Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Updated September 30, 2022
Gut Program
Inflammatory Bowel Disease includes Crohns Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and other autoimmune-related bowel dysfunctions (such as with some cases of vasculitis). It does not include non-inflammatory conditions which include Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) of all types or chronic diarrhea or constipation. By virtue of their autoimmune nature, they share immune dysfunction as a part of the root-causes-complex.
IBD’s can be mild with rare episodes, or aggressive, rapidly damaging the lower (and sometimes spreading to the upper) GastroIntestinal Tract (GIT). Older medications such as steroids (cortisone, prednisone) and others such as sulfasalazine can calm the situation down enough to enable time for the holistic approach to ramp up. Sometime the new immune-modulating drugs are necessary. Modalities such as Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) are being explored by mainstream medicine (such as at the U of Pittsburgh), as well as by the holistic community.
Incorporating strategies for sub-clinical yeast and parasitic infections, toxicities, biofilms, epigenetic modulation and total-body biome (ecology) can improve the rate and depth of healing.
Testing
Testing for IBD is not always yielding. Conventional medicine usually offers upper and lower endoscopy (colonoscopy), blood tests, and stool testing. Private labs offer more comprehensive gut testing such as ecological and chemical stool testing.Â
References
Ulcerative Colitis by Jonathan Wright
Microbial Metabolite Regulation of Epithelial Cell-Cell Interactions and Barrier Function.2022
Diet–Microbiota Interactions in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.2021
Natural Products as a Source of Anti-Inflammatory Agents Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Fargesin on Chemically Induced Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice.2018
Therapeutic Potential of Amino Acids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.2019
Selenium and Selenoproteins in Gut Inflammation—A Review.2018