Danielle- Her Journey with Pediatric IBD and Celiac (season 1)

Ashley and Rebecca from The Crohn's & Colitis Dietitians talk about all things IBD-related. In this episode, we are joined by Danielle, one of the IBD specialized dietitians on our team! We discuss what it was like for Danielle to be diagnosed with Crohn's as a teenager and Celiac disease a little later in life.  We also talk about our big takeaways from the Digestive Disease Week conference we attended. 

0-10 minutes
We talk about how exciting it was to meet in person recently! Danielle shares one of her favorite experiences in the US: Trader Joe's! Danielle dives into her gut sensitivities as a child and her journey getting diagnosed at age 14 with Crohn's disease. Her illness sparked her interest in her current career as a dietitian. In 2018 she was diagnosed with Celiac.

10-15
Danielle discusses dealing with Crohn's as a teenager and sharing the news with her softball team. She talks about her biggest support system- her parents.

16-20
Playing softball with IBD; Rebecca shares about playing sports with IBD also. The experience made Danielle feel stronger and inspired her to help others with IBD so they feel supported.

20-27
Danielle discusses when she knew she wanted to be a dietitian working with IBD patients. She loved learning about the body and nutrition as a teenager. She shares her experience with a dietitian in the hospital.

27-35
We talk about our experience at the Digestive Disease week conference. Ashley's big takeaway: she enjoyed the connections she made. Rebecca found it invigorating to see how many people are dedicated and passionate about finding a cure for IBD. It was cool to see different ways to improve IBD patients' lives.  Danielle thought that some moments were challenging as an IBD patient.

35-39
favorite lectures from the conference:
Rebecca enjoyed the study on sulfur microbial diets in IBD . There is a higher prevalence of IBD in western countries. Foods with higher sulfur content are linked to an increased risk of Crohn's and colon cancer; but no association was found with UC, which was surprising. 

39-43
Danielle found the study about the Hispanic diet interesting and noted that there is some inclusivity lacking in research.  She wonders how many dietary patterns are we missing? 
We found it comforting that one meal isn't going to make or break anything. From an inflammatory standpoint it is more important to look at patterns and we can let go of black and white thinking.

43-51
Ashley liked the study about fiber and how it is important to reduce inflammation. She shares some notable facts about IBD patients and brings up a common bias. It was also brought up that rates of IBD are rising. We met some interesting companies including one who advocate for patients, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. It was so good to see nutrition valued, a big shift! We are hopeful for future research and detection, but acknowledge how the funding aspect of nutrition research is an obstacle.