Below is an excerpt from an interesting article I have just been reading on intestinal bacteria, I’ve posted the bit which discusses Colitis but you can read the whole article here

Many researchers are focusing on inflammatory bowel disorders to understand how the balance between the intestinal microbes and their human hosts becomes deranged. Incidence of these diseases has sharply increased since about the mid-20th century, just about the time the industrialized world started eating highly processed foods and antibiotics came into widespread use. For example, in bowel disorders such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, excessive inflammation leads to severe pain, diarrhea and vulnerability to opportunistic germs. Standard treatments include powerful steroids like prednisone, surgical removal of the colon and heavy treatment with antibiotics.

But a more ecological approach is beginning to offer hope. P. aeruginosa and C. difficile are common residents of human bodies and under normal circumstances are benign. So what turns them into enemies? Most of the time, says John Alverdy, an intestinal and critical-care surgeon at the University of Chicago, bacteria “have to have a reason to hurt you.” Surgery is just such a reason. A surgical patient’s normal metabolism is altered; usually nutrients are provided intravenously instead of through the digestive system, so in a patient being fed by an IV drip, the gut bacteria perceive their sustenance disappearing. A decline in available nutrients alarms them. And surgery triggers the release of stress compounds that bacteria also sense, Alverdy says. Chemotherapy and radiation have similar effects. When threatened, bacteria become defensive, often producing toxins that make the host even sicker. They also tend to speed up their acquisition of and purging of genes when under external selection pressure, of which antibiotics are an obvious and powerful example.

Alverdy is finding success in treating patients with a strategy he calls “ecologic neutrality.” In research reported in the August 2008 Surgery, he was able to prevent P. aeruginosa from turning virulent in surgically stressed mice by dosing them with polyethylene glycol, which supplies the bacteria with phosphate, one of their primary needs. “Once they sense there’s plenty of phosphate,” he says, “they figure everybody must be happy here.” The treated mice in his experiments, unlike the controls, did not contract fatal infections.

Some researchers are even exploring the idea of stool transplants — that is, introducing a healthy person’s gut bacteria into a sick person’s intestines via the donor’s feces. Although there are not many peer-reviewed studies of this rather disturbing concept, a review in the July 2004 Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology by Australian researcher Thomas Borody found that in a large majority of the cases reported in the medical literature, fecal transplants resulted in almost immediate and long-lasting relief for people suffering from inflammatory bowel conditions and for those with chronic antibiotic-induced diarrhea. (There’s definitely a market for fecal transplants. When one scientist mentioned the success of the procedure in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he was inundated with calls from desperate patients begging for the treatment, even though he does not practice the therapy.)

If new therapies based on human microbial ecology just lessened antibiotic resistance and relieved the suffering of people with intestinal disorders, they would constitute miraculous advances. But the intensifying focus on the role of bacteria in human health is turning up other possible avenues for improving health.

This is an excerpt from an article posted on Miller-McCune.com by Valerie Brown

Kefir a cultured milk drink that provides beneficial bacteria and yeast, vitamins, minerals and complete proteins.You can make your own at home very easily. I make mine with goats milk and it is one of my favorite things that I take to help my Ulcerative colitis symptoms. I have found over time that it does several things which benefit me.

Firstly it is an excellent source of billions of probiotics – that is healthy microflora that help to clear out any bad bugs in my guts. Probiotics can be expensive to buy in large quantities but Kefir in contrast is very easy to make at home, costs virtually nothing and contains loads of live probiotics in a form that make it to my colon where they can help me.
These are fresh vibrant probiotic microorganisms which act to help stop any diarrhea very effectively. They are like a miracle solid poo maker!  As well as reducing flatulence which can be painful.

Secondly Kefir is a very nutritious food source, as well as being loaded with digestive enzymes. Even in a flare up you could ingest Kefir and because it is a liquid its not going to cause you any pain, and it will provide a good source of amino acids. It is also packed with B vitamins and minerals. There is also fat in it from the milk which is a good source of fuel. I generally have one glass of Kefir for breakfast each day with some fresh blueberries and it really sets me up for the day and is an integral part of my Ulcerative Colitis Diet.

Thirdly it has so many other reported health benefits. It is apparently antibiotic and anti-fungal, contains loads of good proteins to build you up, contains tryptophan to help improve mood, helps to regulate blood pressure, and has also been shown to prevent colon cancer in mice, as well as reducing tumor growth where cancer is present, I could carry on but there are just too many reported health benefits to Kefir to mention here.

