Looking for some experiences of others in keeping a food journal. Saw the colorectal doctor today and he recommended I start a food journal to help with knowing which foods bother me and which don't. I'm wondering if you take a food off the list, how many days should go by before deciding it was the cause of a problem or not? For instance, I had added a glass of orange juice with breakfast but then was having a problem with recurrent diarrhea, so I stopped the orange juice. Now, with changing nothing else, how many days should I let go by to see if it was the orange juice? then do I add it again for a few days? Also I've not yet added lettuce to my diet. If I add it, how many days should I have it before knowing if it causes any problems? Also, does milk cause problems for anyone? Knowing what to eat and what not to eat as my system heals seems to be tricky.
One piece of good news, at this point, beginning of my third month post treatment, my colorectal doctor is very pleased with how my anal area is healing. Kind of weird getting a "gold star" for your anal area 
Hi ,
I’m sorry nobody has got back to you regarding your questions about keeping a food journal.
From my experience there’s no exact science to this unfortunately & much of it is trial & error I’m afraid. It really is just a process of elimination & recognising your bodies reaction to certain foods or food groups. Along with a daily journal of exactly what you’re eating I would begin listing foods that you react to & alongside document the reaction so for example you’ve recognised that fresh orange juice gave you an issue so I would list that & beside it your reaction i.e., recurrent diarrhoea. If you continue with a reaction having cut out the orange juice then try & work out what else could be continuing it. Once you’ve not had a reaction for a while try adding the eliminated food back in again but slowly as in once every few days then you’ll soon see if you can tolerate it. You may find you’re ok having certain foods once or twice a week but if you eat them every day then they cause an issue, this is generally what happens with me. I also have issues with certain combinations of foods sometimes so it’s not always singular foods. This is just the method I use but others may have better ideas. This intolerance business is sometimes as clear as mud!!!
I have a bit of an issue with sugar, I can’t eat raw onion (love red onion on a salad!) & bread, pasta & grains cause me to bloat & have a lot of gas! Which since surgery & radiotherapy in that area I don’t have as much of a say when it comes out as I once did haha I don’t have much cows dairy because it can cause an inflammatory response & I also have osteoarthritis so I’m trying to get my inflammation markers down, I eat mostly goats dairy & drink coconut milk although I have a little lactose free milk in tea.
Hope that helps a little! Oh & congrats on the ‘gold star’ for your butt ;0)
Hi again ,
I was told by my oncology/radiotherapy team that the radiotherapy does continue working for some months after your last treatment, therefore we’re bound to continue having an inflammatory response internally & I found this just diminished over time & although I do still get an odd flare up this is now generally limited to the actual area where my tumour was.
I try & keep my diet ‘clean’ which means as little processed food as possible, I find I have less of a reaction to fresh foods, probably due to the level of sugars in the processed stuff. I also drink goats milk kefir every morning which is full of good live bacteria which helps your digestive system as a whole & is fabulous for great gut health which in turn strengthens your immune system which is always good.
Good luck with your appointment tomorrow I hope all goes well. I have an oncology appointment next Tuesday which will hopefully see me going onto 6 monthly check-ups 
