2023-09-26 16:35:48
Can a classic chicken breast with potatoes be transformed into a gourmet, tasty and healthy dish, even for those suffering from chronic inflammatory bowel diseases? Yes, according to Fabio Potenzano, a Sicilian chef who is part of the cast of “It’s always midday” with Antonella Clerici on Rai1 and teaches at the Hotel Institute of Palermo, where a course of study in healthy cuisine has been active for some years.
Many gourmet dishes can be part of the daily diet of those with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease – around 270 thousand Italians suffer from them, with young patients on the increase – because having a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (CID) does not mean having to give up taste at the table. Indeed, the intestine-friendly diet can and must be varied, balanced and good, as underlined by the experts of the Amici Italia association, on the occasion of the Terrasini Event Night 2023, a charity event that combines science and haute cuisine, organized by the chef Giuseppe Costa of the 1 Michelin star restaurant ‘Il Bavaglino’ in Terrasini. Ten starred chefs cooked and had their special dishes tasted, with the aim of raising funds to support the association.
“I have been collaborating with Amici for years – says chef Potenzano – we chefs are the last link in this precious chain: we receive indications from doctors and nutritionists and can use our technique and creativity to create colourful, fragrant, tasty and healthy dishes. I It makes us happy to satisfy people with chronic intestinal pathologies with these dishes, who, depending on the stage of the disease, have to deal with limitations and sacrifices at the table.” In fact, not everything is always allowed in the diet of those suffering from ulcerative colitis or Chron’s disease. But, it is the chef’s ‘recipe’, “among the foods allowed, you can play with colours, textures, shapes, flavors and cooking temperatures”. The result on the plate will be very different from the ‘sad’ chicken breast. “It’s not the cuisine of the sick, we all need a varied and healthy diet”, she comments.
Extra virgin olive oil, soluble fibers from cooked fruit and vegetables, fish and lean meats are “cat-friendly” foods. With the chef’s touch, they can be transformed into gourmet dishes. “Let’s start with the classic slice of chicken, which is very present in the diet of patients with chronic inflammatory diseases – explains Potenzano – and transform it. You can use fresh thyme, a few olives, dried tomatoes or capers, grated lemon zest. We roll up the chicken , immerse it in water at 68-70 degrees, that is when you begin to see the first bubbles come up from the bottom of the pan, and leave it for 8-10 minutes with the heat off. The important thing is that the temperature of the water never drops below 66 degrees C, to reduce the bacterial load of the chicken. At this point, we can brown it for a few minutes in a pan to color it a little and the dish, with all its smells and flavours, is ready”. Or “it can be cooked in the oven, always immersed in hot water or broth or wrapped in baking paper soaked in wine”.
As a side dish, yes to potatoes but, suggests Potenzano, also in this case mixing the colours, the different types, the consistencies. There are thousands of varieties of potatoes, variously coloured: the dish can be different every time”. The same ‘game’, suggests the chef, can be played “with carrots or cherry tomatoes, if the patient is in a phase of illness in which he can eat them”. The same goes for legumes. “Lentils, which must be pureed – he continues – can accompany blue fish meatballs, browned in a pan or cooked in the oven. A tasty and healthy combination”. If fried food is not permitted, “you can make a crunchy breading and brown the food in a pan or cook it in the oven”. To add flavour, “you can use homemade sauces: with honey, soy and orange juice, for example. Or with wine vinegars, raspberries, apples. Or even with dry Marsala, lemon and a little mustard”.
The key word is variety. “You have to try to have fun and look for high quality products – remarks the chef – because if the product is excellent even steam cooking can be very good. You can do research on the various foods allowed, together with the patients themselves and have fun experimenting, especially if they are teenagers and resist” following a rigid diet.
To help them in their choices at the table, the experts have collected in a decalogue the ‘basic rules’ of the diet in the phases in which the diseases do not give symptoms and the precautions to follow in case of flare-ups. To identify the yes foods and those that favor the appearance of symptoms, the recommendation is to keep a food diary so as to understand the foods that are difficult to tolerate and those that provide well-being, because – remember – they can be very different between different patients.
“Giving up entire categories of food and unnecessarily depriving ourselves of some foods can cause nutritional deficiencies and even bring to the surface real eating disorders – specifies Maria Cappello, head of the clinic dedicated to IBD of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit of the Polyclinic of Palermo – Patients often adopt restrictions without any clinical rationale or based on scientific evidence, the result of word of mouth or what is read on the web and on social media, exposing themselves to many risks. The indications must be personalized and modulated in relation to the phase of the disease, active or in remission, complicated or not, without forgetting that nutrition is also conviviality, the pleasure of the table. It is important that patients do not lose this aspect of nutrition.”
“Our objective – underlines Paolo Gionchetti, professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Bologna and Mici specialist – must be to give a good quality of life and fewer limitations to these patients, remembering that they are different from each other. And to everyone must be given back, as much as possible, a normal life.” A normal life which, for those suffering from chronic intestinal diseases, begins at the table.
The decalogue provides, in the ‘calm’ phases of the disease: preferring lean proteins from fish, which provides ‘good’ omega-3 fats, and poultry, cooked simply; yes also to lean cuts of beef and eggs; ensure a good intake of soluble fiber from fruit and vegetables, even better if cooked and without peel; if they are well tolerated, you can increase your fiber intake a little by including some foods richer in insoluble fiber such as dried fruit or whole grains such as oats; always use extra virgin olive oil as a condiment, limiting and if possible eliminating butter and other solid fats; choose simple preparations, avoiding fried or very elaborate dishes, giving priority to dishes with a limited number of ingredients; when purchasing foods at the supermarket, make sure they are free of additives such as maltodextrins, sulphites, titanium dioxide or thickeners such as carboxymethylcellulose and carrageenans; drink plenty of water instead of sugary drinks, alcohol and drinks that contain caffeine such as tea or coffee.
In the acute phases and with symptoms, the protein requirement increases in the inflammation phases: fish, poultry, lean cuts of beef can be consumed but without adding fat in the preparation, as can boiled eggs or tofu. No to whole grains and legumes, yes to ‘soft’ dishes that include starch sources with less than two grams of fiber per serving and to well-cooked vegetables, such as mashed potatoes or cooked apples, or soft fruit such as bananas ripe; avoid raw vegetables, dried fruit and seeds. Limit all fats except olive oil, of which you can allow yourself up to eight teaspoons per day. Introduce probiotics and prebiotics, calcium and vitamin D through the consumption of skimmed and, if anything, lactose-free milk. Eat more often and eat small portions, always avoiding foods that can trigger symptoms and using any supplements as indicated by your doctor.
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