@Happy hippy within a month or so of starting the low carb high fat (LCHF) diet, I experienced my third colitis flare in 25 years. It wasn't the LCHF diet that caused the flare, it was adding ground flax seed to my diet three weeks earlier.
I stopped the flaxseed immediately but the flare continued for 9 months, until I had a colonoscopy. Within a week of the procedure, I was back in remission.
Interestingly, this is how my second colitis flare remitted too, 15 years earlier.
I've come to the conclusion that it was the colonoscopy prep that purged my small and large intestines of whatever "overgrowth" I had along with taking a probiotic and following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet - (again, I recovered almost immediately, within three to five days of the colonoscopy).
During my active flare, I continued on the LCHF diet. As others suggested here, I cooked all my vegetables - (no more raw vegetables). I replaced raw cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes on my salad with a whole avocado (which seemed to have a soothing affect). My daily salad consisted of leafy spring greens, avocado, and pecan nuts with an oil - (extra virgin olive oil) - and vinegar dressing. I also gave up coffee and chocolate because chocolate is an "illegal" food on the SCD, and coffee makes my thumb joints hurt in addition to giving me tinnitus in both ears. Figured it best to give up any foods that cause me inflammation.
As part of the LCHF diet, I also gave up all seed, grain, and bean oils: cottonseed, sunflower, saffola, canola, corn, peanut, and soybean. And I also stopped eating hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, referred to as transfats in the US.
Today, I enjoy butter from grass fed cows, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, virgin, unrefined coconut oil, and macadamia nut oil. No more deep fried food. Giving up sugar, grains, and unhealthy oils was one of the best things I've done for my body in a long time. This presentation by Gary Fettke convince me to do this...
As mentioned earlier, I also restarted the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) that had worked for my colitis previously - (it complimented the LCHF diet well). That's when I realized I needed to stop all soft cheese such as feta and cream cheese. Soft cheeses are also "illegal" during flares and for a period of time after back in remission.
I also decided to go grain free. I have non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) too, so going grain free after having been gluten free for 4 years wasn't that big of a change.
Eventually I gave up all dairy thinking perhaps I'd developed a food sensitivity to it, though I continued to enjoy butter from grass fed cows daily. I still ate eggs daily. And I added a broad spectrum probiotic to my daily regimen of nutritional supplements. I also began taking a powerful anti-inflammatory supplement called Meriva one to two times a day. It's a special supplement made with curcumin.
It was a long process of slowly giving up any foods that have been identified as being problematic during flares, and adding a few nutritional supplements that are known to be helpful for flares.
I think all these things helped, but it wasn't enough. The colonoscopy prep took me the rest of the way.
What I found most interesting is that my colonoscopy did confirm that my colon was inflamed and that my colitis was much worse than it had been 15 years earlier.
If this happens again, I think next time I'll eat only approved foods on the SCD for a couple of months, then do a week long fast to rest the colon which would be a lot cheaper. That colonoscopy cost me $1,500 out of pocket.
I should also add that when I was drinking that awful prep solution for the colonoscopy, I'd chase each dose with freshly squeezed lemon juice and water, sweetened with a few drops of Stevita liquid extract. However, and this is important, I strained the juice repeatedly through a fine mesh strainer to insure I was drinking juice only, no pulp (which is not allowed before and during the colonoscopy prep). I wonder if the lemon juice also helped to purge the overgrowth of bad bacteria, candida, or whatever it was. Don't know.
I think the LCHF diet with the SCD is very good for inflammatory bowel disease, so long as all foods are cooked, though I continued to eat leafy spring greens daily.
On the off chance you're sensitive to gluten, you might try giving up grain for a while too, but I know for most, that might be too hard to do. It's conservatively estimated that 7.5% of the population are now sensitive to gluten, due to wheat allergy (rare), celiac disease, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Not sure if this is due to the re-engineering of wheat in the US in the mid 70's or the pesticides they spray on the wheat three weeks before harvest in the US. Something's changed. With each decade, more and more people are no longer able to tolerate wheat, rye, and barley, and it's thought perhaps oats too for some, here in the US.
I encourage you to learn about the SCD. It's kept me in remission for most of the last 25 years. Good luck to you. I've never had a flare last for 9 months. I felt so discouraged. Hope you're in remission again soon.
Here's a list of "legal" and "illegal" foods on the SCD - (reading Elaine Gottschall's book helped me get re-started on the diet)...
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/listing/
