In 1992, at the age of 46, and after decades of constitutional abuse, Crohn's Disease hit me with a debilitating vengeance.  Crohn's Disease is a serious illness consisting of a chronic inflammation of all or part of the intestines. If it's severe enough, you can die from it. The symptoms vary in intensity among sufferers, but for me, it involved great pain, general fecal incontinence, dangerous weight loss, and a necessary self-imposed confinement. Additionally, it caused fatigue, depression, pervasive weakness, and was a destroyer of my life's quality.  

When I first went to the Doctor for treatment of this condition, the GI (gastrointestinal) specialist immediately and reflexively put me on a 6-week regimen of the steroid Prednisone, and then followed this with large, daily doses of the sulfa drug sulphasalazine. A testament to the toxicity of these dangerous prescription drugs is that I began 8 full years of a misery so complete, absolute, and progressive that I began to wonder how life could be borne at all. 

I was in hell.  

Around 1998, in the 6th year of this constant and unending torment, I started having periodic bouts of partial bowel blockage that would compel me to drive myself to the hospital emergency room, literally on the verge of screaming.  Again, there was more Prednisone, which merely took the edge off my continuing torture. 

I felt I was dying. I was constantly ill and beset by sores, rashes, and open lesions. My weight was in a downward spiral. Moreover, my hopefulness was destroyed by a platoon of Doctors and specialists making every indication that everything that could be done, was being done, short of surgery to remove large sections of my bowel.  I had that to look forward to... 

Driven to distraction, and curious that diet was not even mentioned in the course of years of my unsatisfactory treatment (except to do nothing special regarding my diet!), I began to research my medical predicament on my own.  I was immediately shocked to discover that there is a whole other nutritional community out there that had much better information on my predicament than I had!  Why, it was common knowledge to every holistic MD, every herbalist, and even every giggling high school girl clerking the local health food store that Prednisone and sulphasalazine were, assuredly, bad for the gut in the short and long term. 

This seemingly credible community advises that the "Gut" is the first and most important line of medical defense. A sick gut at any location is in fact made only worse by painkillers and steroids! Also, they inform conclusively  that relatively disease free guts were under constant attack by antibiotics, much too liberally prescribed, chlorine in the tap water, and other needless environmental insults that our un-enlightened flesh is heir to. 

These drugs make the individual sicker because, despite the fact that they can reduce the trouble causing inflammation and make one feel a little better - they throw out the proverbial healthful baby with the bath water. In fact, they make the disease worse. In the first place they too blithely kill the very necessary good bacteria along with bad bacteria. In the second place, the Prednisone suppresses the entire immune system so the whole individual is vastly more prone to opportunistic disease and infection of all  types. 

The "good" bacteria are symbiotic animals evolved to live with us - in our gut - and they are the best defense we have against a plethora of parasites, toxins, and infectious microbes. The ever-present Candida, for example, proliferates when not held in check by the gut's good bacteria. Candida produces colonies of yeast that take up parasitic residence in the lining of the colon. These little bits of yeast not only decrease the functionality of the affected gut and provide for more illness, they are also absorbed into the blood stream to take up residence in the liver, spleen, kidneys or even the vagina. These harmful disease germs, liberated by the prescribed drugs, are not good friends and neighbors. The result of this yeasty mess is a "leaky gut".  

Candida proliferation can also cause other problems: Osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, Fibromyalgia, MS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and arthritis. That list just goes on and on. 

It is no stretch to reiterate that a healthy gut pre-supposes a healthy individual, and that a healthy gut is the first line of defense in a program of total health. As an aside to the reader, perhaps it is the bowel and not the cardiovascular system that should get the obsessive attention that the heart and lungs, surely, do. 

Eventually returning to the hospital for the usual appointment, I confronted my HMO doctor with this new information, and explained to him how it seemed to completely dovetail into my own, vast, experience with what I must now identify as the "Prednisone Lie". Each of the 6 times I had been placed on the steroid Prednisone, I was told that it would "beat back the Crohn's disease" and that after a few weeks of "healing" (ha!) I could come off the dangerous steroid, and although the Crohn's would probably return, it would "not be as bad." It was a  lie, reader - well meaning or not. 

In confirmation, I had noticed that after any of the subsequent Prednisone treatments I received that the returned Crohn's disease would actually be worse! Sulfa drugs and steroids were making my disease more severe. There was no "healing." There was no "real" remission! I would anticipate the Prednisone for some small temporary relief, ignoring the probability that I would actually feel worse after the Prednisone. Was there not something else?  Was there not some other way? 

At this point, I began to beg the Doctor for anything that might help. He looked me right in the eye, and, apparently oblivious to what I had told him, suggested a steroid enema!!!  I hung my head and walked out of his office. He asked me where I was going. Not breaking stride, I muttered that maybe it was he that was in need of that steroid enema...  

