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INFLAMMATION: Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC)
Crohn’s and colitis are the two main type of IBD (Irritable Bowel disease).
Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition that causes inflammation and ulcers in the intestine. The most common symptoms are cramping, belly pain, diarrhea, fever, and weight loss.
Some people have severe flare-ups with crippling pain. Treatment options include antibiotics, steroids, and other medicines (such as immunosuppressors). Eventually, surgery may be needed to remove diseased areas of the intestine.
Crohn’s disease isn’t well understood, because its unknown what triggers the immune system to mistakenly attack the intestine. The immune system’s response causes inflammation, leading to symptoms of Crohn’s disease.
Previous studies suggest that certain gut microbes may play a role in the disease. Other potential factors include a family history of Crohn’s disease and a diet high in fat.
Along with medicines your doctors prescribe, you may want to add complimentary treatments to help with Crohn’s symptoms. There are many therapies out there from herbal remedies to mindfulness practices (meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong). But before you do, be sure to tell your doctor about anything you want to try so they can let you know if it’d be safe or not.
To treat Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, naturopathic doctors address the whole person, including mind, body, emotions, genetics, environmental exposures, and socio-economic factors.
(Sound familiar? I explained this in the Cycle of Illness Part 2)
There is no one definitive test for Crohn’s disease due to its complexities. Here are some tests that can help determine if you have Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis.
Diagnosis usually involves endoscopic or imaging tests
Colonoscopies
Testing for Gut Bacteria
Testing Markers of Inflammation like C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and fecal calprotectin. (Fecal calprotein is an inflammatory substance produced by the white blood cell – neutrophils. Measuring calprotein is helpful in establishing if there is inflammation in the the lower intestinal tract.)
Immune Markers
Food sensitivities
Celiac antibodies
Folic acid deficiency
Possibly CT, CTE, MRI, and MRE testing.
Once a patient has been diagnosed with Crohns, ulcerative colitis, or other IBDs, a doctor will create a tailored treatment plan based on each patients individual presenting symptoms in context with the patients overall health and lifestyle. While there are no well-documented cures (yet) the goal is to help prevent flare-ups, achieve and maintain remission, and heal much of the underlying inflammation as possible.
Ways to Get your Crohn’s / Ulcerative colitis under control:
Elimination Diet (or other approaches to reducing food triggers)
Artificial Sweeteners
High Fat Foods
High Fiber Foods
Caffeine
Dairy Products
Alcohol
Curcumin (turmeric) to help reduce inflammation.
However!! There are contradictions to using this. For example, turmeric should be avoided by those who readily form calcium oxalate kidney stones.
Probiotics to modulate the immune system and prevent flareups
Stress Reduction via exercise like yoga (best), Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Meditation
Wormwood Capsules (artemisia absinthium)
Bone Broth. (collagen to heal the gut)
Quit Smoking (raises your homocysteine levels causing inflammation)
Consistent Sleep Pattern (8-9 hrs a night at the same time., preferably starting 2-3 hours before midnight to optimize your methylation cycles, and help the immune system. Sleep is very beneficial to the immune system)
Because they are lifelong conditions, Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis must be carefully monitored an managed, with possibly more aggressive interventions necessary during flare ups.
Persistent inflammation of the intestines brings different complications for different folks. Other complication are indirect, such as nutritional deficiencies, and effects on the other organs that you may suffer because of disturbances in the process of digestion and absorption.
The book Crohn’s and Colitis for Dummies does a good job explaining these.
Research shows that a naturopathic medical approach emphasizing diet and other lifestyle changes can be used in successfully managing these conditions.
Naturopathic therapies may eliminate the need for prescription drugs (like anti-inflammatory meds, immune suppressors, and antibiotics or surgery – which have the potential to cause more side effects and long term problems in the future. So you'll want to heal as naturally as possible for the long term.
For those suffering with Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis can get a wealth of knowledge and managing tips from various websites such as :
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/listing/
This website has a host of information and has lists of foods that can help you to determine what foods are safe or illegal for the condition. As always, use discernment as not all (tpatients have the same food intolerance's.
The best 2 books I found in helping those with the conditions is:
Just a note: Breaking the Vicious Cycle is also online and the online platform is a much easier read for those who want quick answers. The book is good, but can be difficult later on when using for quick references.
Microbes and Crohn’s:
Experts think microbes may be important in the immune response because certain bacteria, such as Ruminococcus gnavus, are found in higher proportions in people with the disease than without.
R. gnavus can become the most common species of bacteria in the gut when the disease flares up. Plus, R. gnavus lives in the mucus layer of the intestine, where the immune system may be more likely to react to it.
To investigate the role of R. gnavus in Crohn’s disease, a team of scientists led by Drs. Jon Clardy and Matthew Henke of Harvard Medical School tested whether the microbe could trigger an immune reaction.
The work was funded in part by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Results were published on June 10, 2019, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers grew R. gnavus (a bacteria) in a special broth and tested the mixture of molecules that the bacteria made for activity. To do this, they used mouse immune cells known as dendritic cells. The team found that the mixture could stimulate dendritic cells to produce an inflammatory molecule called TNF-alpha.
The team then isolated and purified the molecule responsible for this immune cell activation. The molecule is a type of glucorhamnan, a polysaccharide (large sugar molecule) made up of the sugars glucose and rhamnose. The more glucorhamnan that mouse dendritic cells were given, the more TNF-alpha the cells made.
Experiments using dendritic cells from genetically modified mice showed that the glucorhamnan worked via a protein called toll-like receptor 4, or TLR4.
The team was also able to pinpoint the gene cluster most likely responsible for making the glucorhamnan.
Together, these findings suggest that Crohn’s disease may be triggered by a glucorhamnan made by the gut microbe R. gnavus, which then stimulates dendritic cells to make TNF-alpha.
More research is needed to confirm that this glucorhamnan is found in bacteria from people with Crohn’s disease.
In conclusion:
More research is needed in this area of medicine. But its important to note that in the area of Gut health, many of these remedies are interchangeable between the different gut conditions because it all focuses on healing the gut and balancing the microbiome.
Those are the 2 most important things you can do for yourself to help you heal. Its also important to understand that complimentary or alternative therapies wont cure your what’s going on in your IBD.
Only the right nutrition for your body can completely heal or reverse your symptoms.
For more information: Please my paper on Leaky Gut, Gluten Intolerance, and Celiac Disease.
Inflammation and Leaky Gut
For more information on how you can heal your leaky gut from start to finish, please see my video on 'Cycle of Illness: Histamine" where we go into detail on how to heal the gut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT2UDxrLrzI&t=29s
Love and Light,
Happy Healing
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