Colitiscope: Living with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Now this is a weird one but it looks rather promising -

not just for Colitis but for all autoimmune diseases,

It involves ingesting a friendly parasite called a Helminthic worm !

How weird is that? Check out this video and see what you think.

While no one single cause of Ulcerative Colitis in currently known ideas are emerging as to number of different factors which together seem to lead to inflammation of the colon i.e. Colitis.

They are -

A genetically inherited predisposition towards inflammation in the body.
A Leaky Gut, caused by increased intestinal permeability.
Bacterial Dysbiosis, where the friendly bacteria in the gut become outnumbered by bad bacteria.
Possible food allergies or intolerances to specific foods.
Eating too many foods which increase inflammation and not enough foods that reduce inflammation.

So even though we don’t have one overall cause, it is interesting to see from this list that there are things we can do to help ourselves, such as – Eating an anti inflammatory diet, taking Probiotics to reverse Dysbiosis, Taking steps to heal a leaky gut and finding out if we have any food allergies/sensitivities.

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.

Nutrition can be useful in the treatment of Ulcerative Colitis in many ways –

• Colitis Sufferers require excellent nutrition to strengthen themselves after a Colitis episode, the right kind of diet which is nutritious and helps reduce inflammation is very useful. Many people find eating a Paleo type diet helpful.
• Vitamins are  very useful during recovery; a multi vitamin as well as Vitamins C E & D can be very helpful in treating Colitis. But take Vitamin C as Calcium Ascorbate not Ascorbic Acid as it may cause pain.
• Calcium – Following a Flare up which has been treated with Prednisolone it is a definately a  good idea to take calcium pills if you doctor is not already providing them. Calcium helps prevent osteoporosis which can be a side effect of steroids like Prednisolone. It also helps to reduce Diarrhea.
• Iron – If there has been bleeding during a flare up you may become anaemic and need to boost your Iron Levels. This is often done by an Iron Infusion as Iron pills can sometimes upset Colitis symptoms.
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids are an excellent supplement for staying in remission- they are anti inflammatory and Colitis is an Inflammatory Condition, so anything to reduce inflammation is a winner.
• Herbs – such as Boswellia and Turmeric  are very useful in reducing inflammation in the body as a whole.
• Probiotics – Either as supplements or in the form of Kefir made with Goats Milk. Probiotics are excellent at improving the good bacteria in the Gut and reducing inflammation.

Frequent Bowel Movements

One of the biggest symptoms of colitis and also probably the worst, are the frequent bowel movements. At one point I remember having over 25 a day which when I look back on it is a staggering amount of times to shit in a day! The other thing is that they often happen more at night than in the day, or at least this was the case for me, which just leaves you even more exhausted than you were already from all the frequent bowel movements. When your food is moving though you that fast you start to lose a lot of weight quickly, and you really need to get to a doctor, because although Colitis symptoms can be controlled naturally, if it gets really out of control it can be life threatening in extreme cases if a toxic megacolon develops. If things are bad it’s best to go see the doc and get some steroids if needed just to get back to normal again as quickly as possible.

Colitis means Inflammation of the Colon. The cause is not really known but it is thought to be an autoimmune disease. It causes inflammation of the lining of the colon. When the inflammation becomes bad or continues for a long period of time you get really frequent bowel movements- can be 20 times a day, and painful cramping. The cells that make up the lining of the colon can die and ulcers can then form in the colon which causes bleeding which you then discover as blood in your stools or when you wipe. Generally Ulcerative Colitis can be kept under control and there will be no obvious symptoms, but people tend to have regular ‘Flare Ups’ where the symptoms suddenly return. Other symptoms of colitis are tiredness and weight loss which is caused by all the frequent bowel movements meaning you don’t absorb as much from your food. It can be extremely debilitating and when you are having a flare up you really need to rest. It can often be a difficult condition to discuss due to the nature of the symptoms, but support from family and friends is important especially when you are having a flare up. Colitis is a serious condition and if it gets really bad you may end up in Hospital, as I did once. The worst case scenario is surgical removal of the colon, but in most cases this should not be necessary. The best thing to do if you are diagnosed with colitis is to get things under control and then keep them that way through diet and probiotics.

Inflammation is the underlying cause of Colitis. Colitis literally means Inflammation of the Colon. The chances are that if you have Colitis inflammation you will also have other signs of inflammation in the body as a whole such as skin rashes and joint pains. What is going on is that your body’s immune system has got out of control and is working to hard – it’s forgotten when to take a break! And it starts attacking your body by mistake. The main place this is happening if you have Colitis is in your colon, but there may be signs of inflammation elsewhere in the body as well.

If you have colitis you need to work on reducing your inflammation levels which are measured by doctors through a blood test for C-Reactive Protein. There are several ways we can reduce our inflammation such as taking Omega 3 Fish Oils. If you’d like to know more sign up for my free report in the side bar on the right.

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

Anyone who has Ulcerative Colitis knows in spite of what the Doctors tell us that Diet has an effect on our symptoms. Eating certain types of foods can make symptoms worse and may even trigger a full blown flare up. I’ve done lots of reading about Ulcerative Colitis Diets, and have  tried many different forms of eating in order to cure my Ulcerative Colitis. The best type of diet I have found  for Colitis(Colitus) is to eat like a cave man, known as a Plaeolithic Diet. This involves eating the same way as our hunter gatherer ancestors did. We evolved and thrived as humans over millions of years being hunter gatherers, and it is only in the last 10,000 years that our diet has changed.

Benefits of a Paleolithic Diet for Ulcerative Colitis -

• It is how you are designed to eat, perfected over millions of years of evolution.

• It is highly nutritious and covers all major dietary components.

• A Paleo diet has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory diet.

• Autoimmune disease (Ulcerative Colitis) patients have shown much improvement in symptoms when they eat a Paleo diet.

• Your weight will naturally normalize to a healthy level for you.

• Insulin response is improved rapidly and so you don’t get energy dips and mood swings during the day.

• It makes you feel great! Mood is improved and Energy levels are more even.

So how do you eat like a Cave Man? Its remarkably easy to do in fact you still eat most of what you would normally with a few exceptions. So you can eat anything except – Refined Sugar, Dairy Products, Grains, Beans and Potatoes. When I eating a Paleo Diet it helped my symptoms a great deal, especially with things like abdominal cramps, bloating and bad flatulence. I was also please to see an improvement in what had been frequent bowel movements – down to once or twice a day with well formed stools. With Ulcerative Coltis it is also worth changing the diet slightly to also avoid tomatoes and peppers. There is an excellent book on this way of eating which has a good section in it about Ulcerative Colitis and diet which I found very helpful called The Protein Power Life Plan. Its a weird title but the book had good info in it.

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