Digestive Disorders:
Ulcerative Colitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Though the gut is one of the most important parts of the human body, it's something that people typically do not think about until they begin exhibiting symptoms. A condition called leaky gut can occur because of the foods that people eat and because of the environmental toxins and pollutants that surround them every day. As this condition worsens it can lead to an individual suffering from an autoimmune disease, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBS).
The Basics of Leaky Gut
One of the first things that people should consider is the symptoms of leaky gut. Many sufferers find that they have a difficult time digesting certain types of foods associated with causing recurrent bouts of bloating, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, heartburn, excess gas, foul-smelling stool, and other digestive problems. Some people even develop a food intolerance or a food allergy that requires them to avoid certain foods or ingredients.
The Basics of Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases refer to any conditions that cause the immune system to attack the body. The immune system is important because it wards off infections and helps fight viruses. It's important to understand the direct link between autoimmune disease and the digestive system.
Problems in the gut often occur when the intestinal walls are damaged from spending years unsuccessfully trying to digest saturated fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates (especially from animal sources and processed nutrient-poor foods) in combination with unhealthy lifestyle choices. This leads to undigested food particles moving through the intestines and causing pathogenic bacteria overgrowth in the colon. As the intestinal wall stretches to accommodate for this distress, undigested food particles are able to leak out of the gut and into the bloodstream and move to other parts of the body. The immune system views undigested food particles as invaders to attack. Over time, because the original food insult is not removed, the immune system starts attacking its own body tissues and organs. This is referred to as an autoimmune condition.
There are many autoimmune condition caused by the same underlying reason. They include:
Ulcerative Colitis
Crohn's Disease
Celiac Disease
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Type 1 and 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Juvenile Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis
Celiac Disease
Lupus
Cancer
Ulcerative Colitis (UC)
Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes ulcers to form in the colon and rectum. Many people find that they have IBD after eating foods that are rich in animal products, sugar, and other typically poorly digested food, and after overeating. A person may suffer from abdominal cramps that leave them feeling miserable. If the underlying issue has been present for years, it will eventually cause bleeding ulcers where present as stool mixed with blood when undigested food moves through the rectum.
IBD patients can also suffer from frequent diarrhea and/or constipation. Other symptoms can include fatigue due to the long-standing malnourished cells prematurely dying and the body unable to replenish blood as quickly as it loses it.
Patients with UC have an increased risk of developing other autoimmune disorders and cancer of the colon and rectum.
Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is much more common than UC and presents with many of the same symptoms. Crohn’s disease involves the entire digestive tract, including the mouth, throat, and esophagus, no longer able to tolerate hidden food allergens with the digestive tract constantly under attack. Many people with this condition have blood in their stool, feel tired and have problems digesting spicy and rich foods.
Celiac Disease
Another common autoimmune disease is Celiac disease. It is often difficult to diagnosis because the disease affects people differently. The main commonality is that people with Celiac disease cannot digest the gluten protein as well as most animal proteins, causing the immune system to attack the small intestines.
People with a gluten intolerance exhibit far fewer and severe symptoms, especially after consuming wheat such as in bread, pasta, beer, and processed foods. Most people tend to feel sleepy and lethargic after eating large amount of wheat. It's possible to also exhibit symptoms of gluten intolerance and Celiac disease without actually having the disease.
The exponential Rise of Autoimmune Diseases and Intestinal dysbiosis since 1996
Autoimmune conditions have been on the rise with the introduction of genetically-modified crops (GMO) resistant to pesticides, such as glyphosate (RoundUp) in 1996. These crops (i.e., wheat, corn, soy) were introduced into agriculture on a mass scale and heavily used in animal husbandry, to make beer, most processed ready-made food, bread, and other wheat, corn, and soy products. . It has been known throughout that GMO crops and Roundup are carcinogenic since they kill all cell function in both plants, animals, and humans.
The molecular structure of many GMO crops (especially wheat) and casein (in dairy products) "look" very similar, never of which can be easily digested. In an attempt to prevent you from harm, the stomach neutralizes the threat from these unsafe proteins and prevent them from passing through the rest of the digestive tract. If a person continues to consume these “toxic” foods, it eventually damages the intestinal lining and causes undigested proteins to pass into the bloodstream. This triggers the immune system to produce antibodies against these unsafe foods and attack them. Over time, the immune system begins accidentally attacking the body’s tissues as foreign and gives birth to autoimmunity. As the case of "mistaken identity" continues (again, due to consuming the same food that initiated the damage), the immune system becomes destructive in its attack.
At the same time, there is overfeeding of pathogenic microbes in the the gut and insufficient growth of beneficial strains of bacteria responsible for many critical cell function. Let’s take for example gram negative bacteria, considered to be “bad bugs” when their growth exceeds “good bugs”.
A byproduct of gram negative bacteria is an endotoxin called lipopolysaccharide (LPS). When LPS is released into the bloodstream from intestinal tissue, it causes mast cell to degranulate and release several inflammatory mediators. This creates an inflammatory war zone throughout the body which triggers swelling within many internal organs. It is critical to have a healthy balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria since they are both responsible for the digestive tract functioning properly as well as other organ systems.
Conventional Medicine views inflammation as a toxin or a disease that needs to suppressed and doesn’t take the time to understand the root cause of what is driving the immune reaction in the first place. With minimal education and experience in how diet and lifestyle directly contributing to many diseases, doctors typically never take into account recommending patients to stop consuming the most inflammatory foods, such as red meat, dairy products, poultry, eggs, fish, GMO crops (i.e., wheat, corn, soy, rice), sugar, alcohol, tomatoes and processed nutrient-poor foods. They instead recommend immunosuppressive medication notorious for further accelerating complications associated with autoimmune diseases. This can include steroids as well as antibiotics which kill beneficial microbes and further compromise the immune system.
GUARANTEED RESULTS
If you suspect you have a food intolerance or have been recently diagnosed with an inflammatory digestive disorder, such as Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, or Celiac Disease, reach out to Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D.. As the nation’s leading expert in integrative and functional medicine, she combines the best in Eastern and Western Medicine to understand the root causes of diseases and provides personalized treatment plans that drive quick and effective results. Dr. Bhandari has helped thousands of patients suffering from gut disorders heal from the inside out.