Kefir is made using Kefir grains (photo above) and milk, I use goats milk because normal cows milk has been shown to be a bad idea for colitis,(although Kefir still transforms it) whereas goats milk is more easily digested. All you need to do is to take your kefir grains( about a dessert spoon full)  put them in a jar of about 300ml size, fill with goats milk and leave for 24 hours at room temperature. After 24 hours you should have a jar of milk which has partly separated in to curds and whey, if there is no separation it needs more time. You do not want lightly fermented Kefir for colitis, you need it well fermented so the Kefir will have eaten up all of the lactose in the milk, and produced lots of probiotics. Next sieve the kefir liquid from the grains and put the grains in another jar with some fresh milk. Its as easy as that. I then like to refrigerate my finished jar of Kefir as I think it tastes better that way.

There is an excellent site on the web called Dom’s Kefir site which is well worth checking out if you want to find out more detail about Kefir – http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html and you can also buy good quality Kefir Grains from Dom.

I just found this by accident while going online to buy some VSL-3, it’s a Prebiotic called Bimuno

which I hadn’t heard of before. Prebiotics are a way of increasing good bacteria in the gut, rather than introducing actual live probiotic cultures in to the diet, by feeding and energising the existing ‘good’ bacteria already present in the gastro-intestinal tract, they grow and colonize at a much faster rate than the ‘bad’ bacteria. This allows the ‘bad’ bacteria to be flushed from the digestive system for a much healthier bacterial balance. There are foods in our diet which have this effect like bananas and asparagus. Apparently this prebiotic product called Bimuno is better than common prebiotic foods because it was designed to be the preferred food of your good immune boosting bifidobacteria. It was developed at the University of Reading by experts in prebiotics.

A paper was Published in June 2008 by the Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo outlining the benefits of maintaining healthy levels of specific good gut bacteria. In a healthy gut, Bifidobactrium is the most predominant good gut bacteria and known for its immune regulating properties. Bifidobacterium is fuelled by prebiotics found in many fruit, vegetables and the prebiotic Bimuno which selectively targets Bifidobacterium.

The study aimed to determine the anti-inflammatory activity of Bifidobacteria against the painful inflammatory symptoms experienced by Ulcerative Colitis sufferers. The results showed Bifidobacterium enhanced the production of Interleukin-10, an essential immunoregulator in the intestinal tract, and inhibited secretion of Interleukin-8, an inflammatory component of the immune response. This suggests that Bifidobacterium specifically produces anti-inflammatory effects against Ulcerative Colitis, relieving suffers of some of the awful pain and suffering experienced from this condition.

In another study Research at the University School of Medicine in Tokai has discovered that Bifidobacteria, the most predominant good gut bacteria found in a healthy digestive system can potentially suppress the harmful bacteria responsible for IBD. Bacteroides, a commensal gut bacteria is thought to be responsible for IBD development.

The study examined the effect of healthy growth of Bifidobacteria against the levels of Bacteroides in mice and discovered Bifidobacteria highly inhibited the growth of the pathogenic bacteria. It also significantly suppressed systemic antibody responses and increased the number of Peyers Patches, the guts own immune protection. The results suggest Bifidobacteria, enhanced by prebiotics, found naturally in vegetables and the prebiotic Bimuno, protected the gut epithelial layer from Bacteroid invasion, suppressing an anti-body response potentially responsible for the inflammatory symptoms of IBD.

It looks like an interesting product which might be helpful for us Colitis sufferers, interestingly the clinically proven health benefits of Bimuno include:

• increase in bifidobacteria (good bacteria) levels
• reduction in harmful bacteria levels
• provision of an important immune regulation function by energising immunity boosting bacteria

In addition, prebiotics have been shown to:

• increase mineral absorption (for example calcium)
• help prevent occasional diarrhoea
• help provide relief of occassional constipation, particularly in the elderly
• increase bioavailability of minerals (for example calcium and magnesium)

The people who make this stuff are giving away a free trial pack on their website which is http://www.bimuno.com so I’ve sent off for a free pack to try it out. It seems like it may be a good addition to my Ulcerative Colitis Diet. I’ll post again on how I find it.

