I put my Crohn’s disease in remission with a low-carb diet
Lover of food. Owner of an inappropriate sense of humor. Mum and wife. Award-winning photographer and stylist. Proud author. One-woman car concert extraordinaire.
Hi, I’m Naomi. If I had to describe myself in a nutshell, I’d probably start like that.
I’m the creative brain behind a lot of the beautiful food images that you see here on Diet Doctor. I’ve been a full-time food photographer, stylist, and recipe developer for over seven years now after accidentally discovering my passion for this work.
I gave up my job as the project manager of a construction company and now I get to do what I love every single day. I am based on the stunning island state of Tasmania (the little triangle island at the bottom of Australia), which is famous for its clean air, crystal waters, abundant farmland, and passionate small producers.
I live with my family on a small farm where we raise organic lamb, have a flock of chickens, and grow vegetables and herbs as much as possible. (Confession, I do not have a green thumb and would rather be in the kitchen than the garden.) We also have two cattle dogs and a cat who thinks he’s a dog.
I’ve always been a firm believer in the power of food, be it as a comfort, for a celebration, or to heal and nourish your body. Then, 15 years ago, almost overnight, I started suffering from agonizing stomach pain, constant vomiting, mouth ulcers, and overwhelming fatigue. I lost so much weight and could barely keep a mouthful of food down. I was exhausted, and my life literally revolved around having somewhere that I could be ill at a moment’s notice.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and placed on a cocktail of immunosuppressants, steroids, and proton-pump inhibitors.
These medications eased my symptoms, a lot, but I still had constant flare-ups, was considered to be medically in crisis and my liver was showing signs of failure. Worse, I was being prescribed more medication to offset the side effects of the amount of medication that I was already on. It felt like a nightmarish carousel.
Now that I could eat again, I ate EVERYTHING and ended up going from skeletal to very overweight. I’m never one to do anything by halves.
I was introduced to low-carb eating as a way of addressing the weight I’d put on. After the initial shock, ‘How many carbs are in a potato?!?!‘ I started to see results.
Strangely enough, I also started to notice that my Crohn’s flare-ups were becoming fewer and fewer. And when they did happen, I could point to a specific trigger, instead of being in a constant state of various degrees of pain.
The more I learned about the causes of inflammation in our system and the link between that and highly processed, carb-laden foods, the more I paid attention to what went into my body.
Today, I am completely free of all of the medications that I was on, and I take one daily over-the-counter inhibitor. I feel like a completely different person.
I was strict keto for a long time before realizing that high protein, moderate carb was the perfect sweet spot for my body. I get excited about what I get to eat every day.
I love that here, at Diet Doctor, there’s a recipe for just about everyone. Vegan? Keto? Low carb? High protein? Moderate carb? Vegetarian? We have you covered.
Tip 1: The secret to loving every bite you take is to eat food with a variety of flavors, textures, and ingredients so that you never sit down, look at your plate, and sigh.
Tip 2: Aim to eat as much whole food as possible, with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients.
