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Bowel Disease
By administrator | October 29, 2007
What is Bowel Disease?
Due to poor diets and lifestyles prevalent in today’s’ society, more and more people are suffering from colitis, diverticulosis and even Crohn’s disease. Colitis and Crohn’s disease are much the same, in as much as they are characterized by a chronic and long lasting ulceration of a section or sections of the digestive tract. The ulceration extends through all layers of the intestinal wall and involves the entire digestive system, from the mouth to the anus, as well as the adjacent lymph nodes. Proper Digestion, Absorption, and Assimilation…
6 Critical facts:
- Researchers now believe that 90% of ALL DISORDERS and DISEASES begin in the digestive tract due in large to improper digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients. In short, proper digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrition equals = Optimum Prevention.
- Every cell, tissue, bone, gland, and organ of the body needs to be fueled and nourished by nutrients. Without proper assimilation of nutrients, all components of the body will deteriorate prematurely and potentially become diseased.
- Disorders and diseases of the digestive tract must not be left untreated. Proper digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients must be assured in order to recover from present disease in the digestive tract, or anywhere throughout the body.
- It is common knowledge among many researchers that the body’s natural defense mechanism against disease (the immune system) is highly dependent upon the absorption of nutrition to fuel it’s function. Without proper absorption of essential nutrients, the immune system is unable to ward off potential disease or to effectively battle against existing conditions. Therefore, the body’s ability to fight disease, or to recover from disease without significant essential nutrients is for the most part, impossible. Nutrients are a “Vital Key” and the body must be in a position to absorb them.
- 99% of all pharmaceutical drugs do not heal or cure, they merely “hide” or “mask” symptoms WHICH LEAVES THE CAUSATIVE FACTORS INTACT.
- If you have a health problem, most likely you are acidic. Research shows that unless the body’s pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself. So, no matter what type of modality you choose to use to take care of your health problem, it won’t be effective until the pH level is up. If your body’s pH is not balanced, you cannot effectively assimilate vitamins, minerals and food supplements.
How do I know I have bowel disease?
In Crohn’s disease the inflamed parts heal, leaving scar tissue that compromises the passageway. With colitis, the lining develops ulcers, causing bloody diarrhea, pain, gas, bloating, and sometimes hard stools. The colon muscle then has to work harder to move these hardened stools along. This can then cause the mucous lining of the colon to bulge out into small pouch-like projections called diverticula. This typically occurs further down in the sigmoid colon, although it can occur in any part. Enteritis and iletis are inflammations of the small intestine often associated with colitis.
Symptoms of Crohn’s disease include chronic diarrhea, pain in the upper and lower abdomen, fever, Malabsorption (and consequently malnutrition), and loss of energy, appetite and weight. Chronic bleeding may cause anemia, as iron is lost. If the ulcerated intestinal wall leaks, peritonitis can result. Mouth and anal sores may be present when the disease is active. Often eating becomes difficult due to the pain of diarrhea, nausea, headaches and vomiting. It can often be misdiagnosed as appendicitis because the pain it causes is centered in the same location.
Ulcerative colitis can range from relatively mild to severe. Common complaints are diarrhea and bleeding. It can also lead to a rare complication known as toxic megacolon, in which the intestinal wall weakens and balloons out, threatening to rupture and once again cause peritonitis.
Diverticulosis is a condition in which the mucous membranes lining the colon become inflamed, resulting in the formation of small, pouch like areas called diverticula in the large intestine. Once they develop, they do not go away. The diverticula themselves cause no symptoms, but if waste matter becomes trapped in them, they can become infected or inflamed, causing fever, chills and pain as toxins are dumped into the bloodstream.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is commonly characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel function, such as constipation, diarrhea, or alternating between the two. I.B.S. is normally a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that if a practioner cannot determine a cause for the symptoms (i.e. Chrohn’s or colitis), a diagnosis of I.B.S. is likely to be made. However, other conditions should be ruled out before a diagnosis of I.B.S. is made. These include; parasites, canadida, infectious diarrhea and lactose intolerence.
How do I get it?
