Colitis, Ulcers & IBS

[Guest guest]

I thought this was very timely...

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

 

I believe that large amounts of vitamin E and good probiotics like

homemade kefir should also be included. F. (moderator of AltMedForum)

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/colitis.html

 

Colitis, Ulcers & IBS

 

A NATURAL HEALING VIEWPOINT ON COLITIS, ULCER, AND OTHER GI PROBLEMS

 

Your digestive tract is well over twenty feet long. If you were to

flatten out just your small intestine, its total absorptive area

would be half the size of a basketball court.

 

This is an important bit of real estate.

 

Naturopaths tend to annoy medical specialists by looking at

gastrointestinal (GI) problems such as colitis, ulcers, spastic

colon, irritable bowel syndrome and even Crohn's disease as

manifestations of the same two problems, just in different places.

These two fundamental causes of most GI disorders are systemic

toxemia (a polluted body) and malnutrition. This means one is

taking in too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right

ones.

 

Persons with GI troubles simply must stop doing things that hurt

their guts. Smoking, alcohol, coffee, meat, food additives, and

stress must be systematically eliminated. If a person is not

willing to stop doing things that hurt, there is a greatly reduced

chance of success with things that help. I need add nothing

about why drinking and smoking harm your digestive system. Coffee

drinking and meat eating, though, are often allowed by doctors

unwilling to stop those habits themselves. But one has to confront

even the popular, little vices if doing so can save big suffering.

Persons who move towards vegetarianism and away from coffee will not

be disappointed.

 

I may not make a lot of friends with this article, but these are the

facts, ma'am: a near-vegetarian diet has important advantages. It

is high in bulk, high in vitamin C, and high in carotene vitamin

A. A vegetarian diet is cheap and low fat. And incidentally, there

are fewer dishes to do.

 

The lining of your entire digestive tract is made up of epithelial

tissue. Epithelial cells are " skin " cells. Your skin covers both

the outside and the inside of your body. You might think of

yourself as a sleeping bag: there is an outer waterproof covering

and an inner, softer lining. Since epithelial tissue is very

dependent on vitamins A and C for its health and integrity, and

since a diet high in fruits, sprouts and veggies is quite high in

these vitamins, you can see the vegetarian's advantage. The

additional bulk of a veggie diet makes stools softer and easier to

pass. Pressure is reduced inside the colon and straining to have a

bowel movement is eliminated. Persons with very sensitive intestines

can temporarily juice their vegetables and even put their salads

through a blender if necessary. This tastes a lot better than it

sounds, and is an extremely gentle and digestible way to instantly

improve nutritional status. Fruits and especially vegetables are so

high in carotenes that supplemental vitamin A is not needed if you

are juicing. Carotene vitamin A is non-toxic.

 

Years ago, one of my naturopathic textbooks was entitled Everybody's

Guide to Nature Cure, by Dr. Harry Benjamin. At the time, I

resisted the way he began practically every treatment the same way:

with a fast. His advice has withstood the test of time. Persons

with GI troubles often get the most relief by just shutting down the

digestive system for a while. A few days fasting gives the body a

chance to rest and repair. Naturopaths believe, and anatomical

evidence confirms, that given this chance the body will take

advantage of it.

 

Earlier I mentioned that your intestinal tract is lined with

epithelial cells. These cells, called enterocytes, are replaced by

your body every three to five days (Williams, Nutrition and Diet

Therapy, 7th ed, page 29). This suggests that a fast of similar

length would best enable the reconstruction. If I were going to

work on Chicago's sewer system, I'd shut it down first. And, I'd

certainly keep it shut down until the repair was done. How could it

otherwise be done properly? Fasting is simply a temporary and

logical measure.

 

While it is possible for some people to fast on water alone, I think

this is unnecessary. Equally good results will be obtained (with

greater comfort) by vegetable juice fasting. One might argue that

juice fasts are ideal because they provide the healing Vitamins A

and C. The minimal carbohydrate content of vegetable juices

promotes normal blood sugar levels, provides electrolyte minerals,

and prevents ketosis. And, vegetable juice fasting feels remarkably

GOOD and it WORKS remarkably well. (You may want to read my

article entitled " How To Juice Fast " for some helpful pointers.)

