5 IBD-Friendly Ways to Enjoy Apple Season
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They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but when you have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), biting into a fibrous apple may not be the best idea. The coarse texture of raw apples is hard to break down and can irritate an inflamed gut, contributing to unpleasant symptoms like abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
That said, apples offer many health benefits. According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, apples are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. Apples are also an excellent source of a type of prebiotic fiber called pectin, which supports a healthy gut microbiome by feeding the good bacteria, per research published January 15, 2021, in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics. Additionally, apples are nutrient-dense, helping you meet your needs by providing vitamins and minerals like vitamin C and potassium.
Fortunately, there are a variety of ways apples can be prepared so that people with IBD can tolerate this tasty and nutritious fruit.
Here are five of my favorites.
1. Make a Gut-Friendly Apple Crisp
Nothing says apple season quite like an apple crisp fresh out of the oven, and with a few modifications, you can put a gut-friendly spin on this classic fall dessert.
Traditional apple crisp is high in refined sugars, which is not good for people with active IBD. But with simple ingredients like apples, cinnamon, butter, rolled oats, almond flour, and a touch of honey, this recipe is lighter and lower in sugar than usual, so you’re more likely to tolerate it.
If you peel the skins off your apples before slicing them, you’ll remove excess insoluble fiber, which has a rough texture and can irritate an inflamed gut lining for those in a flare.
For full recipe details, visit the UMass Center for Applied Nutrition.
2. Whip Up a Homemade Applesauce
While whole apples can be difficult to digest for those experiencing a flare, applesauce is another story. Cooking and pureeing apples into a sauce breaks down their fiber, making them go down smoothly so you can reap their many health benefits.
Apples contain natural sugars and are sweet enough on their own, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg enhance that. Making your own applesauce at home allows you to avoid the unnecessary additives in store-bought versions and get creative with the ingredients you use to make different flavor variations. For example, try adding ginger for spice and warmth, or incorporate other pureed fruits into the mix, such as pears, peaches, or strawberries.
Not only does applesauce make for a great IBD-friendly snack, there are also many additional ways to incorporate it into your diet:
- Layer your applesauce in a glass with plain Greek yogurt and cinnamon for a tasty parfait.
- Use applesauce in place of butter when baking.
- For a festive autumn spin on the classic PB&J, spread a layer of applesauce onto toast with peanut butter instead of jelly.
- Pair applesauce with baked chicken and soft-cooked fall vegetables without skins, like sweet potato, parsnip, or carrots.
For full recipe details, visit the UMass Center for Applied Nutrition.
3. A Baked Apple Makes a Tasty Dessert
The scent of a baked apple fills your kitchen with a festive and delicious aroma, and then you get to eat a warm and comforting treat. Peeling your apples removes that hard-to-digest layer of insoluble fiber, and the baking softens the texture of the inner apple flesh, making it more IBD friendly.
All you’ll need are three simple ingredients: apples, cinnamon, and a touch of butter or coconut oil. Slice your peeled apple into bite-size chunks, coat in the coconut oil and cinnamon, then bake until softened. If you want to get fancy, serve your baked apple with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt for a boost of natural probiotics. An extra sprinkle of cinnamon provides additional flavor and anti-inflammatory antioxidant compounds.
For full recipe details, visit Happy Healthy Mama.
4. Enjoy a Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bowl
A bowl of hot oatmeal for breakfast really hits the spot on a crisp fall morning, and the addition of apples provides sweetness and flavor without added sugars.
If you’re actively experiencing GI symptoms, try adding peeled, diced apples to your oatmeal while it’s still cooking. The cooking process breaks down the fruit, softening its cell walls and releasing more of its natural sugars. The result is not only easier to digest, but sweeter than raw apples. A labor-saving and even easier to digest alternative is to mix unsweetened applesauce into your oatmeal. Top it all off with cinnamon and a drizzle of creamy almond butter for healthy fats and additional protein.
Oats are a great source of soluble fiber, which supports a healthy gut microbiome by feeding good gut bacteria. These bacteria break down fiber in your colon via fermentation, per a review published in the journal Molecules in 2021. As a by-product of this fermentation, they produce special compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs help regulate the immune system, fight inflammation, and keep the lining of the colon healthy, according to research published in the journal Cell Communication and Signaling in May 2022. The soluble fiber content of oats also helps normalize bowel function, per research published in the journal Biomedicines in June 2022. Since soluble fiber absorbs water in the GI tract and forms a gel, it slows the speed at which food moves through the gut. This fights diarrhea by giving your colon more time to absorb water, as outlined in the Biomedicines research.
For full recipe details, visit Chocolate Covered Katie.
5. Make an Apple Butternut Squash Soup
Soups are a delicious way to pack many nutrients into one meal, and by blending and pureeing different produce into a soup, you’ll be able to eat certain foods that you may not normally tolerate in their whole, raw forms.
Soup may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of apple recipes, but apples happen to compliment a creamy butternut squash soup nicely with their natural sweetness. Blending sautéed butternut squash, apples, onion, and garlic with vegetable stock and warming fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger makes for a comforting and cozy meal that’s also easy to digest. For extra creaminess, try swapping out heavy cream from your soup recipe and using plain Greek yogurt or light coconut milk instead.
Butternut squash is rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that is converted into vitamin A in the body. According to a study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, people with IBD are more likely to be low in vitamin A than the general population. In fact, about a quarter of people with IBD may have vitamin A deficiency, per the NIH. Blending vitamin A–rich foods into soups is an easy way to boost your intake and prevent deficiency.
For full recipe details, visit the Suburban Soapbox.
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