Guts and Glory

This episode features two Registered Dietitians working in Toronto. Inez Martincevic, a Clinical Dietitian practicing within the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at The Hospital for Sick Children and Julie Cepo who is an Inpatient Clinical Dietitian with the GI Medicine & Surgery Program at Mount Sinai Hospital. We discuss how a Registered Dietitian can help IBD’ers navigate the very complicated space of nutrition & diet while living with such a complex disease. Regardless of diagnosis, diet is pertinent to our health. Why is it important to know where your disease is specifically located? How does disease location impact your diet journey? What should you expect from a RD should you visit one? We chat about hot topics like hydration and IBD, eating small meals, food journals, etc. We discuss our relationships with food, why these relationships change, and why they should change.

Dr. Ahola Kohut is a Clinical Health Psychologist at Sick Kids, who works specifically with children with IBD. She splits her time between research and clinical work. In this episode she shares valuable information regarding mental health and IBD. We discuss how our minds are wired to survive and socialize and this sometimes relates to negative feelings. Dr. Ahola Kohut offers advice and strategies for not only individuals with IBD but our caregivers as well. She shares her approaches of mindfulness and acceptance with the kids, teens, and families she works with and how these approaches can help individuals in their everyday life regardless of age or diagnosis. We discuss the stigmas associated with IBD and what could be some of the challenges, like the need to be “perfect”. We discuss the importance and need to adapt care and resources online to meet the social needs for youth experiencing IBD.

Check out the following resources that Dr. Ahola Kohut has helped develop content for: https://tinyurl.com/t6xan2o, https://tinyurl.com/wzqfw9q, https://teens.aboutkidshealth.ca/mentalhealth?topic=mentalhealthAZ

Shawn Reynolds is an IBD Warrior that has been living with Crohn’s Disease for over 20 years. Shawn shares his experiences as an entrepreneur, husband, dad, former actor, brother of two siblings who also have Crohn’s Disease, etc. and how he was able to find success despite living with a chronic illness. He talks about how he views his health, the importance of being your own advocate, and how a diagnosis of IBD doesn’t mean you can’t set goals and achieve them. Shawn shares how stress reduction, rest, exercise, socialization, mental health, medicine, etc. have all played a role in helping him navigate his disease.

Amanda Lapidus is a Registered Dietitian in Toronto who focuses on digestive disorders. She is actively involved in research related to diet and the gut microbiome in the IBD community. We talk about what set Amanda on the path to dedicate her energy to diet, nutrition, and preventable health. She answers questions about the difference between dietitians and nutritionists, fad diets and social media, food fear, probiotics and prebiotics, and answers the questions – ‘Did I eat something to cause my IBD?’ and ‘What diet will cure my disease?’. We learn when navigating IBD and diet, it is important that this is done under the care of a dietitian because IBD is difficult and everyone is different!

More info available on her website: www.amandalapidus.com & Instagram: @al.nutrition

Jason Singh, the Manager of Innovative Health Initiatives for Crohn’s & Colitis Canada (CCC) talks all about two apps launched by CCC, GoHere & MyGut. What is the GoHere Washroom Access Program? How does the app work? Where can I get a Washroom Access Card and how can you become a GoHere Volunteer Ambassador? Jason also talks about the newly launched app, MyGut which is a self-management app for IBD Warriors that helps you keep track of your symptoms and even provides educational articles to read that are tailored to your needs. How is MyGut different from other apps like it? How can you download the app and provide feedback? How is the data stored? The answers to these questions and more on this episode!

Gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Dr. Mark Silverberg, discusses the importance of multi-disciplinary care in IBD. How important it is that we begin treating #IBDWarriors with a more holistic approach. This is why he is opening his own clinic, the Toronto Immune and Digestive Health Institute (TIDHI) that will not only be a clinical care center but also a clinic doing real world research. Hear what he has to say about his new clinic and treating IBD holistically, the importance of clinical trials and tracking patient outcomes, and how research is progressing in understanding the causes of IBD.

Amanda Lapidus is a Registered Dietitian in Toronto who focuses on digestive disorders. She is actively involved in research related to diet and the gut microbiome in the IBD community. We talk about what set...

Jason Singh, the Manager of Innovative Health Initiatives for Crohn’s & Colitis Canada (CCC) talks all about two apps launched by CCC, GoHere & MyGut. What is the GoHere Washroom Access Program? How does the...

Gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Dr. Mark Silverberg, discusses the importance of multi-disciplinary care in IBD. How important it is that we begin treating #IBDWarriors with a more holistic approach. This...

Want to help an IBD Warrior that you love? Why not volunteer?! Host, Chantel from Toronto, ON sits down with Matthew Sebastiani from Vancouver, B.C. and Shannon Epstein from Montreal, QC and together they share their experiences as volunteers with Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. They discuss why they are involved, the roles they play, and the events and activities that are available for IBD Warriors and their loved ones in each of their respective regions.

Learn about Generation C, Dinner & Dance events, the Landmark Lighting Campaign, Chapter Meetings, etc.

Crohn’s & Colitis Canada is a national organization. Check out CCC’s website at https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/ for various volunteer opportunities and events and meetings near you!