Written By: Ali Le Vere, B.S., B.S. – Senior Researcher-GreenMedInfo
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), subdivided into ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, afflicts 1.4 million Americans and typically first appears between the ages of 15 and 30. Whereas ulcerative colitis affects the rectum and spreading upwards toward the descending and transverse colon in an uninterrupted fashion, Crohn’s disease typically involves the last third of the small intestine and colon and can affect any part of the digestive tract, often in a discontinuous pattern.
In ulcerative colitis, inflammation is generally limited to the mucous membrane.
In Crohn’s disease, inflammation can navigate down the entire depth of the intestinal wall. Due to this disparity, Crohn’s disease can ulcerate through the layers of the bowel, leading to complications such scarring of tissue that leads to perforations, as well as intestinal granulomas (the body’s way of: containing a bacterial, viral or fungal infection, to keep it from spreading; when immune cells clump together and create tiny nodules at the site of the infection or inflammation.) and fistulas (an abnormal opening or passage from one organ to another or from an organ to the skin surface).
Symptoms
Fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, and weight loss are hallmark symptoms.
Risk Factors
genetic predisposition, (first-degree relatives having a 12 to 15 times elevated risk of developing Crohn’s disease)
Cesarean section delivery
smoking
early life antibiotic use
low fiber intake
use of oral contraceptives
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)
Not only is microbial dysbiosis fundamental to IBD, but “Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory bowel disease results from an inappropriate inflammatory response to intestinal microbes in a genetically susceptible host” (2, p. 2006). Viruses from the herpes family, including Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human herpes virus 6 (HHV) likewise occur at a higher prevalence in IBD and may play a role in its pathogenesis.
Crohn’s and colitis have different clinical features, but both exhibit a relapsing and remitting course, and both represent autoimmune pathologies of the gut. Because it is autoimmune in nature, people with IBD are at increased risk for other autoimmune disorders including psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis.
Risk Reducers
Ultraviolet sun exposure is protective, as exhibited by marked a latitudinal gradient for IBD-related hospitalizations whereby northern states have significantly more admissions.
Holistic Regimen
Anti-inflammatory diet
Stress management
Social support
Physical activity
Sleep hygiene
Although standards of care, such as corticosteroids, antibiotics, biologics, and immunosuppressive pharmaceutical drugs are fraught with life-threatening side effects, there are evidence-based natural substances that can be used as adjunctive therapies alongside a . This review will emphasize selected therapies with empirical evidence in Crohn’s disease, with a focus on human trials.
These evidence-based botanical medicines proven to induce or maintain remission in the debilitating inflammatory bowel disease known as Crohn’s offer hope to those resigned to a fate of life-altering immunosuppressive drugs or surgery.
L-Glutamine
Boswellia
Mastic Gum
Turmeric
Wormwood
More at: https://nexusnewsfeed.com/article/food-cooking/proven-herbal-treatments-for-crohn-s-disease/
