Crohn’s Disease Archive

Since I started Gutsy By Nature as a blog in 2013, I’ve written several times about my personal story of diagnosis with Crohn’s disease and healing, but I’ve never actually written out the entire story, from its beginning to where I am today, May 19, 2018. In

If you have pets or take care of livestock, you know that animals thrive when they eat on a regular schedule. My labrador retriever Lily gets breakfast every morning at precisely 6AM and dinner at 6PM (and not a minute later… you’d think she could tell time!).

Thirty days ago I decided to give myself a virtual reboot. I was fed up with feeling less than stellar and decided to start a paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) reset. Like a computer that had stretched its resources too thin and had been running for too long without

Carrageenan, maltodextrin, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum, carboxymethylcellulose… These common food additives are “generally recognized as safe,” but is that true for people with Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases? Evidence is mounting that they may not be and in this post I discuss each one and

First I blamed it on the shoes. Just a sprain? Or something more? I bought totally cute but ridiculously impractical, high heeled, red patent leather shoes to celebrate my 40th birthday in July, 2015 and insisted on wearing them for three straight days, even though they made my feet

Disturbed sleep and active Crohn’s disease go hand-in-hand, which is probably not a surprise to anyone who has experienced the pain, diarrhea, cramping, night sweats, general malaise, and other agony of a flare. Added to that, the steroids that are often prescribed to calm a flare down

The first week in December is IBD Awareness Week and this year I am celebrating the fact that I have lived with Crohn’s disease for 20 years now. Yes, you read that correctly. I am CELEBRATING. Usually disease awareness campaigns are all about making people who don’t

What is the best diet for people with Crohn’s disease? That is a trick question, because there is no one answer. The best diet is the one that works for that person, at least until science catches up and figures out exactly what causes inflammatory bowel diseases

Should you drink coffee if you have Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or another inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? I confess, I am a coffee lover who has never been able to give up the habit completely – despite having made big announcements to the contrary! I have successfully

Last night I was honored to be part of a panel discussion on the topic of balancing conventional medical treatment of autoimmune disease with a paleo-based approach to diet. Regular readers of this blog already know that I spent many years (almost two decades!) treating my Crohn’s disease