Ulcerative Colitis, IBS and other Inflammatory bowel diseases

A friend asked me the other day what I thought were the contributing factors towards the apparent increase in inflammatory bowel diseases in places like New Zealand and whether I am seeing the same thing here in Switzerland.

My answer: I think the increase is happening all around the world in varying degrees, depending on the diet, level of stress caused by lifestyle, use of antibiotics and general health of the population.

Let me explain.

The only reason the bowel would develop an inflammatory bowel disease, whether it is IBS, Crohns or Ulcerative colitis is because of an external factor and the combination of an internal factor. When a normally healthy person encounters gluten in wheat for instance, it doesn’t cause a problem, but when that same person has lowered stomach acidity, then the gluten can cause problems because it travels into the large intestine only partially digested and this can result in inflammation, immune response etc.

Some of the external factors that could play a role:

• Intake of foods that are irritating to the lining of the intestine - the list is long and many of our "western" type foods are culprits. eg. huge amounts of wheat and other gluten containing grain products that haven't been fermented before consumption. Traditional fermentation of grains actually prevents a lot of the problems we have been experiencing with gluten intolerance and carbohydrate sensitivity.
  
• Intake of various drugs and antibiotics which either kill or damage the beneficial bacteria population in the intestines that would normally confer a large degree of protection against inflammation and damage to the intestinal lining. Eg. birth control pills, anti-fungal medication, all antibiotics, and any drugs that alter the pH of the stomach or digestive tract. 
• Use of acid lowering medications for the stomach or antacids. These all lower the levels of stomach acid, which have a knock on effect of altering the pH in the digestive tract, allowing yeasts and other fungi to live in the more alkaline environment.
  
• Other foods that ideally should be fermented before consumption in order to increase digestibility and break down the carbohydrate component before ingestion so as to prevent fermentation in the bowel. Also, all grains and legumes contain phytates and other anti-nutrients in their outer skin which prevents germination until the conditions are right, but when we consume them without deactivating these componants, they can cause damage in our guts as they bind with many different minerals and prevent proper absorption of nutrients. eg. corn, rice, legumes, chickpeas, beans.
• Eating foods that favour a more alkaline gut environment which then allows yeasts and other fungi to grow instead of a more acid environment which allows beneficial bacteria to function and thrive.
  
• Pasteurized dairy products with their damaged proteins and lactose content that does not contain any lactase enzyme (due to the pasteurization process) which would normally help to break it down. 
• Artificial colourings and Flavourings which can cause irritation to the lining of the large intestine in susceptible individuals
• Preservatives - many of these are mold inhibitors and have strong anti-bacterial properties as they are designed to keep food fresh. The effects of some of these in the body are not well understood but I suspect they also can contribute towards irritation of the lining of the digestive tract.
  

Internal Factors:

• Reduced stomach acid production as a result of stress or nutritional deficiencies or both. This can lead to any food containing protein to be only partially hydrolised (Split apart) for digestion, resulting in partially digested food travelling through the digestive tract and reaching the large intestine. This can be a cause of immune responses towards the protein molecules which normally would have been broken down. This could cause inflammation, immune attack against the lining of the intestinal wall in an attempt to prevent absorption, and other unknown reactions depending on the person's response.
  
• Reduced levels of probiotics present in the large intestine which make it susceptible to damage and inflammation as well as an imbalance of organisims which would normally be present. eg. keeping candida albicans infection under control and preventing growth of harmful bacteria which may be ingested.
  
• Damaged lining due to consumption of gluten containing foods which have caused irritation in the lining of the large intestine, allowing it to be damaged further by other mechanisms.
• Damaged lining due to infection by bacteria or virus or fungus which could lead to the immune system mounting an attack against these foreign invaders, leading to destruction of the intestinal lining as collateral damage. ie. this would be a type of auto-immune response which would be the result of the body attacking itself in an effort to rid itself of the for
  
• Lowered liver function due to increased toxic load as a result of environmental exposure to toxins, toxic food, toxic personal care products etc...which overburden its detox capabilities leaving it unable to adequately deal with the toxins going through its digestive tract. This can cause constipation, and lead to further inflammation in the gut.
• Reduced digestive enzyme output as a result of eating foods that don't contain any enzymes (ie. cooked foods and foods that have not been fermented) which puts a greater burden on the pancreas to produce enzymes in order to completely digest foods. The lack of enzymes would again result in improperly digested food travelling into the large intestine where it would cause inflammation and other problems as a result of the partially digested proteins inadequately digested fats etc. 
• Excessive carbohydrate and or sugar consumption also leads to fermentation in the large intestine as it stimulates growth of yeasts and fungus (ie. candida) which feeds on carbhohydrates. This then causes a fermentation digestive process in the large intestine rather than a lactic acid fermentation process, which leads to gas, bloating and other painful symptoms. 
• Nutritional deficiencies that affect either the pH level of the intestines, or the protective lining of the digestive tract or even the production of digestive enzymes, stomach acidity, or liver function, as all of these play a role in the proper digestion of foods. Many of these include: Magnesium, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and D, Omega 3 fish oils, Iron, many of the B vitamins - well actually practically all the vitamins and minerals play a role to some degree since the body is such an interconnected unit. So basically making sure a person has a general level of health by supplying the basic nutrients in adequate levels will ensure a better level of protection against development of inflammatory bowel diseases. 

So in light of these factors, it is pretty easy to see why there is such an increase in inflammatory bowel diseases around the world - most people do not have a good level of health, coupled with many external factors and at least one of the internal factors.

I recommend anyone who has a tendancy towards inflammatory bowel diseases to try taking a Betaine HCL supplement along with digestive enzymes and a probiotic supplement to see if that helps. Also to avoid refined carbohydrate foods and sugars as much as possible and instead opt for a low carb high healthy protein and fat diet instead and see if that makes a difference.

Let me know how you get on!