Every year, different news outlets run stories about the most popular New Year’s resolutions, and every year, the same two things top the list:

Lose weight, exercise more.

But for people living with a chronic illness such as colitis and other digestive disorders, these types of resolutions can often be off limits.

When you live with a chronic illness like IBS or Crohn’s, support from a friend can mean the world to you. But sometimes friends don’t always know the right things to say.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of five things not to say to people with IBS or Crohn’s disease (as well as some alternative approaches). It’s meant to be shared with friends, loved ones, and anyone touched by IBS or Crohn’s, for a better handle on approaching illness.

In my past two blog posts, I talked about my struggle with digestive issues, and detailed how finding the right health care practitioners and dietary supplements led to a complete turnaround in my health.

Since following the recommendations of my holistic doctor and my nutritionist, I am stomach pain-free, and almost just as important, worry-free!

Living with a digestive disorder can be difficult, in part because they are difficult to talk about.

“Patients are often reluctant to discuss most of what occurs in the bathroom,” says Dr. Barrett Levesque, who specializes in inflammatory bowel disease at Scripps Clinic in San Diego, California. “Although it’s a universal human experience, most people don’t want to discuss their bowel habits.”

But it’s important to get support for digestive disorders. For one thing, talking to a doctor about your digestive troubles can help them identify – or rule out – serious illnesses such as Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis or even colorectal cancer.

To eat fiber or not to eat fiber? That’s the question faced by people with digestive disorders.

On one hand, fiber is a key part of a daily diet. On the other hand, you may worry that foods with fiber can exacerbate the symptoms of digestive conditions such as IBS.

The truth is that eating fiber can help you with digestive troubles in different ways. It just depends on the type of fiber you consume. Let’s look at the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber.