sear breasts 2 to 3 minutes each side until lightly golden. Place pan in oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and sauté red onion until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach and toss until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a large platter or divide evenly between 4 plates. Wipe out pan and heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil with vinegar. Add pears and gently heat until warm. Stir in parsley. Arrange cooked chicken breasts on spinach. Top with warmed pear slices and about 2 tablespoons blue cheese per breast.

Nutrition
Per serving (About 8.5oz/245g-wt.): 380 calories (200 from fat), 22g total fat, 27g saturated fat, 34g protein, 14g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 95mg cholesterol, 640mg sodium

I experienced one of those challenges firsthand a month ago when I took a trip to Chicago for a friend’s bachelor party. For the moment, I’d ask you to set aside your personal feelings about whether bachelor parties are a good idea or not. That is certainly debatable. But this particular weekend was in honor of one of my closest friends, and my attendance was required. As I stood in line to board the airplane that would fly us to the Windy City, I privately wondered whether or not I was up to this trip.

I’ll spare you the details of the weekend, but suffice it to say that I wasn’t feeling “normal” again until the following Wednesday. Now there was a time when my body would have bounced back much faster, but those days are long in the past. These days, even a couple of glasses of wine with friends can wear me out the following day. Such is life. I’m not resilient as I once was.

I tell this story to introduce the topic of alcohol and its effect on people with IBD. It may surprise you that one of the most common topics I receive emails on is alcohol use. People want to know if they should drink when they have IBD. If they decide to drink, what should they drink?

These aren’t easy questions to answer, but I’ll offer my personal perspective. First of all, I’ll make the assumption that if you’re reading this and have IBD, you aren’t currently abusing alcohol. Chronic abuse of alcohol will almost certainly prevent you from achieving remission of IBD. I’m going to assume that the questions I’ve been receiving deal with occasional, or moderate, consumption of alcohol. So let’s start there.

The reality is that there isn’t a consensus yet on whether occasional alcohol use is beneficial or detrimental to us. For example, one study conducted at Harvard suggested that having two drinks per day decreased the risk of heart attack in individuals by 25%! Sounds great, right? The problem is that other studies have linked even moderate, regular consumption of alcohol to stomach pain, depressed immune system response, diseases of the liver, GI tract inflammation, malabsorption, and various other undesirable conditions.

I tend to believe that on the balance, regular drinking is not good for people with IBD. My personal experience has been that I feel much, much better when I refrain from alcohol use for an extended period of time. I may occasionally have a glass of wine with friends, or maybe even a mixed drink or two on special occasions, but I don’t make it a habit of consuming alcohol. I noticed that when I stopped drinking on the weekends, my energy level improved. I literally felt even better than I had before. Even though I have been in remission for years, having a few drinks on the weekend did seem to zap my energy. So I like the added zip I feel in my step when I don’t drink.

I realize that many people want to be able to drink socially when they go out, though. And I completely understand this, because so much of our social lives revolves around food and drink. My advice, then, is to listen to your body. Start with the recommendations contained in Breaking the Vicious Cycle, and then see what works for you. The official SCD position is:

LEGAL: Dry Wine, Gin, Rye, Scotch, Bourbon and Vodka
ILLEGAL: Beer, Sweet Wines, Sherry, Cordials, Liqueurs and Brandys

So how do I feel about this list? Well, in the past, I’ve found that I tolerated these drinks fairly well:
** Dry red wines like Merlot and Malbec. Other wines I haven’t tolerated as well.
** Vodka with club soda, grapefruit juice, or orange juice. Make sure you don’t use tonic water, which is high in sugar.
** Whiskey or Scotch. I only mix with water or club soda.

I never really deviated from those drinks listed above. And to be honest, it feels much better now that I really don’t drink all that often.

My advice to people who contact me through Food Rx is this: if you are not much of a drinker to begin with, I’d recommend that you quit drinking altogether, because I think you’ll notice measurable improvements in your IBD. If you’re someone who likes an occasional drink when you’re out with friends, stick to the list above. But listen to what your gut is telling you. Follow that advice, and I think you’ll be okay…

…Unless, of course, you get invited to a weekend-long bachelor party. Then you’re on your own.

Yours in health,

- Finn

We recently sat down with Tim McCarthy, PhD, to talk about the practice of meditation. Dr. McCarthy uses meditation as a tool to help some of his patients manage stress.

FRX: What is meditation?

Dr. McCarthy: Meditation is the process of quieting one’s mind, and letting go of the worries and stress of life.  There are many different techniques and forms of meditation.  The common element among these techniques is that the person takes time out from the daily pace of life to close their eyes and reflect on thoughts or images that create internal feelings of peace and relaxation.

