Irritable Bowel Disease Archives - Amazing Health Advances

High-Fat Diet with Antibiotic Use Linked to Gut Inflammation

AHA Publisher — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 07:00:57 +0000

UC Davis Health via Newswise – UC Davis researchers have found that combining a Western-style high-fat diet with antibiotic use significantly increases the risk of developing pre-inflammatory bowel disease (pre-IBD). The study, published July 14 in Cell Host and Microbe, suggests that this combination shuts down the energy factories (mitochondria) in cells of the large intestinal lining, leading to gut inflammation. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects approximately 11% of people worldwide. It is characterized by recurring episodes of abdominal pain, bloating and changes in bowel habits. IBS patients with mucosal inflammation and changes in the gut’s microbial composition are considered pre-IBD. Antibiotic Usage with High-Fat Diet Is a Risk Factor The study included 43 healthy adults and 49 adult patients diagnosed with IBS. The researchers measured fecal calprotectin, a biomarker for intestinal inflammation, of participants. Elevated levels of fecal calprotectin indicated a pre-IBD condition. The study identified 19 patients with IBS as pre-IBD. The researchers found that participants who consumed high-fat diet and used antibiotics were at 8.6 times higher risk for having pre-IBD than those on low-fat diet and no recent history of antibiotic use. Participants with the highest fat consumption were about 2.8 times more likely to have pre-IBD than those with the lowest fat intake. A history of recent antibiotic usage alone was associated with 3.9 times higher likelihood of having pre-IBD. “Our study found that a history of antibiotics in individuals consuming a high-fat diet was associated with the greatest risk for pre-IBD,” said Andreas Bäumler, professor of medical microbiology and immunology and lead author on the study. “Until now, we didn’t appreciate how different environmental risk factors can synergize to drive the disease.” Shutting the Cell’s Powerhouse Promotes Gut Microbial Growth Using mouse models, the study also tested the effect of high-fat diet and antibiotic use on the cells in the intestinal lining. It found that high-fat diet and antibiotics cooperate to disrupt the work of the cell’s mitochondria, shutting its ability to burn oxygen. This disruption caused reduction in cell’s oxygen consumption and led to oxygen leakage into the gut. Higher oxygen levels in the gut promote bacterial imbalances and inflammation. The body’s beneficial bacteria thrive in environments lacking oxygen such as the large intestine. With the disruption in the gut environment, a vicious cycle of replacing the good bacteria with potentially harmful proinflammatory microbes that are more oxygen tolerant begins. This in turn leads to mucosal inflammation linked to pre-IBD conditions. The study also identified 5-aminosalicylate (mesalazine), a drug that restarts the energy factories in the intestinal lining, as a potential treatment for pre-IBD. “The best approach to a healthy gut is to get rid of the preferred sustenance of harmful microbes,” Lee said. “Our study emphasized the importance of avoiding high fat food and abuse of antibiotics to avoid gut inflammation.” To read the original article click here.

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Powerful Antioxidant Combats Gut Inflammation

