Natural Healing for IBD, IBS and Crohn's .

Many people diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease have already tried

prescription drugs and often surgery to combat their illness. In most

cases, the medical treatments only work to suppress the symptoms for a

while. But since they don’t heal the underlying causes of Crohn’s, it is

nearly impossible to effect a cure using medical methods. Indeed, you’d

be hard pressed to find a single gastroenterologist willing to use the

word “cure” and “Crohn’s” in the same sentence!

Crohn’s Disease is usually caused by one or several of the following

factors combining synergistically to produce disease. If you go back

over your own personal health history, I think you’ll find a mix of the

following damaging events, that together have degraded the health of

your gut and immune system:

* Antibiotic Use – any antibiotic therapy that is not followed by

full-spectrum probiotic therapy causes lasting, pervasive damage to the

bacterial flora of your gastrointestinal tract (from mouth to anus),

which in turn leads to increased infestation of yeast, parasites,

viruses, bad bacteria and other pathogens. These pathogens degrade the

mucosal lining and damage the intestinal wall (symptoms include

bloating, gas, inflammation, bleeding, etc.) which leads to Leaky Gut

Syndrome, which then triggers allergic and auto-immune response. Certain

antibiotic drugs can cause ulcerative colitis all by themselves (like

Novo Clindamycin), and the pharmaceutical information that comes with

these products even explicitly warns of this. Yet medical doctors

continue to prescribe them and also don’t follow usage with probiotics.

* Environmental and Food-borne Toxins – processed foods with

preservatives, monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial sweeteners and

flavors, nitrites and other proven toxins and carcinogens, microwaved

foods, toxins contained in skin care products, shampoos, cosmetics,

furniture, carpets, and the air (to name a few sources) all cause

cellular and systemic damage.

* Vaccination – childhood, adult, flu vaccines, etc. Causes direct

damage to bacterial flora of the gut and long-term, immune system

damage. Many scientists feel that vaccination is one of the key factors

behind the massive increase in auto-immune diseases. See my article,

“Should I Vaccinate My Child?” for details and scientific references.

* Emotional Trauma or Abuse – don’t underestimate the damaging

effects of abusive or traumatic emotional experiences on the body, and

the gut in particular. For some of you, this may be damage from your

past that was never resolved/healed, and/or ongoing emotional patterns

or experiences that continue to degrade your health daily. Remember that

60% of your body’s neurotransmitters are in your gut, not your brain! An

excellent book on this topic is “When The Body Says No” by Gabor Mate,

MD.

* Parasites & Pathogenic Microorganisms – if your gut ecology is

already weakened or imbalanced, travel to a foreign country or ingestion

of tainted food/water can be the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’.

If your bacterial flora is already imbalanced with a deficit of

beneficial bacteria, then it’s very easy for parasites, yeast, molds,

bad bacteria, or fungus to flourish. These pathogens then degrade the

health of your intestinal mucosal lining, which can result in

ulceration, inflammation, bleeding and subsequent damage to your

systemic health.

Each of these causative factors – including lesser factors like whether

or not you were breastfed, your mother’s health while you were in utero,

hereditary/genetic weaknesses, heavy metal levels in your body, mercury

amalgam fillings in your teeth, pesticide exposure, etc. – will

contribute in varying degrees and combinations to your particular

pathology. Different people are susceptible to different factors and

something that strongly affects your friend adversely, may only mildly

affect you adversely. There is seldom just one factor (pathogen) in

isolation that causes Crohn’s Disease. However, I believe each of us is

capable of identifying our own particular pathology, or the causative

factors, of our own ill health and then taking the steps that will be

particularly healing to each of us.

Once you’ve identified the underlying root causes of your Crohn’s, you

can seek out potent natural remedies to heal each of those causative

factors. If infection is one of the initial causes of your Crohn’s, then

your medical doctor will likely already have put you on antibiotics to

wipe out the bad bacteria that are infecting your colon. However, unless

this was followed by therapeutic-grade probiotics, then your colon is

likely infected again, plus overrun with yeast (Candida albicans), which

flourishes following antibiotic usage.

So in this case, you would need a potent natural antibiotic like wild

oregano oil, followed by high dose, therapeutic-grade probiotics and a

low-sugar diet to prevent relapse. The next step of healing would

involve targeted supplements to repair the damage done to your mucosal

lining and intestinal wall – like L-glutamine, aloe vera, N-acetyl

glucosamine, deglycyrrhizinated licorice, slippery elm, marshmallow

root, etc. You will then need herbs to restore your endocrine (hormonal)

function and detoxify and strengthen your liver. Adrenal support herbs

are also usually required by people healing from Crohn’s – especially if

they have been on immune suppressants like Prednisone.

Lastly, you need to keep in mind that natural healing is not quick.

Since it is healing the actual cause(s) of your Crohn’s (which no doubt

took a long time to build up in your body), this healing and balancing

will take some time. This is because you are not just healing your overt

symptoms, you are also restoring internal, systemic health. In addition,

your body will simultaneously be cleansing and detoxing from pathogens,

drug residues, and other toxins, and this also takes time.

But if you truly want to ‘cure’ your Crohn’s – not just suppress the

symptoms, or experience short-term remissions – then natural, holistic

healing is the pathway to success. Yes. it takes time. This is why I

call it a “Healing Journey”, but it is so very worth it.

© 2008 Jini Patel Thompson
www.listen2yourgut.com

All Rights Reserved Worldwide. You may reprint this article as long as

it is reprinted in its entirety and this copyright notice and bio is

included.

Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert on natural

healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread

Crohn’s Disease and has remained drug and surgery-free for over 19

years. Jini has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows throughout the

U.S., giving people hope and vision for how they can heal their Colitis,

Crohn’s, Diverticulitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), using

entirely natural methods.

A former journalist, her health articles have been published in

magazines and journals in Canada, the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Her

books, CDs and DVDs are available at: www.listen2yourgut.com

To ask Jini a question, go to her Forum at: www.JiniPatelThompson.com