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Crohn’s Disease (CD) is a type inflammatory bowel disease.  It may occur in any part of the GI tract but usually it affects the small intestine and/or the colon.  Individuals with CD have periods of improvements and periods of “flare ups” when symptoms present.  Symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fatigue, weight loss and in children, growth delay, etc.

CD is thought to be caused by an abnormal immune system.  One theory is that the immune system mistakes its own friendly gut bacteria and foods traveling through the GI tract as pathogens and triggers an immune reaction to attack them.  Treatment usually is with drugs (such as steroids and immune system suppressors) which are used to manage symptoms and to prolong the periods between flare ups as long as possible.

Nutritional Management of Crohn’s Disease: 
Nutrition is an important factor for patients with CD.  During flare ups, inflammation of the GI tract may disrupt the normal absorption of nutrients.  This can cause serious nutrient deficiencies so it’s important to assess the need for nutritional supplements.  During periods of severe symptoms, intestines may be unable to absorb enough nutrition to sustain life, so the physician may prescribe an alternate way to provide nutrition, such as temporary intravenous nutrition or enteral nutrition.  With enteral nutrition, the patients may consume an elemental formula, a nutritionally-complete liquid formula that provides all nutrients in the simplest form which makes it easy for the GI tract to absorb.  This allows the GI tract to rest and repair itself, while ensuring the patient is still receiving adequate nutrition.

Crohn’s Disease in Children: 
Long-term steroid use can have serious side-effects.  In children, the growth impairment associated with steroid use is a serious concern, especially combined with the fact children with CD are also more prone to consume inadequate calories.  Some families choose to treat flare-ups and prolong remissions using nutritional management rather than steroids.  An elemental diet or even a half elemental diet can help manage flare ups, prolong remissions and ensure proper nutrition & growth for children with CD.  E028 Splash and Neocate Junior may be useful for children with CD who are following dietary therapies.

 If you are searching for more information on the use of diet to manage CD, many families find the book “Beat Crohn’s” helpful.

 - Mallory

Image Source: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/crohns/images/Digestive.gif

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse  

Over the past few years, a lot of attention has been paid to bisphenol A, or BPA – which was commonly used in food packaging.    As we’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, BPA is still out there due to a lack of suitable replacements, though is a lot less common as a result of public concern.  Many manufacturers have been able to remove BPA from their food packaging materials as well as from plastic dishes and containers.  You may have recently seen items like baby bottles and water bottles labeled as being BPA-free.

Even though some of the chatter on this topic has died down, we here at Nutricia still often get questions about whether Neocate packaging contains BPA.  It’s normal for parents of children who use Neocate products to be more aware of things that other parents might not think to look for.  So, we wanted to briefly remind you and any new Neocate parents that the package linings for Neocate products do not contain BPA.

Our first blog on BPA in 2009 discussed the fact that all of the powdered Neocate products are packaged in cans that have a BPA-free lining.  But we still got questions from parents about E028 Splash, the ready-to-feed liquid elemental formula in the Neocate family.  In early 2010 we confirmed in a second blog that Splash is packaged in cartons that have a BPA-free liner.  More great news!

If your little one uses any of the Neocate products, you can rest assured that there is no BPA in the package linings.

- Rob