I commonly treat cases of I.B.S. in my clinic and every so often I come across cases of Crohn’s disease. Doctors will tell you they don’t know the cause of either condition, but that is likely because they don’t study nutrition!Generally speaking, there is no “one” causative factor, although the leading factors are poor eating habits, the use of antibiotics, stress and food allergies that are allowed to continue without treatment. Antibiotics alter the normal bowel flora and permit microorganisms that are normally held in check to proliferate. Because there are so few nerve endings in the colon itself, disease states can progress to quite an extent before they are felt.
The onset of Crohn’s disease typically occurs between the ages of 14 and 30, although more and more cases are being reported in children. Once again the reason being the overuse of antibiotics and junk food diets. Attacks may occur every few months to every few years. In some luckier individuals, it appears once or twice and does not return. If it is allowed to continue for many years, bowel function deteriorates. Left untreated, it can become very serious, even life threatening, and can lead to bowel cancer.Other forms of I.B.S. develop mainly from lifestyle choices, & can be quickly corrected once the causative factor is eliminated. In most cases, simply changing one’s diet is enough. More fibre; more essential fatty acids; & more water will do more good more often…Diverticula typically form from low fiber diets and a lack of sufficient water. Without fiber and water to soften and add bulk, stools are harder to pass. Greater pressure is then required to move small portions of hard, dry stool through the bowel. This rise in pressure weakens the bowel wall, causing pouches to form.
How do I deal with it?
Dealing with any of these conditions requires a change of diet, drinking more water on a daily basis, to stop using broad-spectrum antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary and to cleanse the large intestine through colonic irrigation. I have often read from so-called experts that one should avoid colonic hydrotherapy when the have Crohn’s disease, but my experience has taught me that colonics are often the single best tool for dealing with this condition. Colonics will not only clean the colon, but also help to restore some elasticity, which enables healing.
When you must use antibiotics, it is imperative to take the time to repopulate the friendly bacteria in the colon that are killed by the antibiotics. This is done with acidophilus or probiotics.
A cleansing program is also highly beneficial, because without it symptoms will likely worsen. Consider a combination of fasting and colonics, as that is the fastest way to heal the colon and digestive tract. Supplementing nutrients to treat the inflammation are also advised.
I recommend:
- Proteolytic enzymes
- free form amino acids
- 400 IU vitamin E
- 200 mcg selenium
- vitamin B complex
- essential fatty acids like Omega 3, flax oil, primrose oil, or hemp oil
- L-glutamine
- a multimineral complex containing calcium, chromium, magnesium and zinc
- protein powder (whey isolate, or soy isolate)
- ground flax seed
- probiotics (4-10 billion)
Dietary recommendations:
- Eat a diet consisting mainly of nonacidic fresh or cooked vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, kale, spinach and turnips. Steam, broil, boil, or bake your food.
- Drink plenty of liquids such as water, herbal teas and fresh fruit and vegetable juices.
- Use a fiber supplement daily to keep the bowels moving. (25 – 40 grms. daily) Ground psyllium or flax seeds are both beneficial. Add to a large glass of water or pineapple juice and drink on an empty stomach.
- Niacin or cayenne increases blood flow to the colon, enhancing healing-Keep a daily record of what you eat and what symptoms you experience. This way you can see which foods aggravate or improve your condition.
- Eat a low-carbohydrate, high-vegetable protein diet. Include alfalfa tablets in your diet before meals. Baked or broiled fish, chicken and turkey (skinless) are acceptable sources of protein (except for Crohn’s).
- Include garlic for its healing and antibiotic properties.
- Do not eat fruit on an empty stomach. Eat it at the end of a meal instead.
Avoid:
- Regarding Crohn’s, eliminate all dairy foods, fish, hard sausage, pickled cabbage and yeast products from your diet, and see if symptoms improve. These foods are high in histamine. Many people with Crohn’s are histamine-intolerant. Milk and other dairy products also contain carrageenan, a compound extracted from red seaweed. Carrageenan is used in the food industry for its ability to stabilize milk proteins and has been proven to induce ulcerative colitis in laboratory animals.
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, chocolate, corn, eggs, foods with artificial additives or preservatives, fried and greasy foods, margarine, meat, pepper, spicy foods, tobacco, white flour and all animal products, with the exception of white fish. These foods are irritating to the digestive tract. Mucus-forming foods such as processed refined foods and dairy products should be avoided. Limit your intake of barley, rye and wheat.
- Avoid refined carbohydrates. Do not consume dry cereals or anything containing any form of sugar. These foods MUST be eliminated.
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