Crohns Disease

Hi Doc. Thoughts on treating Crohns? I ask for a friend whose had it from a young age. Already aware of gluten free and Autoimmune diet. Thanks for all you do

Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis are both inflammatory bowel diseases and can be treated in similar ways. It has been my contention for years that part of the problem is an overgrowth of bad bacteria which displace the normal flora or bacteria that we so desperately need for good health. This dysbiosis ( the bacterial overgrowth) causes the release of harmful byproducts which contribute to the inflammation in the gut, damaging the lining of the gut. Once the lining of the intestines is damaged it causes leaky gut syndrome. The leaky gut allows large partially or undigested food particles to enter the circulation, triggering an autoimmune reaction where the body attacks itself because it does not recognize “self” from foreign.

Now that is all well and good, but how do we fix the problem. First of all you need to start taking a very strong probiotic. This will resupply your intestines with beneficial bacteria that will do battle with the pathogenic or disease causing bacteria and take over your gut once again. Now , they come in various strengths with VSL #3 being by far the strongest on the market. I use the DS or double strength which is by prescription. The regular (non DS) VSL is over the counter.You need to take this twice daily with food. The reason you need to take it with food is because you need something for the bacteria to eat to thrive. The probiotic bacteria needs this food or prebiotic so it has something to ferment for its food. This fermentation produces beneficial by products which inhibit the growth of bad bacteria as well as helping make the intestine a welcoming place for the good bacteria or probiotics. Good prebiotic foods are fruits and vegetables , yogurt etc.. In other words natural non processed non man made foods that your body recognizes as food and is able to assimilate properly.

Another even more potent way to quickly and effectively colonize your gut is thru a fecal transplant. I go into this in detail in my book The Doomsday Book of Medicine. Fecal transplants have been used by the Mayo Clinic to treat C. diff infections that were resistant to all antibiotics and were becoming life threatening for those patients. Using fecal transplants they had an incredible 100 percent success rate! It is also being used for Crohn’s and Ulcerative colitis patients with great success for the same reasons as I outlined above.

Diet plays a critical role and I would certainly go organic to reduce the toxin load associated with foods grown in fields saturated with pesticides, herbidices and fungicides, as well as chemical fertilizers. Eat a diet that is primarily plant based , ie loaded with vegetables and fruits as well as fermented foods which are outstanding for good health.

You can also put out that fire in your gut by drinking aloe vera juice which is an effective prebiotic. I would also make sure my body was provided with all the essential amino acids and fatty acids that it requires for good health and supplement it with omega 3 fatty acids such as fish oils . Make sure you get the best fish oil supplements you can afford to avoid mercury exposure. Supplementing with glutamine will also help the enterocytes or intestinal cells , which use this as their fuel instead of glucose.

The final thing I would do is make sure you have a good mineral and trace element supplement that contains fulvic acid such as Supreme Fulvic. Fulvic acid helps your body in many ways but most importantly it facilitates the entry of nutrients into our cells and contains all the minerals and trace elements your body needs as well as many amino acids. Another way to do this is to use Quinton’s Marine Plasma which also is a natural way to supply your body with all the minerals and trace elements that are found in sea water as well as many other nutrients , it is collected from pristine ocean waters where plankton are forming huge vortexes that collect nutrients from the ocean floor that all sea creatures from microscopic to whales come to feed on.

I hope this helps you , please give it a month or two and then let me know how you did. I am confident if you do what I described above you and your gut will be pleasantly surprised.

 
This disclaimer provides that such medical information is merely information – not advice. If users need medical advice, they should consult a doctor or other appropriate medical professional.