 

To give you an idea of the therapeutic potential of vegetable

juices, consider the work of Garnett Cheney, M.D. He had 100 peptic

ulcer patients drink a quart of raw cabbage juice daily. The

patients reported dramatically less pain, and X-ray examination

confirmed faster healing time. There was no other change in their

diet, and they did not have drug therapy. 81% of the patients were

symptom-free within one week; over twothirds were better in just

four days. Average healing time for patients given standard

hospital treatment was over a month. (Cheney, G: " Vitamin U Therapy

of Peptic Ulcer, " California Medicine, vol. 77, number 4, October,

1952)

 

 

Dr. Cheney used cabbage juice to also treat gastric ulcers and

duodenal ulcers. He clearly was onto something, which he

called " Vitamin U " (for ulcer) for lack of a better name. Today,

the cabbage family (cruciform) vegetables including Brussels sprouts,

cauliflower and broccoli, are finally being recommended to help

prevent diseases including cancer. Dr. Cheney was getting

therapeutic results in four days with cabbage juice OVER FORTY YEARS

AGO! Do we really have to wait for orthodox medical approval of

vegetables?

 

I know of people who have utilized cabbage juice along with

vegetarian diet and fasting to heal all forms of gastrointestinal

diseases without drugs and without surgery. One person even cured

her untreatable rectal bleeding with cabbage juice. The attending

physician confirmed her excellent but unexplained progress,

asking her what she was doing. She told the doctor of her diet and

about cabbage juice. His response was, " No, that couldn't be it. "

 

Supplemental vitamin C is very valuable to help heal lesions and

inflammation all along the GI tract. Thousands of milligrams in

divided doses are necessary for best results. Enough " C " should be

taken to improve the condition, but not so much as might cause

excessively loose bowels. A non-acidic or buffered Vitamin C is

ideal, because it will not irritate the digestive tract. Calcium

ascorbate or an esterfied Vitamin C both work well.

 

Some organized form of stress reduction is essential for digestive

system health and healing. Whether it is prayer, meditation, yoga,

music or another approach, what matters most is if you will actually

learn how to relax efficiently and take the time to do it every day!

 

That goes for juicing, too. What is the best juicer to buy? The

one you will USE! If you don't want to begin juice fasting just

yet, you can certainly begin by adding some cabbage juice to your

diet. Just a glass with each meal plus one more equals a quart a

day. Can you sweeten it? To quote Curly: " Why, soitenly! "

Remember Mary Poppins' advice about that spoonful of sugar, and do

what it takes to be healthy.

 

REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READING:

 

Cheney, Garnett: " Antipeptic Ulcer Dietary Factor, "

American Dietetics Association 26:9 September, 1950

 

Cheney, Garnett: " The Nature of the Antipepticulcer

Dietary Factor, " Stanford Medical Bulletin, 8:144,

1950

 

Cheney, Garnett: " Prevention of Histamine-induced

Peptic Ulcers by Diet, " Stanford Medical Bulletin,

6:334, 1948

 

Cheney, Garnett: " Rapid Healing of Peptic Ulcers in

Patients Receiving Fresh Cabbage Juice, " California

Medicine, 70:10, 1949

 

Cheney, Garnett: " Vitamin U Therapy of Peptic Ulcer, "

California Medicine, vol. 77, Number 4, October, 1952)

 

 

Pauling, Linus: How To Live Longer and Feel Better,

Freeman, 1986, pages 112-113

 

Stone, Irwin: The Healing Factor: Vitamin C Against

Disease, Grosset and Dunlap, 1972, Chapter 21.

 

A good librarian will help you locate any hard-to-find

article or book. Try an Interlibrary Loan if

necessary.

 

Copyright C 1999 and prior years Andrew W. Saul.

From the books QUACK DOCTOR and PAPERBACK CLINIC,

available from Dr. Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren

Street, Holley, New York 14470 (585) 638-5357.