7 Famous People with Ulcerative Colitis

Gregory Itzin is an American actor that is best known for his roles in the TV series 24 and The Mentalist. Off camera, he manages his ulcerative colitis with a healthy diet and medication. “Diet is one of the few things you can manipulate to hold ulcerative colitis in check. I like to eat meat and potatoes and I love the smell of bread. But white foods like bread and potatoes are things I shouldn’t have because they’re triggers for me. So, they’re no longer found on my plate,” he said. Today, Gregory is an advocate for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. “I’m not easily embarrassed. I know that no one wants to talk about your butt and things you do in the bathroom. But thankfully we’ve become a society where people can talk about their disease. So, they should. I find that if I mention it first, and don’t appear embarrassed or ashamed, since there’s no reason to be, people don’t push back. I try to educate them because they may know someone else with the disease and aren’t even aware of it,” he said. 

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