Ulcerative Colitis – many doctors say that diet doesn’t matter!?
For years now I have been treating Ulcerative Colitis with great success. Every client with this condition that I have seen that has followed my advice has improved, giving them the possibility of reducing and ultimately stopping their drug treatment, and being long-term symptom free. Some of these clients were so severely ill that they were hospitalised in the acute phase of their illness. This has profound significance for an illness like Ulcerative Colitis that is considered incurable from a conventional perspective.
Of course incurable diseases are very convenient for drug companies as they create customers for life.
But even more remarkable is the fact that I have never, ever, treated an Ulcerative Colitis sufferer who has been offered dietary advice by a doctor or nurse. No wonder they are considered incurable! The reason for this is simple; money has never been, and is never likely to be, spent on the kind of research into diet and Ulcerative Colitis that meets the demands of modern Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). Not because such research can’t be done, but because such research would cost many millions of pounds, and EBM is so tightly controlled by pharmaceutical and institutional interests that the money will never be forthcoming.
This is a tragedy because, for many of those that don’t manage to seek good alternative treatment, they are condemned to a lifetime of suffering.
The theory that I use in treating this debilitating condition focuses on dysbiosis; that it is caused by an imbalance of organisms in the gut. Dietary strategies focus on not feeding the pathogenic bacteria, yeasts and fungi that cause inflammation in the gut associated with illnesses like Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s disease and IBS. This is principally achieved through carbohydrate restriction, since carbohydrate, and especially refined sugar, allows these microbial nasties to proliferate at the expense of the symbiotic bacteria that enable our guts to function harmoniously.
I combine dietary changes with herbal medicine. In the acute phase of Ulcerative Colitis with herbs that stop bleeding, reduce mucous and regulate bacteria. At this stage the stop-bleeding herbs are the most important as blood loss is so debilitating. Over time, through remission, herbs focus on feeding the good symbiotic bacteria and building gut strength.
Ironically I have heard of a Crohn’s sufferer being given dietary advice – he was told by hospital dieticians to eat jelly babies so that the gelatine could firm up his stool. All that sugar! Good grief!
So it looks like alternative approaches to gut illnesses are here to stay, as mainstream medicine is always likely to be inadequate in their treatment, which means that for everyone’s sake we need to raise awareness of what can be done.