Meditation is both a mental and a physical relaxation process.  With the high stress of life many people find that their mind is constantly racing.  They cannot stop from thinking even during time away from work or school, when they’d like to be relaxing. Subsequently, they may also feel associated physical tension in their bodies.  In this case, the mind and the body are very closely connected to the stress response.

The physical act of meditating by closing one’s eyes and slowing down the speed of internal thoughts—especially worrisome thinking—results in a physiological response that is well documented in the scientific literature.  Specifically, studies demonstrate a reduction in blood pressure, heart rate, and other stress marker indicators.  So we know that from a scientific perspective it’s one of the most therapeutic things that one can do for the body and mind.

FRX: What are some types of meditation?

Dr. McCarthy: Meditation and contemplation techniques are a part of many religions of the world including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and others.  However, meditation became more popularized in the 1960s with the advent of transcendental meditation, which prompted a more extensive scientific study of the physiological effects of meditation.

More recently, the practice of Mindfulness Techniques have grown in popularity and are taught in many universities.  This type of meditation practice actually has links to Buddhist practices, although it is frequently practiced in a secular manner.  There are also Christian techniques of meditation and contemplation. Methods of positive thinking and visualization might be also considered borderline forms of meditation when integrated with an extended form of “eyes closed” relaxation.

FRX: What are some simple techniques for meditating?

Dr. McCarthy: First of all, I would recommend that if you have any particular spiritual path or religious affiliation, that you do some research about meditation/contemplation techniques within that area of interest.  Simple techniques for meditation can involve repetition of spiritually focused words, thoughts or ideas that help one feel at peace mentally and physically.

In the Eastern practice of meditation there is typically a “mantra” that is a word or set of words that is repeated mentally.  This mantra helps one attain a state of mind more conducive to letting go and experiencing “feelings” of meditation. There is even a Christian mystical practice of meditation that involves repeating several words and phrases over and over again to create that kind of mental spiritual state.

I tell most people that the key aspect to meditating is that you close your eyes and engage in thoughts that are positive, uplifting, and create feelings of physical and emotional relaxation.  You may need to experiment to discover what kinds of thoughts are best for your own unique interests and situation.  For you it might be a repetitive “mantra,” or simply an open state of watching your breath, like in the Buddhist tradition.

No matter what technique you use, just let the mind slow down and begin to explore its internal surroundings. The primary object of meditation is to not become overly attached to any particular thoughts that may come into to the mind.  It is most important to let the mind “flow,” with less mental worry about, and attachment to, the various thoughts that may come into the mind.

FRX: What are some tips for people that find meditation challenging?

Dr. McCarthy: There is a common misunderstanding that during meditation the mind should never engage in processing thoughts. Actually, that is a high level end goal of meditation.  It’s the most desirable state, but for most individuals this rarely happens. It is, in fact, okay in meditation for the mind to move into many different directions, while at the same time attempting to return to a centered, relaxed state of mind.

Is difficult, if not impossible, for most people to become devoid of all mental thoughts, so what we want to do is fill the mind with those thoughts that induce positive feelings of peace, relaxation or happiness. The end goal is to do whatever helps slow your mind down, in order to achieve a peaceful, positive state of mind and body. The ability to meditate successfully is a very unique skill that will help you better weather the storms of life.  And it can help those with particular religious and spiritual beliefs connect more intensely and deeply with their faith path.

I suggest people simply start off by practicing twice a day for 5–10 minutes, and explore what it’s like to meditate. The stress reduction and mental peace starts to become a highly desirable state. After all, it’s great to let go of the worries of life!

So, do a little research on the type of meditation that you might like to try out and set aside some time. With some disciplined practice, the payoff can be immense.  It certainly has been for me. It has become an ingrained part of my everyday life that helps me feel so much more centered, patient and compassionate.  It even gives me great physical energy.  I recommended meditation to every person as a foundation for living healthier, being a more loving person, and leading a less stressful life!

FRX: What potential benefits might meditation have for people with IBD?

Dr. McCarthy: The primary benefit of meditation for people with IBD is likely the reduction of the stress response.  Meditation is a proven stress-reducer, and some studies have shown a correlation between high levels of stress and disease activity in individuals with IBD.

Yet too often we choose to believe the hype.  It’s tempting to take the easy way out.  But effecting real change in our health takes work.  And it requires adopting a broader approach than merely taking a pill each day.  If we focus on our overall health first, looking and feeling great will follow.

