Crohn's Disease Relief

Would The Morning Banana Diet be good for Crohn's Disease Sufferers?

The latest fad diet in Japan is "The Morning Banana Diet." I wanted to consider this diet plan in relation to the Crohn's Disease sufferer.  I have found that a lot of weight loss plans are not suitable for myself as a  "Crohnie" for various reasons.  Foremost, they tend to include a lot of non-digestable fiber, which can irritate my digestion.

I would not normally pay a lot of attention to fad diets but this one intrigued me by its simplicity and the fact that it lets the person chose their own balanced meals for lunch and dinner. According to this Time Magazine article this Banana Diet is very simple, with the core idea being you eat a banana and room temperature water for breakfast each day.

"The Morning Banana Diet regime is simple: A banana (or as many as you want) and room temperature water for breakfast; eat anything you like for lunch and dinner (by 8 p.m.). A three o'clock snack is okay, but no desserts after meals, and you have to go to bed before midnight. Sumiko Watanabe, a pharmacist in Osaka designed this stress-free diet to help increase the metabolism of her husband Hitoshi Watanabe, who had been rather overweight."

Considering it contains potassium and other nutrients, and is easy to digest, a banana does make a wonderful breakfast.  For someone with UC or Crohn's types of IBD, bananas do fit in the "low residue" diet, (recommended by Gastroenterologists during a Crohn's flare) and are fairly easy to digest.  In fact, as a mom of small kids I know that bananas can be somewhat constipating, so if you suffer from diarrhea, a banana could be a good idea.

According to Wikipedia's Banana Article one average banana contains 28% of your daily recommended vitimin B6, 15% of RDA for Vitimin C, 5% of RDA B5, and 8% of your daily potassium requirement.  With 2.6 grams of fiber, and 1.09 grams of protein, and 22.84 grams of Carbs.  Sounds like a great little tasty package of goodness.

Banana, raw, edible parts Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 90 kcal   370 kJ
Carbohydrates     22.84 g - Sugars  12.23 g - Dietary fiber  2.6 g   Fat 0.33 g Protein 1.09 g Vitamin A equiv.  3 μg  0% Thiamin (Vit. B1)  0.031 mg   2% Riboflavin (Vit. B2)  0.073 mg   5% Niacin (Vit. B3)  0.665 mg   4% Pantothenic acid (B5)  0.334 mg  7% Vitamin B6  0.367 mg 28% Folate (Vit. B9)  20 μg  5% Vitamin C  8.7 mg 15% Calcium  5 mg 1% Iron  0.26 mg 2% Magnesium  27 mg 7%  Phosphorus  22 mg 3% Potassium  358 mg   8% Zinc  0.15 mg 1%

Stem Cell Research key issue in US Presidential Election

Watching the US Vice Presidential debate last night I could not help but wish the moderator has asked the candidates about their position on supporting stem cell research.  Palin is against all embryonic stem cell research, however all three of the other candidates support it. (Obama/Biden both and McCain as well)  The official Republican Party platform opposes embryonic stem cell research so in that issue McCain deviates from the party position.  Howeve his choice of running mate makes it clear that he is willing to compromise on this issue to try to reconnect with the religious right element of the party.

Here is an interesting article on the subject: How Stem Cell Debate is Energizing the Democratic Ticket from the NY Times.

Of course it is quite obvious from reading about current studies being carried out that stem cell research and treatments are directly applicable to Crohn's Disease.  For those of us suffering from this disease stem cell research is a beacon of hope.  When you are walking around with a disease with no cure (YET) you really don't want to hear that we lack the ability to keep working on the problem.

One good thing about stem cell research is that even with the ban on embryonic research, testing and research is still going on using adult stem cells.  One of the new uses for stem cell treatment for Crohn's actually uses the patiests own stem cells to do an immune system transplant or "reboot" using chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed by re-injecting the patients own pre-harvested stem cells back into their body. 

I certainly understand that medical ethics and differing religious opinions necessitate that we consider carefully before we experiment using embryos and cell portions of embryonic origin.  However, GW Bush's no consideration for any flexibility in working with resources that we already have is not the right decision either.  There needs to be national debate on the subject and medical ethics review boards can make proper determinations on the merit of lines of study on an individual basis.

There can be a middle ground in the politics and ethics of stem cell research, and if we find that middle ground we can save lives and improve the quality of life for many people. 

Racking up 3 TDs and $30,000 for Crohn's Disease Research

David Garrard and Centocor have racked up $30,000 and 3 touchdowns in the fight against Crohn's Disease so far at Game 4 of the season. 

See the In The Zone for Crohn's site for more info.  The money goes to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, CCFA for short.