Fall, Football, and Food (While Having UC)

Last weekend, I got to enjoy one of my favorite fall activities.

No, I didn’t visit a pumpkin festival with the hopes of gorging on every conceivable pumpkin food item. Nor did I purposely plant myself in the middle of a corn maze. Those activities are fine for pumpkin lovers and adventurous corn-type folks.

Sadly, my IBD doesn’t allow me to enjoy pumpkin treats, nor the fear of never escaping a corn maze.

My favorite fall activity

During the fall, there’s no activity I love better than attending a football game in person. Being in the middle of cheering, adoring, football-loving fans is an activity I look forward to every year.

But in the course of a pandemic, I sat the bench and didn’t attend a single football game. It broke my heart.

Now, with vaccines readily available, my husband and I decided to return to watching games in person. So, we traveled to the city we love and took in the sights, sounds, and smells of an exciting football game.

Traveling to a football game with UC

As one living with ulcerative colitis, I find traveling to be challenging at times. My gut isn’t always embracing new places with different cuisines. With more than 30 years as a UC sufferer, I’ve had to learn what my gastrointestinal tract can and cannot handle.

So as my husband and I walked from our hotel to our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers game, the first question he asked was "Will you be able to eat at the game?"

Honestly, he asked this sarcastically. We both knew the stadium would offer the "comfort food" that my colon prefers above all others.

The football food my gut surprisingly handles

No, my gut doesn’t seek solace in a juicy hot dog piled high with onions and relish. Nor can it handle the hard-to-digest popcorn. Instead, the one food item that I can rely upon finding at any sporting venue is the not-to-be-ignored nachos.

Yep. You read that correctly. Nachos are my safest go-to food choice. Why do I claim nachos as the "safest" choice?

Because experience has taught me that my gut knows what it can and cannot handle whenever I travel. Whether stripped down as merely tortilla chips covered in nacho cheese or overflowing with an abundance of toppings, I know that this snack (or meal) won’t put me in gastric distress.

Our IBD colons can be weird, right?

Whatever the reason, my colon signals my brain that solace and fullness can be found in a pile of tortilla chips. And it doesn’t matter whether they are smothered or covered in all kinds of ingredients. If I end up in a UC flare, my first food choice to calm my frenzied colon is nachos.

How weird is that? But, that’s my weird colon!

Furthermore, if you aren’t aware, November 6th was National Nachos Day. This day recognizes my beloved food choice. Even better, this day acknowledges it during my favorite fall activity. How convenient! Salty, cheesy, and crunchy tortillas... Does it get any better?

So look out! College football, here I come! All that I ask is please get those chips and cheese fully warmed. This football fool is ready to dip while she cheers on another football team without fear of gastrointestinal retaliation.