The Fungal Etiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

[Guest guest]

The Fungal Etiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

 

Dr. Dave Holland is the co-author, with Doug Kaufmann, of the best-

selling book " The Fungus Link, " and the new book, " The Fungus Link

Vol. 2. " The following is an excerpt from chapter three of " The

Fungus Link. " The book has recently been revised and updated with new

information, and it continues to help educate both the general public

and medical professionals alike on the roles of fungi and fungal

toxins in causing a wide variety of human diseases.

 

In " The Fungus Link Vol. 2, " you'll also learn about the dangers of

antibiotics and the ins and outs of natural and prescriptive

antifungals. Additionally, Doug and Dave share with you the role

fungi and their mycotoxins play in what are unfortunately everyday

diseases such as prostatitis, ear-nose-throat disorders, weight

problems (including obesity and anorexia), autoimmune diseases,

hormonal disorders, neurologic diseases, hair loss and eye problems.

 

If you have a friend or loved one who is suffering from Crohn's

disease or Ulcerative colitis, please take the time to forward this

excerpt to them.

 

By David A. Holland, M.D.

 

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, although distinguished by

well-known characteristics, are collectively known as inflammatory

bowel diseases (IBD). IBD is characterized by a host of symptoms such

as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, rectal bleeding, weight loss, fever,

and a host of extra-intestinal symptoms, including disorders of the

eyes, liver, gallbladder, muscles and joints, kidneys, and skin.1 The

treatments usually focus on relief of symptoms with anti-inflammatory

drugs or surgery (i.e. removal of the affected part of the

intestines).

 

 

The cause of IBD remains " unknown. "

 

Some have implicated a viral etiology to IBD. In the medical journal

The Lancet,2 Dr. Wakefield and colleagues found that three of four

offspring in mothers that had measles during pregnancy developed

severe Crohn's later in life. Of note is that recurrent antibiotic-

resistant pneumonia preceded the Crohn's in every case.

 

This is important because antibiotics are known to increase the risk

of fungal infection.3 Another study highlights this fact: an eight-

year-old girl who was treated with antibiotics for recurrent upper

respiratory tract infections developed intestinal candidiasis, an

overgrowth of the yeast Candida albicans, in the gut.4

 

Other scientists have found carbohydrates to be a possible culprit.

Two of three worldwide studies found the average intake of

carbohydrates (including bread, potatoes, and refined sugars) to be

much greater in those who developed IBD than in those who did not.4

Why would carbohydrates be implicated as a cause? Could it be that

they are commonly contaminated with fungal toxins, according to a

2002 JAMA article and numerous agricultural publications, including

the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology? 6, 7

 

In her book, " Breaking the Vicious Cycle, " Elaine Gottschall

describes the cycle of intestinal mucosal injury, impaired digestion,

malabsorption, bacterial overgrowth, and increase in bacterial by-

products and mucous production, which lead back to intestinal mucosal

injury. We all know that antibiotics can alter the normal intestinal

flora or bacteria. These bacteria usually keep in check the

relatively small amount of existing yeast in the intestines.

 

However, when antibiotics are taken for various purposes--and you can

bet those kids in Dr. Wakefield's study were given plenty of

antibiotics--the normal, protective bacteria are eliminated, and

yeast growth goes unchecked. The resulting effects range from " mild

diarrhea to severe colitis, or systemic fungal or bacterial

dissemination. " 8 In Chapter 2 of our book, " The Fungus Link, " you

read about the link between arthritis and fungus.

 

When fungi become systemic from gut inflammation and the overuse of

antibiotics, you can see how the whole body--again, the eyes, liver,

gallbladder, muscles and joints, kidneys, and skin--becomes involved

in inflammatory bowel disease.

 

Still other scientists have directly implicated yeast and fungal

toxins, called mycotoxins, in the cause of Crohn's disease. Former

World Health Organization expert Dr. A.V. Costantini has found that

people with Crohn's often have aflatoxin, a mycotoxin made by

Aspergillus molds, in their blood. Barclay found that disease

activity in patients with Crohn's was lower while they followed a

yeast-free diet, specifically avoiding baker's and brewer's yeasts.9

 

Some feel that the yeast, Candida albicans, may be the cause of

Celiac disease, also known as Sprue, or gluten-sensitive

enteropathy.10 Celiac disease, doctors presume, is caused by a

reaction to a protein particle called gluten that exists in certain

grains.

 

This allergic-type reaction leads to inflammation and often severe

symptoms in not only the intestines but also the entire body.

Conventional treatment therefore involves suppressing the

inflammation and symptoms with anti-inflammatory medications. It also

requires the avoidance of these particular grains. Ironically, corn

is a grain that does not contain gluten. It therefore falls in

the " okay to eat " list offered by conventional practitioners and

dieticians. Little do most practitioners know that corn is

universally contaminated with mycotoxins.

 

So, over-consuming corn, as so many Celiac patients do since they

have few other choices of grains in their diet, is likely to

propagate the illness. Many people have successfully treated (dare we

say cured?) their Celiac disease by not only avoiding grains

altogether--especially corn--but also including antifungal

medications in their treatment regimen. Such antifungals may include

the natural, coconut-derived fatty acid known as Caprylic acid

(available over the counter), or stronger, prescriptive antifungals.

These stronger medicines might consist of a combination of nystatin

(a broad spectrum gut antifungal) and either itraconazole (Sporanox®)

or fluconazole (Diflucan®).

