Food, Glorious Food!

Whether it’s the turkey at Thanksgiving, potato pancakes at Hanukkah, or jambalaya for Kwanzaa, you can enjoy the season’s foods despite your ostomy.

- by Colleen Pierre RD

Mmmmmm...turkeys roasting, pies baking, and cookies by the dozens! What’s your favorite? At our house, Christmas just isn’t right without a batch of raspberry sandwich tarts, re-created from the cookbook that emigrated from Austria with my husband’s family in 1949. From another branch of the family, there is English toffee from a secret recipe. We wait all year to make, bake, and enjoy these special treats.

No matter how you slice it, food plays a central role in all of our important celebrations. Traditional foods to match the feast connect us to generations past, present, and future, some going back hundreds of years. It’s no wonder then, that we salivate at the very thought of the goodies to come.

But can you and your ostomy participate in all the food festivities and still have a really good time? Lots of folks say “Yes!”

Ring in the Holiday Cheer!

“My wife didn’t have to change the Christmas menu one iota because of me and my ostomy,” Orlando L.Day Jr. of Annapolis, MD, told me. His holiday dinner includes turkey, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, a little ham, and sweet potato pie. Since the time of his colostomy in 1990, he brags, “I’ve eaten what I wanted, and I never found anything that bothered me.”

Although the answer is largely “Yes,” for most people, you’re smart to look at the food being offered and your own tolerances and complications. A familiar family dish tripped up Ethel M. Young, president of the Anne Arundel County Ostomy Association in Maryland, on her first ostomy holiday. “I loved my grandmother’s carrot and pineapple salad,” she says, “and always ate big bowls of it.” She was pretty sure she was safe because the carrots were so finely grated. But with an ileostomy, foods are not as well digested as with a colostomy, and can lead to a blocked stoma. “I almost ended up in the hospital,” she says. Taste and caution taught her a lesson. She still eats the salad she loves...about 1/4 cup at a time, and no more than every other day. And of course she chews, and chews, and chews.

Take a little care: Celery in the stuffing, nuts in the cookies, and raw carrots in the salad could trip you up and make you miserable instead of merry. Sauerkraut is another problem. The stringy nature of that savory pickled cabbage makes it a tough customer for your stoma. Broccoli and spinach are close competitors. You may not need to cut out these foods completely; try small portions and chew well.

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Fast Wisely

Some holiday meals are made all the sweeter because they follow periods of fasting. Muslims, for instance, fast for an entire month during the day-light hours, eating only breakfast and dinner, and only during the dark of night. Then they feast for 3 days. Many Christians fast during Advent, the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, then celebrate with a festive meal on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Kwanzaa, an African-American cultural holiday, begins on December 26 with a week of fasting, ceremonies, and commitment, followed by a communal feast on December 31 that might feature dishes of African origin, such as spicy peanuts (keep in mind your food tolerances), jambalaya, or curried carrot soup.

Take a little care: Fasting can be a problem if you have an ostomy, since an empty bowel produces gas. Before you decide to fast, talk with your healthcare provider and perhaps work out a modified version that helps get you in the spirit without causing you pain.

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Feast Your Eyes

Too much feasting can be a problem, too. “Hanukkah is a joyous Jewish holiday,” says Herbert Siegal, a sales manager from Chicago who had a proctocolectomy with an ileostomy in 1998. Siegal and his wife find this the perfect opportunity to entertain friends with his favorite meal: potato pancakes (“latkes,” a traditional dish for Hanukkah) and applesauce. If he’s lucky, there are leftovers and he gets to eat the meal again, he says with a laugh.

Take a little care: The biggest problem with Hanukkah or any other holiday, says Siegal, is overeating, which causes a lot of discomfort. So portion control, no matter how good the food, is a must. And he does avoid those common culprits: corn, popcorn, handfuls of nuts, and celery, which can form a wad that can block a stoma. “And I have learned to chew alot better than I used to!” says Siegal.

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Enjoy This Food for Thought

“There is life — and celebration — after an ostomy,” says Young, whose ostomy gave her a new lease on life, and a much longer life. That means many more chances to celebrate the holidays and enjoy her grandmother’s carrot and pineapple salad, even if in smaller doses. In full measure, there is still the fun of family and friends and all the traditions that make the holidays such a wonderful time of the year. Enjoy!

Colleen Pierre is a registered dietitian and adjunct professor of nutrition, aging, and fitness in The Johns Hopkins University Certificate in Aging Program in Baltimore, MD.

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Put the Brakes on Gas Don’t let gas cause you any discomfort this holiday season. Follow these tips: Eat at regular intervals. Be careful with fasting, since it can increase the incidence of gas. Minimize alcoholic and carbonated beverages. Have only small portions of gas-producing foods such as cabbage, cucumbers, onions, radishes, soy, and nuts. Try Beano®* before you give up entirely. Eat slowly. Chew food thoroughly. Check lactose intolerance. Have small portions of dairy foods with meals, use Lactaid®*-treated products, or take Lactaid®* tablets with meals. Skip the chewing gum. Extra chewing increases the amount of air you swallow, which contributes to gas. *Beano® and Lactaid® are trademarks of their owners and are found in the antacid section of most grocery and drug stores.

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