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

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

_http://www.doctoryourself.com/colitis.html_

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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_

(http://www.doctoryourself.com/juicefast.html) " 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 (ascorbyl palmitate)

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

the Stooge: " Why, soitenly! " Remember Mary Poppins' advice about that

spoonful of sugar, and do what it takes to be healthy.

REFERENCES AND ADDITIONAL READING:

Cheney G. Prevention of histamine-induced peptic ulcers by diet. Stanford

Med Bull. 6:334, 1948

Cheney G. Rapid healing of peptic ulcers in patients receiving fresh

cabbage juice. Calif Med. 70:10, 1949

Cheney G. The nature of the antipepticulcer dietary factor. Stanford Med

Bull. 1950 Aug;8(3):144-61.

Cheney G. Antipeptic ulcer dietary factor. American Dietetics Assoc. 26:9

September, 1950.

Cheney G. Vitamin U therapy of peptic ulcer. Calif Med. 1952

Oct;77(4):248-52.

Cheney G. Vitamin U concentrate therapy of peptic ulcer. Am J

Gastroenterol. 1954 Mar;21(3):230-50.

Cheney G. The medical management of gastric ulcers with vitamin U therapy.

Stanford Med Bull. 1955 May;13(2):204-14.

Cheney G, Waxler SH, Miller IJ. Vitamin U therapy of peptic ulcer;

experience at San Quentin Prison. Calif Med. 1956 Jan;84(1):39-42.

Pauling, Linus: How To Live Longer and Feel Better, Freeman, 1986, revised

1996, 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.