Leading a healthy lifestyle means living in a way that contributes to our health and wellbeing. It is systematic, holistic, and sustainable for the long-term. We must learn to think about ourselves as a system, with our mind, body and spirit sharing a connected, symbiotic relationship.  If we focus solely on one component of the system, we leave the other parts out of the equation.

This is why nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress and social connections all go hand in hand in leading to better health outcomes (for the science behind the mind-body connection, see Examining the Science of Mind-Body Medicine).  For individuals living with IBD, there are measurable benefits from getting exercise and relieving stress. There are also clear mental and physical benefits from getting enough sleep and maintaining healthy social relationships.

A proactive, holistic approach to health and wellness can’t be solely focused on the absence of illness and disease – it must be about the promotion of overall health for the individual. Lack of sleep, for example, impacts our cognitive functioning as well as our physical body, in the form of weight gain, release of stress hormones, and damaged skin. Stress and mental attitude significantly impact our perception of, and experience in, the world. Our eating habits and level of activity have both direct and indirect effects on our weight, appearance, energy levels, mood, mental functioning and longevity.

Good nutrition recharges our body’s batteries for daily activity. A balanced diet provides all the protein, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates needed for moment-to-moment metabolism as well as high-intensity workouts. This keeps our energy level high and places good stress on our body, to strengthen rather than strain it. It’s a way of life in which we make informed choices that contribute to our health and wellness. In addition to avoiding foods that harm our bodies – such as those high in sugar, salt, transfats and saturated fats – eating certain foods can actually improve our health and wellbeing. For example, fruits and veggies deliver lots of protective health benefits, like a healthier heart, stronger bones, more youthful looking skin, a stronger immune system, more energy and protection against disease.

It is unfortunate that some of the stigma associated with what I’ll call fad diets has attached to legitimate forms of dietary modification.  Diet is still a valid approach to treating many chronic conditions, and be skeptical of anyone who dismisses diet as a tool to treat disease. That doesn’t mean diet will always be enough to help you heal. You must do your homework. Research a diet before you begin it. Talk to people who have used it.  Dietary modification is a powerful tool, but one you must use carefully.

Regular cardiovascular exercises and weight training workouts not only keeps our bodies and minds fit, but also helps relieve stress, tension and helps us fight fatigue. Provided your physical condition allows it, regular low-to-moderate intensity exercise can be good for people with digestive issues (always consult with your doctor before beginning any exercise program).  Sleep also affects our system on many levels. When we start skimping on sleep, our skin starts looking tired and an increase of stress hormones and cortisol causes us to crave high-sugar foods and caffeine. Eating well, getting plenty of exercise, and allowing for enough sleep helps slow the effects of aging, reduces stress, and promotes healthy weight levels.

If you are interested in improving your prospects for living a longer life, then healthy lifestyle choices are critical. Inadequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise are all risk factors for chronic, potentially fatal conditions, including cancer, heart disease and complications from type 2 diabetes. You can improve your chances for health and longevity with positive lifestyle choices.  Don’t wait until tomorrow to start making wise lifestyle decisions.  Your health and happiness depends on it.

The book outlines a list of reasons why the future, once it actually arrives and becomes our present, is usually very different than we imagined it would be. One major reason for this is that our brains are incredibly good at adding key details and filling in missing information to our imagined futures, even though these additions frequently have no basis in reality.

For example, who hasn’t imagined what life would be like if we won a $60 million lottery? I bet most of us think life would be just about perfect! A mix of exotic vacations, large homes, and the freedom to do whatever we want whenever we want.

But pause for a minute to think about what we don’t actually know about this imagined scenario. For example, what will your health be in the future when you win the lottery? Will all your loved ones still be alive to enjoy your fortune with you? What if the money causes conflict in your marriage and your spouse leaves you?

The point is that our brains are trained to fill in the missing details of imagined futures. In this hypothetical lottery example, without you consciously knowing it, your brain imagined that your health would be great, your love life would be unchanged or better, you’d be able to live whatever kind of life you want, and things would certainly be better than they are today. And you might be correct. But then again, you might also be wrong. As Gilbert notes in the book, human beings are frequently wrong about how happy they’ll be in the future if certain things happen to them. Our predictive abilities just aren’t that good.

So what are we to do in order to more accurately imagine the future? The advice Gilbert offers is to use other people’s experiences to predict the future, instead of imagining it. Talk to people who have been in those situations before. Don’t rely on your imagination, which is frequently incorrect. Using our example, you should talk to people who won the lottery, and see how it changed their life. Was it dramatically better? What challenges did they face? Only then will you get a clearer picture of what winning the lottery actually means for your happiness.