 

Chapter 13 of " Principles and Practice of Clinical Mycology " deals

entirely with fungal infections in the gut. They describe how

Blastomyces dermatitidis, a fungus, can produce " granulomatous "

lesions in the intestines.

 

Not surprisingly, this same type of lesion has also been seen in

patients with Crohn's disease. Another fungus called Histoplasma

produces intestinal disease with symptoms such as diarrhea, weight

loss, fever, and abdominal pain--sound familiar? The common lesions

seen in the gut with this infection were " masses or ulcers mimicking

inflammatory bowel disease or carcinoma. " The authors concluded that

histoplasmosis should be a " serious consideration " in an

immunocompromised patient with signs and symptoms of IBD.11

 

Back to the big word " immunocompromised, " which means the immune

system has been compromised, or weakened. We strongly disagree that

you must have cancer or AIDS or be on chemotherapy to have a weakened

immune system. Just smell the air on your way to work or look at our

standard American diet (SAD), or even look at the number of

antibiotics we consume from childhood on. Could these be impeding our

immune systems? Most antibiotics are mycotoxins--fungal derivatives.

 

Mycotoxins are commonly found in our grain food supply. Mycotoxins

can suppress our normal immune function. Therefore, anyone who has

taken an antibiotic or consumes grains or sugar qualifies as a

potentially immunocompromised person.

 

We've seen thus far that, in just about every case of inflammatory

bowel disease, conventional treatment involves the use of anti-

inflammatories. Well, researchers at the Washington University in St.

Louis took a bold step and did a study where they offered patients

with Crohn's disease an immune stimulant instead.12 They used a

medicine called Leukine--a naturally-occuring molecule called

Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF).

 

And though they faced harsh criticism from scientists at other

universities for doing this, they obtained amazing results: of the

initial 15 patients in the study, 12 did " significantly " better

overall, while eight went into complete remission! Every one of the

half a million patients with Crohn's disease in America should know

about this study.

 

But they shouldn't feel they need to rush in to their doctor's office

to get this expensive shot (it costs around $300 per milliliter--

that's $1,500 per teaspoon).

 

Rather, they should learn from this study: by giving an immune

booster, these doctors were able to put 53 percent of the cases into

total remission. That almost implies that an infection is at the root

of the disease, and that by assisting the body's immune system the

medication helped the body overcome the " infection, " or the disease.

 

Typically, an anti-inflammatory medicine merely controls the symptoms

of the disease--it doesn't cure it. That's because it rarely

addresses the true cause of the disease. In other words, if the wrong

diet is constantly consumed, or if damage (i.e. yeast overgrowth) is

never reversed from previous antibiotic use, a cure can almost never

be achieved. In this case, we feel that the " infection " in the

intestines of Crohn's patients is caused by fungi and their

mycotoxins.

 

Incidentally, you can boost your immune system much less expensively

and without a prescription by taking beta-glucans (see

seagateproducts.com or nsc24.com). Using probiotics--Lactobacillus

acidophilus, etc. (see natren.com)--is also extremely vital in

reversing antibiotic damage, since these good bacteria can keep yeast

and fungi from re-establishing themselves in the intestines.

 

Anyone who has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's

disease knows the misery these diseases can cause. Given the

alternatives for treatment--more immune-suppressing drugs and surgery-

-we think it would be worth a trial on a program that includes a low-

carb diet and antifungal medications or supplements. A 1944 Johns

Hopkins Clinical Mycology book stressed the importance of following a

low-carb diet while treating yeasts.13 If a fungus or mycotoxin is

truly involved, all of these approaches will do more than just

suppress the symptoms of or " manage " the disease--they can actually

cure it.

 

References:

 

Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine. Nov. 1996. Pp 28-34.

 

Wakefield. The Lancet. 1996. 348:315-317.

 

Baldwin, Richard S. The Fungus Fighters: Two Women Scientists and

Their Discovery Cornell University Press. Ithaca and London. 1981.

 

Ruiz-Sanchez, et al. Intestinal candidiasis. A clinical report and

comments about this opportunistic pathogen. Mycopathologia. 2002;156

(1):9-11.

 

Heaton, K. W. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Allan, R.N., Keighley,

M.R.B., Alexander-Williams, J., and Hawkins, C.F. [Eds.]. Churchill

Livingstone, New York. 1990

 

Etzel, R. Mycotoxins. Journal of the American Medical Association. 287

(4). Jan 23/30, 2002.

 

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. Mycotoxins: Risks in

Plant, Animal and Human Sytems. Economic and Health Risks. Task Force

Report Number 139. Jan 2003. CAST. Ames, IA.

 

Saadia, Roger and Lipman, Jeffrey. " Antibiotics and the gut " .

European Journal of Surgery. 1996. Suppl. 576:39-41.

 

Barclay, G. R., et. al. (Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology.

1992. 27:196-200.

 

Nieuwenhuizen, W., et al. Is Candida albicans a trigger in the onset

of celiac disease? Lancet. 2003 June 21;361(9375):2152-2154.

 

Kibbler, C. C., et. al [Ed.]. Principles and Practice of Clinical

Mycology 1996. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., West Sussex, England

 

Hesman, T. WU Researchers have developed controversial Crohn's

treatment. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Nov 8, 2002.

http://aisweb.wustl.edu/alumni/atwu.nsf/srohns.

 

Conant, et al. Manual of Clinical Mycology. WB Saunders,

Philadelphia. 1944.

 

Related Articles:

 

Common Virus Linked With Severe Bowel Disease

 

Depression Common in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

 

Vitamin D for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

 

" Ultra-Pasteurized " Milk for Crohn's Patients?

 

 

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