AHA Publisher — Tue, 26 May 2020 07:00:45 +0000

Joy Jensen via NaturalHealth365 – Although researchers believe that many different factors contribute to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammation continues to get more recognition as a potential cause of the condition. Many patients who have IBS deal with low-grade inflammation and scientists continue to try to understand why. One substance, glutathione shows great promise in helping people with IBS. Research hasn’t completely uncovered the answer to this question. However, since we know there’s a link between inflammation and IBS, then it’s a good idea to explore the use of antioxidants that combat inflammation. Emerging evidence shows the benefits of glutathione – known as the most important intracellular antioxidant – for reducing inflammation and relieving IB symptoms. Powerful Antioxidant Glutathione Combats Inflammation Associated with IBS Although multiple factors may contribute to IBS, inflammation is becoming more recognized as a possible cause. Even though inflammation levels are generally low-grade, it still can result in intestinal damage that results in dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. Glutathione is an essential antioxidant that plays a critical role within the body. Researchers have become more interested in the use of glutathione as an IBS treatment because research shows how effective it is at reducing inflammation. It’s helped reduce symptoms in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and it may be just as useful for individuals who have IBS. One study showed that in patients who had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), intestinal glutathione synthesis was impaired. This led researchers to believe that therapeutic intervention with glutathione may help. Another study that involved the treatment of IBD with another well-known antioxidant called N-acetylcysteine resulted in an increase in glutathione, which was believed to have contributed to the positive effects of this therapy. Since glutathione happens to be the most abundant antioxidant within your body, it will likely have similar effects on inflammation as other antioxidants like quercetin and curcumin. This “Master Antioxidant” Looks Like a Promising Way to Help Heal the Body Many patients who deal with IBS are susceptible to side effects that come with conventional (pharmaceuticals) “remedies.” However, the use of glutathione in humans has an excellent safety history. Truthfully, there have been very few side effects (if any) experienced, and side effects that have been reported are usually extremely mild. So, for anyone concerned about trying a new supplement, glutathione is certainly a wise choice offering a great deal of benefits. While there’s still not a significant amount of specific research surrounding the use of glutathione for IBS, a good look at the literature about this antioxidant indicates it’s a worthwhile, natural option for patients suffering with inflammatory issues. Early research has shown it plays a crucial role in reducing inflammation and it is being looked at as a potential therapy for IBD patients. Ultimately, more scientific research is always welcome, but the evidence is clear that with the right nutrition – you can naturally heal the body. Take action today: Work with a good integrative healthcare provider that can help guide you. Foods to avoid include, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, fried or processed foods, gluten, GMOs and conventional dairy products. In terms of smart food choices: Eat small amounts of lean (grass fed) meats, eggs (pasture-raised), cooked greens like, kale and collard greens, sprouted walnuts and chia seeds. The main message here is to eat (only) real food – organic, as much as possible. Drink clean (purified) water and take nutritional supplements (as needed) to help you in the healing process. To read the original article click here.

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Vitamin D Put to the Test for Crohn’s Disease

AHA Publisher — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 08:00:15 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), “a chronic inflammatory condition of the intestine that causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss,” includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. When we compare identical twins, even though they have the same genes, most of the time, if one twin has IBD, the other does not. In that case, there must be some important, non-genetic trigger factors. What might they be? Studies like the ones I discuss in my video Vitamin D for Inflammatory Bowel Disease offer a clue. Why do those living in the southern United States have lower IBD rates than those living in the north? Maybe it’s because Southerners get more sun, which means more vitamin D and which may also mean less inflammation. So, do people with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis who have low vitamin D levels have worse disease? Apparently so. Not only is there an increased risk of surgery and hospitalization, but those who normalize their vitamin D levels appear to reduce their risk of relapse. However, instead of better vitamin D levels leading to better Crohn’s, maybe better control of Crohn’s led to better vitamin D. Indeed, perhaps they felt so good, they went outside more, “increasing physical activity and outdoor sun exposure.” We can’t tell if it’s cause and effect unless we put it to the test. The first pilot study tried 1,000 units of vitamin D a day and saw no change in the Crohn’s disease activity index. At six weeks, however, there may have been a slight increase in IBD quality of life scores, but even that disappeared by year’s end, so the results were pretty disappointing overall. Perhaps the researchers didn’t use enough vitamin D? How about 1,200 IU a day? At that level, the relapse rate appeared to be cut in half, as you can see at 1:45 in my video, though there were too few people in the study to reach statistical significance. What happens with 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day? Gut leakiness (so-called intestinal permeability) continued to worsen in the placebo group, but appeared to stabilize in the vitamin D group, though only those who reached blood levels over 75 nanomoles per liter appeared to have a significant drop in inflammation. And, indeed, if Crohn’s patients are started on 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day and then the dose is ramped up until a target blood level is reached, it’s possible to get a significant boost in quality of life accompanying a significant drop in disease activity, as you can see at 2:19 in my video. Disease scores under 150 are considered remission, so “the majority of patients achieved remission” with improvements in disease activity in all but one person in the study. This suggests that Crohn’s patients may want to take 5,000 IU of vitamin D a day, but that’s nearly ten times the Recommended Daily Allowance. Why so much? Because that’s what it may take to get vitamin D levels that are normal for our species—that is, the kind of levels one might get running around half naked in Africa, as we did for millions of years. This article has been modified. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Greger click here.

