Episode 28: Rachel Epplin-Rincker, Part 2 – Nutrition, fitness, medications, and advocacy

In part 2 of my interview with Rachel Epplin-Rincker, she continues to share her journey with Crohn’s Disease and how important both nutrition and physical activity were, in addition to Remicade, to helping her achieve the best health of her life.

We pick up right where we left off on the last episode and Rachel gets right in to talking about how her diet has evolved over the years and what she eats when she’s experiencing a mild flare vs. when she doesn’t have any Crohn’s symptoms. She even talks about how she was able to retrain her gut–a process that took a few years–to be able to eat many of the foods she enjoys but was not able to tolerate at first with her IBD.

She focuses on food quality and moderation more than restricting any certain types of foods and is now able to give her body the nutrients it needs to thrive. The energy she gets from eating healthy definitely fuels her activity. A runner since the age of 5, she still enjoys mixing running in with her strength training workouts. She talks about her decision to slowly build a home gym that gave her peace of mind when working out with Crohn’s and also eliminated the need for going in to a public gym with a compromised immune system. While her workouts are intense and consistent, she has also learned over the years to listen to what her body needs, whether during times of flares or sickness or when she was pregnant and required rest.

Finally, she talks about what it’s been like to be an active part of the IBD community after spending so many years undiagnosed and not having such a far-reaching support system. She talks about the importance of raising awareness for Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis and urges patients who have access to a Gastroenterologist who specializes in IBD to seek one out.

Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelfitmom