Since all the mayhem and numerous hospital visits, Ben has been put on a very specific diet.
The diet is called a Modulife Diet, half food and half food supplements either Modulen or Fortisips if your name is Ben.
This diet is a special diet that is designed to keep the crohns to a minimum to prevent flare ups, this is a new concept to us. We had the expectations of ben being put on a low residue diet (low fibre, very basic foods) which Ben had been on before however the dietician said there was no evidence that the low residue diet worked. So we have been blessed with this new diet- Modulife.
It was a shock at first. I felt frustrated and felt like crohns disease is controlling us and the way we enjoy life rather than us controlling crohns.
After a few days of researching. Anyone that knows me knows i am an excellent researcher but I found next to nothing for this diet so i knew it must be new. I couldn't find any stories or tips from other people.
So it is split into three phases:
1= 6 weeks.
Foods Allowed: Chicken, Eggs, Rice, Carrots, Onion, Garlic, Potatoes, Apples, Strawberries, Bananas, Rice Flour, White Fish, Avacado, Cucumber, Tomatoes, and Lettuce. + a few herbs and spices, only allowed olive oil or canola oil. The rest of your calories come from the Fortisips.
2= 6 weeks
Foods Allowed: All phase 1 foods. Plus: Tuna, Red meat- Fresh Steak, Quinoa, Wholegrain Bread, Oatmeal (Porridge) beans(not canned), peas, blueberries, kiwi, courgette, sweet peppers, Almonds, Walnuts and again herbs and spices. The rest of calories come from Fortisips (Or Modulen)
3= 9 months
Foods Allowed: All Phase 1 &2. Plus:Natural Yogurt, Pasta, Sweet Potato, Most Fruit and Veg.
Trust me when i say the list of food we are not allowed is bigger than the food we are allowed!!
Anything Dairy, most Gluten, anything processed, anything that tastes amazing, including take-aways. Is not allowed. Their favourite saying "If it is not on the list it does not exist."
So you’re probably thinking "How does this affect you? It's bens diet” well heres how.
I have taken it on myself to follow the diet at most meal times with him. Obviously allowing myself the extra fruit and veg and having ever so slightly different breakfasts and lunches and keeping to my snacking routine. It would have been extremely unhealthy for me to do this diet.
Theres a few reasons Ive decided to help ben with this-
We cant afford to do separate shops for him and me.
Im always up for a challenge and learning.
I don't want to have to have separate meals to Ben. Dinner time is a time we enjoy sitting together and chilling out.
And lastly, a bit of support so he does this with a bit more ease wouldn't go amiss.
So there's a huge problem with this diet. Ben is their guinea pig. The dietician (who Ben has weekly calls with) has said that he is the only one they know on this new diet with a bowel so short AND a stoma. So a lot of the fruit and veg is problematic. Unless we want another blockage!
We have had to alter a few things to help them suit Bens needs. We have to cut and cook our veg extremely carefully, and a lot of the time we try to turn veg into a sauce- same nutrients no blockages. Mostly though we have followed this diet really well.
In fact I'm kind of enjoying it. I enjoy cooking meals from scratch, I enjoy eating healthy (most of the time) and I really enjoy not spending money on Take-Aways and fast food all the time. Although it is incredibly difficult at times. Girls will understand this- when your on your period. Eating healthy is the last thing we want. I am thoroughly enjoying eating more normal meals with Ben now. As before he couldn't eat most of what we cook.
Starting this diet actually prompted me to start an Instagram account (Mod_u_food), when researching I could not find anything out there like this. I run the account and post with Ben's thoughts and knowledge.
The aim of the account is to share our recipes, share our journey and help others.
There is a Modulife app that only patients have access too and there is a limited number of recipes but we tried a few of them. They were quite bland, and some of them Ben couldn't have.
The Modulife food account has already reached out to so many people and I have had an excellent response with people messaging me saying we have helped them. I am so glad we made the decision to do this account, helping others and connecting with the Crohns and Collitis world has really helped me feel less alone on this journey.
This Instagram has also allowed me to connect with many Crohns and Colitis patients, it’s allowed me to stalk comment sections to really learn so much more on IBDs meaning that I can help Ben a lot more and come up with new ways to help him.
Not only that, the instagram account has raised awareness of the modulen diet- something that me and Ben found there was very little information on.
I feel like I have found a slight positive to Living with an illness. This blog and our food account will help someone else with their experiences and that is really important to me.
************************DISCLAIMER: ********************************************************
DO NOT TRY THIS DIET WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF A FULLY LICENCED/ TRAINED DIETICIAN. IT IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS TO CUT SO MUCH OUT OF YOUR DIET WITHOUT SUPERVISION. THE ONLY REASON BEN COULD DO THIS IS BECAUSE HE HAS FORTISIPS. A 300 CALORIE DRINK WITH ALL THE NECESSARY NUTRIENTS.
ALTHOUGH I FOLLOW THE MAJORITY OF THIS DIET ALONG SIDE BEN I STILL HAVE FOOD THAT I AM ALLOWED WHEN EVER I WANT I HAVE STILL BEEN SENSIBLE WHEN I EAT. (Except Take-aways, we will suffer together on that)*****************************************
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