Colitis, Ulcers & IBS

[Guest guest]

I believe that large amounts of vitamin E and good

probiotics like homemade kefir should also be

included. F.

 

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.