NATURAL HEALING VIEWPOINT ON COLITIS, ULCER, AND OTHER GI PROBLEMS JoAnn Guest

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

JoAnn Guest

Jan 09, 2005 12:57 PST

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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.

 

 

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 2004 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. From the books DOCTOR

YOURSELF and FIRE YOUR DOCTOR, available from Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van

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

 

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

 

Andrew Saul, PhD

--

 

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_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

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