I've never been back to the doctor again for treatment of my Crohn's disease.  Instead, I went on a campaign of intense research, open-minded evaluation, and "what-the-hell" experimentation. 

Now, I know that "what-the-hell" experimentation is exactly what the medical community uses as an excuse to demonize food supplements and nutrition therapy; however, I would not have had to "experiment", at all, if more Doctors had not dug in their arrogant heels by refusing to pursue cross-training in alternate nutritional disciplines. Good reader, I was driven to experimentation! 

Searching the web, reading books on alternate medical methods, hanging out at the local health food store, and trying all sorts of different herbal and dietetic regimens put my doctor's reluctance into an unsettling new light. I can understand how any MD might be loath to have an association with many of the more far-out "crystal squeezing" and "aura examining" approaches. Most of these approaches are likely born of arguable quackery. But I was very disconcerted to discover that some very mainstream advice my doctors should have been giving me - could have been giving me... they were not. All of the things that they should have been telling me would not compromise best practice, denigrate their science, or get them in trouble with an insurance company. 

For example: My Doctors could have told me that the sulpha drugs they gave me kill the little critters that produce Vitamin K - another side effect of their anti-symbiotic process. Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting. Vitamin K is crucial for people with colitis or the more serious Crohn's. As I am a prone bleeder, which my doctors knew, they should have been telling me to take a supplement for K - like Alfalfa, a quality source. They said NOTHING about Vitamin K. This is hardly best practice, and was not good science. 

Another example: Everyone with a gut disease such as mine should take a supplement of chromium amino acid chelated or polynicotinate daily to increase the number of insulin receptor sites. This is an easily implemented aid in sugar metabolism to facilitate a digestion system already under extreme stress. This is not snake oil, good reader: this is science with citation. Not a word from my HMO Doctors about chromium, though... 

Still another example: Acidophilus & other cultures should be taken daily to help replenish the good bacteria that the sulpha drugs wipe out so indiscriminately. Not one of the 8 or 10 doctors that I had over those 8 years even mentioned one of these things. And believe me, I asked. More importantly, I listened. 

I no longer have Crohn's... What did I do? 

I'll tell you what I did, but it would be irresponsible of me if I did not tell you what I am not. I am not a doctor. I am a retired Army Helicopter pilot who can read, study, and keep an eye to a scientific approach. I have no special qualifications except I am trained to teach High School Physics, Chemistry & Biology.  So, consider this only as a good faith report from the field on an approach to Bowel disease that worked for me & 100's of others over the years that took my advise. 

Moreover, I'm not shilling for any health food companies or getting any compensation for suspicious endorsements. Nor am I grinding any kind of personal axe...well, except to put the evil Big Pharmz industry out of business.

Please give a try to as many of the following recommendations as you can.  I've listed them here in what I believe is some kind of importance, but if you only want to try ONE, do not pass on the Bovine Colostrum.  That was the corner-turner for me!  However, there is one WARNING associated with both bovine and goat colostrum.  There is some evidence that Johnes' Disease in ruminate animals can be transferred to humans in milk and colostrum, and supposedly can cause Crohn's.  The opposing view is that Johnes has several characteristics or markers not found in human Crohn's.  The Johns microbe is initially transmitted from the animals udders that are contaminated with feces.  For this reason the big colostrum providers are being very careful with cleanliness and animal testing, but some small, unscrupulous, or no-name provider might not be so careful.  I believe the vast majority of people with Crohn's are like me and had the disease long before ever trying colostrum.  If Crohn's actually does come from dairy than I had to have contracted it from milk.  I don't know if there are actually any documented cases where a person started taking colostrum and then contracted Crohn's, but just to be safe I recommend the following:   

a.  Only take Colostrum if you already have bowel disease -- don't take it if you are otherwise healthy.

b.  If you take colostrum for Crohn's, only take it for the first few months to get things under control while the slower therapies  like diet change and supplementation have a chance to work.  I actually quit taking colostrum, long before I ever heard of Johns' disease, because I didn't really need it.

c.  Only go back to colostrum if you have a flare-up.

d.  Only buy colostrum from the two or three major brands -- like "New Life" bovine or "Garden of Life" goat colostrum...there are other good brands. 

1. Colostrum

Colostrum is a miracle substance. It's that initial shot of Colostrum in its mother's milk that gets the newborn antelope or zebra from the surface of the savanna and, within minutes, running with its mother from the hyenas and lions! Without it, it is barely be able to stand and would die almost immediately. Colostrum is a promoter of immune enhancing qualities facilitating natural chemical health mechanisms. These mechanisms cover the anti-viral, the anti-bacterial, the anti-inflammatory, and the anti-fungal. Additionally, Colostrum is a potent anti-oxidant. This is only the tip of the iceberg as regards what I must testify now to be some extraordinarily efficacious stuff! 

