Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease of the colon and rectum. Symptoms of colitis include blood in the stool, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain and weight loss. Medical experts still do not know what causes ulcerative colitis, but believe it may be an immune system reaction. Several things can trigger a flare-up, especially certain foods.

To minimize the pain and allow your body to heal itself there are certain foods you want to avoid, such as:

1. Whole wheat breads and pasta
Foods that contain fiber such as whole grains, pasta, fruits and vegetables tend to be difficult to digest for people with UC during a flare-up. You want to avoid eating foods made from whole grain flours. These include bread, cereal and pasta. This includes all dark grain breads and cereals. Avoid whole wheat flour products.

2. Alcohol
Alcohol can also be stressful on your digestive system so you want to avoid all types of alcohol, including beer which can cause additional inflammation in the intestine.

3. Dairy products
Avoid eating dairy products during this time as well as these food items cause more irritation and inflammation as they are gas-inducing foods that are often difficult to digest.

4.Vegetables
There are certain vegetables that are high in fiber and difficult to digest. You should avoid these. They include beans, peas and legumes. Vegetables have a lot of fiber and you should only include those vegetables that are peeled, have no seeds and are fully cooked. Vegetables provide many important nutrients and it’s important to incorporate them in your die, but it is best to have soups or pureed vegetables when having a UC flare-up

5. Fruit
While fruit is very good for you, it’s troublesome during a UC flare up. Avoid fruits that are raw, dried or have seeds that can’t be removed (i.e., raspberries, kiwi). You can eat peeled and cooked fruit, such as applesauce or canned fruits in water.

6. Sulfates and sulfides
If you experience bloating and inflammation you may have an overabundance of sulfates and sulfides in your diet. In this case, you need to reduce or limit altogether foods high in sulfates and sulfides like beer, dairy milk, wine, eggs, cheese, and cruciferous vegetables.

7. Carbonated drinks
These drinks have carbonic acid and caffeine which causes more irritation. Avoid all carbonated drinks. Choose water and herbal tea instead.

8. Spicy foods
Foods that have a lot of heat or pepper, or those with large amounts of spice can trigger UC or make existing symptoms worse.

9. What to eat during UC flare-ups
While your diet should be limited when experiencing a UC flare-up you can focus on the foods you can eat. Choose white bread, white pasta, white rice, crackers and cereals made of refined flour. You can also enjoy cooked vegetables, soups, soft meats and fish.

Ulcerative colitis can’t be cured, however the symptoms may be managed or minimized. UC causes ulcers or sores and inflammation in the digestive tract, affecting the innermost lining of the large intestine, causing symptoms of nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, rectal pain and bleeding, weight loss, fatigue and fever. The symptoms develop and worsen over time and can be debilitating, and in some cases life-threatening. When you experience a flare-up you need to change your diet. Generally, your doctor will recommend a high fiber diet, but when you have an ulcerative colitis issue you need to change this to a low-fiber diet as this can help reduce the material in the colon. By doing so you can reduce the discomfort caused by the disease.