Ashley and Rebecca from The Crohn's & Colitis Dietitians talk about all things IBD-related. In this episode we discuss advocating for ourselves in health care, research, and the importance of nutrition and working with a dietitian. 0-9  minutes Rebecca talks about a conversation with her GI doctor and how she was proactive and found a good middle ground when he had a different recommendation than what she expected.  She explains why colonoscopies and monitoring for dysplasia (abnormal cells) is important. These biopsies help monitor for colon cancer.  We agree that it's important to follow that inner knowing in our body and speak up for ourselves.   9-12 Rebecca and Ashley talk about wearing two hats as being a patient with IBD and as a dietitian working with IBD patients. We talk about the fact that an IBD patient may be asymptomatic but there can still be inflammation. It's best to check that everything is good from a lab and scope standpoint.   12-17 Ashley talks about being a participant in a research study. She took a certain type of curcumin and remarks on the effects she noticed. She shares another update: she has taken a second job as a researcher. She has always been interested in research and is studying Ulcerative Colitis protocols and comparing it to other protocols. The research process is exciting and Ashley enjoys being a part of amplifying the idea that nutrition is important.  17-25 We talk about a client who made one change and had a drastic impact, which is a great example of how important nutrition is in improving quality of life. We find that sometimes people or other health professionals don't understand the importance of nutrition and there is a  lack of exposure to the role that dietitians play. When people are looking for IBD focused dietitians we have found that there can be a fear about nutrition plans being too restrictive or extreme. We would love to shift the perception of what a dietitian is, so that people can understand that dietitians provide medical nutrition therapy, which includes treatment plans and education so that foods can be healing. 25-32 We look forward to when the role of a dietitian is more widely understood and valued and the impact dietitians and nutrition plans can have is also acknowledged. Dietitians are great at digging, gathering data and asking questions to uncover things. We discuss the nuance of looking at nutrients and labs and how looking at the big picture and understanding relationships of nutrients to each other is so important.