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Diet Low in Fermented Carbs Improves Quality of Life for Patients With Irritable Bowl Disease

AHA Publisher — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 07:00:13 +0000

Sally Robertson, B.Sc. via News Medical-Net – A new study by researchers at King’s College London has found that a diet low in fermented carbohydrates improved gut symptoms and health-related quality of life among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the space of just one month. Although researchers already knew that this diet is effective in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), this is the first randomized, trial showing that it is effective in reducing common gut symptoms, says lead researcher Selina Cox. “This improves health-related quality of life in patients with IBD when they are in remission,” she adds. As reported yesterday in the journal Gastroenterology, Cox and team conducted a trial of a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) in patients with IBD who were suffering from persistent gut symptoms, even though their gut inflammation was under control. The researchers found that after just four weeks, symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain and flatulence improved among patients who followed the low FODMAP diet after just four weeks, compared with patients who were placed on normal FODMAP diet. What Is IBD? IBD refers to a group of illnesses where the gut becomes inflamed. The two main disorders are Crohn’s disease, which can affect any part of the intestine and ulcerative colitis, which only affects the large intestine. Symptoms of IBD Include: • Abdominal cramps and pain • Watery or bloody diarrhea • The urgency to have a bowel movement • Fever • Loss of appetite • Weight loss • Tiredness and fatigue • Anemia People can develop IBD at any age, but it generally develops between the ages of 15 and 40. As a chronic and incurable disorder, IBD is managed through lifestyle changes, medication, and surgery. Anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating drugs can bring inflammation under control, but symptoms can still persist during periods of disease remission and have a large impact on a patient’s life. The NHS says an estimated one in five people with ulcerative colitis have severe symptoms that do not improve with medication and up to three-quarters of people with Crohn’s disease will require surgery to repair damage to their digestive system. The condition affects about 300,000 people in the UK, some three million people in the US, about 85,000 Australians and, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners, it is only becoming more common. The current study offers hope of a safe and cost-effective way to relieve symptoms among the thousands of people suffering from this condition. Half of All Patients On the Low-FODMAP Diet Reported Improvements For the study, the team studied 52 patients with IBD and persistent symptoms despite their inflammation being under control with medication. The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a group where a low FODMAP diet was followed and a group where a ‘normal’ FODMAP diet was followed. Among patients that followed the low FODMAP diet, 52% reported adequate relief of gut symptoms after just four weeks, compared with only 16% of the normal FODMAP group. They also had a higher health-related quality of life scores than the normal FODMAP group. The team also took stool and blood samples at baseline and at the end of the study to test levels of gut microflora, which revealed that patients on the low FODMAP diet had fewer Bifidobacteria. The researchers say this is worrying since this bacteria can be beneficial in IBD because it can reduce inflammation. However, the team found that gut inflammation did not seem to increase among patients on the low FODMAP diet and overall there were no significant between-group differences in gut microbiome diversity. “A Safe and Cost-Effective Management Option” “We carried out this randomized controlled trial to establish whether these common gut symptoms in patients with IBD in remission could be managed by the low FODMAP diet. Indeed, this could represent a safe and cost-effective management option.” –Professor Kevin Whelan, Co-Author Next, the team intends to study the effects of a longer-term low FODMAP diet and determine the effect of FODMAP reintroduction on intestinal symptoms and gut bacteria. “In clinical practice, the low FODMAP diet is followed by a phase of gradual FODMAP reintroduction—it is important to establish what the effects of FODMAP reintroduction are on the gut and whether reintroduction reverses the bacterial changes that were observed during the low FODMAP diet,” explains Cox. National Charity Welcomes the Findings The charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK has welcomed the findings. Research program lead, Nikul Bakshi, said: “We really welcome these findings because research into food and IBD is seriously lacking, and the relationship is still poorly understood. It’s good to see positive results, and if the FODMAP diet can help alleviate debilitating symptoms for some people with Crohn’s and Colitis, this is promising.” However, he did warn that FODMAP is not suitable for everyone with IBD: “The FODMAP diet is very restrictive and also cuts out some types of food that may be helpful in managing the conditions. We would always recommend people get advice from a qualified dietician before making changes to their diet.” To read the original article click here.

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