First, what is IBD-AID? The first part, IBD, is irritable bowel disorder, which translates in practical terms to a painful gut brought on by inflamed intestines. I’ve had it. It’s uncomfortable and recovery takes – and took me – a long time. AID stands for anti-inflammatory diet, which is a richly vibrant diet to live by, sure, to ease IBD, but also to improve digestion and promote a better quality of life overall for everyone. Here’s a chart from UMass Medical School’s Center for Applied Nutrition that highlights foods that promote good digestion.

You probably noticed that steel cut oats are right at the top of the prebiotic food list. Prebiotics are foods that helpful bacteria, or probiotics, in your gut need to eat to stay alive. Keeping those helpful bacteria properly fed, alive and well is exactly what makes for good digestion and helping you feel your best, especially considering that there are many times more bacteria than your own cells in your body.

Personally, once I learned about it, I’ve stuck to an anti-inflammatory diet for decades and absolutely love it for how much better my gut feels as well as for its full-on flavor and variety. Like I write here all the time, flavor rules(!) and no diet, which only means a method of food selection, ever has any chance of working successfully without flavors that taste good.

Click this link or either picture at the top and bottom of this page to learn more about steel cut oats and how to cook them to make them more easily digestible for IBD purposes or otherwise. You can also click this link for more AID specific recipes on this site.