Here is what I do if I have an Ulcerative Colitis Flare Up –

1. Take Probiotics in particular VSL-3 which is specifically formulated for Ulcerative Colitis, and in one medical study at The University of Alberta UC patients were given 8 sachets a day for 6 weeks and this produced remission in 77% of them. Also get some Kefir Grains and make your own Kefir with Goats Milk, which is easy to do and provides you with a nourishing drink which is packed with probiotics. Another good Probiotic supplement for Colitis Primal Defense Ultra it’s cheaper than VSL-3
2. Drink Bentonite Clay it is a  clay based mineral drink which is a highly effective natural remedy for Ulcerative Colitis. It has been studied at the Medical University if Vienna and was found to be effective in the treatment of Ulcerative Colitis. It fights inflammation of the intestinal wall and reduces diarrhoea.
3. Diet, No Sugar or Alcohol at all, Best to avoid fruit too with the possible exception of the odd banana. Chicken Stock Soup is soothing and nutritious in a flare up recipe here. Avoid all grains, beans and potatoes, with the exception of rice. Eat Chicken and Fish but when you cook them only steam or boil, absolutely no frying. Vegetables are ok if well cooked , again steam them well, but avoid the really fibrous root ones like swede, and also tomatoes and peppers. Avoid all dairy products,I find they make any bleeding worse – except Kefir and home made probiotic yogurt. Don’t overeat, have lots of small meals little and often is best.
4. Take these Herbs – Boswellia, Turmeric and Ashwaganda, all are very effective anti inflammatories, in one study Ashwaganda was shown to be a stronger anti inflammatory that steroids.
5. Elemental Drinks – These are a form of feeding which is completely absorbed in the small intestine, and therefore give the colon a rest whilst still providing nourishment. They have been used in medical studies to induce remission in UC as successfully as steroids. I have had Elemental 028 from my Doctor and they really help in the midst of a Flare Up. You can also get Absorb Plus on the Web.
6. Omega 3 Fish Oils are another excellent anti inflammatory, take 4g of them a day.

Once things settle down, continue with Probiotics, Omega3, and Boswellia & Turmeric. Reintroduce more foods but follow a paleolithic diet for autoimmunity. It is also worth having a Igg antibody test for food in-tolerances done in case there is any food which is triggering your Colitis.

Did you know there are more bacteria in your intestinal tract that there are cells in your body?

Benefits of Probiotics -

• They reduce diarrhea
• They are anti-inflammatory
• They Manufacture B complex vitamins
• They help regulate bowel movements
• They create lactic acid that balances intestinal pH levels

There are many other benefits from Probiotic’s but these are the main ones we are concerned with in Colitis. Probiotics really work by reducing your diarrhea and lowering inflammation levels in the bowel. When I first took the right type of Probiotics in the right quantity I was amazed at the results, they really improved my stool consistency back to normal in a matter of days.

This is the first Probiotic I tried and I was surprised at how well it worked -
Primal Defense Ultra Probiotics For Colitis

One of the first alternative ideas I tried out when I got out of hospital apart from improving my Diet was Probiotics, there have been some proper clinical studies done in to how these can help ease Colitis Symptoms and  induce remission, the research is really very exciting. There was one study I read about that used just probiotics ulcerative colitis treatment – very strong ones and lots of them to induce remission in patients with a flare up and they worked ! There is also a study in which one brand of probiotic was used to maintain remission and worked as well as the drug Mesalazine. There’s lots of different types of probiotic such as Acidophillus and Bifidobacteria, and there are loads of different products out there, so its difficult to choose which one to use. I found out the brand which was used in several clinical trials with good results – because that seemed to be the best – and ordered some. Well the results were brilliant, I was on the mend from my big flare up of Ulcerative Colitis(Colitus) but I was still pooing 3-4 times a day and things were still pretty loose. Within 2 days of starting the probiotics my stools were suddenly well formed – like normal poo and the frequency went down to 1-2 times a day ! Wow – I was amazed and very pleased to have found something that wasn’t a drug that was helping to make my Colitis go away. In fact my only other flare up since happened at a time just after I stopped taking probiotics. Probiotics work to rebuild the good bacteria in your guts, which in Colitis are often struggling against the bad bacteria. They also have an anti-inflammatory effect which is really good because after all Colitis is literally inflammation of the colon. Another benefit is that Probiotics help to heal a leaky gut which could be one of the causes behind Ulcerative Colitis. I just can’t understand why these Probiotics aren’t being prescribed by Doctors because they really Do WORK ! The best Probiotic for Ulcerative Colitis sufferers and the one I still use today is called VSL-3, it has over 450 billion bacteria per dose and has the following strains of probiotic in it – Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp Bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacteria breve, Bifidobacteria longum, Bifidobacteria infantis. It really is the best one avaliable and has been tested several times in proper clinical trials and has proved to be very effective. I take a sachet every day and I can’t recommend it highly enough, find out more about VSL-3 click here and then click the probiotics link on the left had side. If you want to read more there is also an excellent book on Probiotics and Ulcerative Colitis here.