So why discuss this topic in a blog for people with IBD? I’m guessing that a number of you reading this have recently been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. If that’s the case, you’re probably going through the exercise of imagining what your life will be like living with a chronic disease. Perhaps you’re imagining the worst, anticipating that your future will consist of periodic hospital stays, physical pain and discomfort, and social anxiety. Maybe you’re predicting that IBD will steal away much of your future happiness.

Before you go down that road, I want you to remember Dr. Gilbert’s advice: before you predict your future, talk to people who have lived through similar experiences. This is incredibly relevant for people diagnosed with a chronic disease. While it is important to listen to your doctor’s advice, it is absolutely vital you talk to other patients. Find out what medications they tried, and whether those medications worked or not. Did they bring about remission consistently? Find someone who has used dietary modification or integrative medicine to treat their IBD. How did this compare to their use of conventional therapies? The more people you talk to and the more questions you ask, the closer you’ll be to predicting what life might be like with IBD.

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis more than ten years ago. In those days following the diagnosis, I was certain that my life was never going to be the same. I imagined it would be much worse. I had also committed myself to the idea that I would probably have to sacrifice the career I had wanted and some of my athletic activities in order to maintain my health. The future I had imagined for myself was one of disappointment and compromise.

But I turned out to be wrong.

In the weeks following my diagnosis, I researched and read about integrative medicine and dietary approaches to treating IBD. I talked to people who followed corrective diets. I talked to people who used stress relief therapies. And I took a giant leap of faith that changed my life. I decided to change my diet and lifestyle in order to combat IBD. That decision put me on the road to recovery. As it turned out, my future was better than I could have ever imagined.

However you ultimately choose to treat your IBD, I hope that each of you makes your decision armed with sufficient information. At Food Rx, we offer you the opportunity to speak with one of our volunteers – or me personally – about various complementary therapies for IBD. I’m always happy to share my experience with you. Of course, my story is only one story. Talk to others, as well. Interview people who have used medications as part of their treatment program. Talk to patients who have followed other diets. Your goal should be to hear as many perspectives as possible, so you can form your own opinion about what therapies will help you beat IBD and achieve remission.

But make sure you do one thing for me, above all else: imagine a better future than the one you are envisioning right now. You have every reason to believe that the life ahead of you will be rewarding, fulfilling, and full of blessings beyond what you can imagine today. You have options to treat your IBD… great options. And we are here to discuss them with you.

Yours in health,

Finn

Before our website went live, a number of individuals offered financial support that helped greatly with the development effort.  A special thanks to Shane of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, who made an extremely generous donation through the United Way that was matched by his employer.  Additionally, we want to recognize Kelly of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, for being the first person to donate to Food Rx.  We appreciate your support and hope you are the first two of many who decide to support this cause.

Speaking of the website, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the fantastic work Jerry Kramer Design did on our first web platform, www.foodrx.org.  This firm went above and beyond to design a truly integrated user experience that incorporated social media strategy, a vibrant site layout, brand development, and mobile application compatibility. Jerry, we look forward to working with you as our site grows and expands to address additional disease states.

Finally, to all those people who offered their time and talents in helping get Food Rx off the ground, our Board gives you our deepest heartfelt thanks.  We are in your debt.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors

I Am Integrative is the name of the blog at foodrx.org. It is a community of individuals sharing research, information, recipes, tips, and health strategies that are relevant to people with IBD. This is your place to ask questions, make suggestions, and engage in a open dialogue about integrative methods of treating disease. We want this blog to be lively, fun, informative, and respectful. This is a safe place where all are all opinions are welcome.

We’ve assembled a talented group of bloggers on I Am Integrative to stimulate discussion. Our authors are experts on a wide range of topics, including diet, nutrition, disease diagnosis and management, exercise, integrative medicine, and traditional Western medicine, among others. Additionally, our Medical Advisor, Dr. David Rakel, is one of the foremost thinkers in integrative medicine today – recognized around the world for his contributions to the advancement of healthcare. Dr. Rakel may author blog articles from time to time, in addition to his role of periodically reviewing the content on the website.

I am really looking forward to getting to know many of you through our interactions on I Am Integrative. It is a wonderful thing that technology allows us to easily share information that can positively impact our quality of life. I can’t wait to work with you to find ways to improve your health, heal your body, and bring your IBD into remission. At the end of the day, that is the reason Food Rx exists – to help as many people as possible beat IBD and achieve remission. I am confident that as a community, we can achieve that goal.

Again, welcome to The Food Rx Project. I can’t wait to hear from you!

- Finn