This is not new information. Humans have long known the benefits of bovine Colostrum as a quality promoter of natural health and real healing. The upper castes in India have been using the substance for thousands of years, and this is remembering the strong vegan contingent that India supports. In other words, even a vegetarian can consume it with a clear conscience. And don't worry about the calves getting shorted their share of Colostrum. The calves are not affected the same way bees are not affected regarding their honey. There's always enough Colostrum the same way there is always enough honey. Nature makes more than enough. 

The kind I take is called "New Life" Colostrum. I chose this brand because my research indicated that I could have some assurance that I was actually getting what I was paying for. This should always be a concern when buying a consumable, as we shall see. (Some of the vitamins, herbs, and supplements that are commonly bought and  discussed here, are often not only worthless, they are extremely harmful! This practice is more insidious than one would imagine.)   

New Life Colostrum is packaged as gelatin or lipid capsules, which should be taken on an empty stomach to facilitate their release in the intestine, rather than in the stomach.  Don't take liquid or powder forms...they are for weight-lifters not for gut disease.

Unlike some of the harsher therapies I endured that required massive doses for weeks or months to see barely perceptible improvement, the Colostrum worked overnight for me! 

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: this reporter thinks that the garden-variety individual could expect at least a 50% and as much as a 70% improvement in their colitis or Crohn's, overnight! I say this based upon myself and many others, but I would additionally say that the garden-variety Crohn's sufferer would see a 70% to 90% improvement in 72 hours. A sample of a few  is not science, I know. Still, it happened to me and others! 

You should slowly wean yourself off the Prednisone and stop taking sulphasalazine the day you start taking the Colostrum. Three days on Colostrum would be a good test, and if it does not work for you, you can go back to your old medications. But this reporter predicts that you will not go back. Prepare to be amazed!  

Note: Please check with your doctor before discontinuing any medications (especially Prednisone), or starting any new ones. Prednisone, and other cortisone-based drugs, must NOT  be discontinued suddenly!! Dosages must be slowly reduced to avoid serious complications.  

Prepare to feel better physically. Prepare to have your depressions disappear because Colostrum safely promotes the production and enhances the longevity of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. Necessary for many other important functions, these are also Nature's very own feel-good drugs. If you could buy them on the street they would be illegal. Colostrum helps the body make the stuff. And Instead of laying around and drooling with the usual drug treatments for depression, eat Colostrum and have the justified compulsion to Rock around the Clock! I did! I'd predict that you would, too! 

2. Flax seed & Fish Oil

Flax seed, ground fresh in a coffee grinder is then eaten right away in something cold. This is another substance that heat degrades. This is a very cheap way to get a portion of the  required amounts of the Omega-3 fatty acids. The research that I've done indicates that if healthy people ate 2 or 3 tablespoons of freshly ground flax seed every day, they might never develop any kind of bowel disease, MS, or cancer. This is because Omega-3 promotes good flora and fauna in the gut. One of these "good" bugs converts lignans into two of the strongest cancer inhibitors known to man. Plus it supports the structure and function of the Myelin sheath to combat MS. 

Krill & Fish Oil is a superior form of Omega-3's.  EPA and DHA (the two forms found in Krill & fish oil), each have magical properties.  EPA is the precursor to the beneficial prostaglandin-3 (see "Fat Facts" paper) which reduces inflammation, platelet stickiness, and allergic reactions.  DHA is the "brain food for babies" fatty acid.  Every pregnant and nursing mother should take supplemental DHA in the form of fish oil or Krill oil.  DHA is not only good for the developing brain but is also good for the old person's brain to avoid dementia.   I would avoid DHA by its self. Always take with EPA.   

3. Fiber Formula

 Freashly ground flaxseed is the Cadillac of Soluble/Insoluble fiber.  But never buy PRE-ground flaxseed, it has too much oxidation.  I great way to start the day if you have bowel disease is to take a big dose of fiber first thing in the AM.  I like 2 Tbls of freshly ground flaxseed mixed with a big Tbls of "Soluble Fiber Formula" ...containing things like psyllium, acacia gum, oat bran, apple fiber, apple pectin BUT NO preground flaxseed. Always drink lots of water with fiber.

4.  Red wine

One small glass of red wine, once a day with a meal. That's one four-ounce (4 oz.) glass. Not two glasses because you're a big guy. Not an eight-ounce glass. Not a couple of indiscriminate pulls from the bottle. A small amount of dry, dark Red wine facilitates the gut in a manner that complements the Colostrum. The reader can see how close to the top of the list wine is to get an idea regarding its effectiveness.

5. L-Glutamine (DO NOT pass on this one)

A very cheap Amino Acid that helps grow new muscle and intestinal mucosa cells, making the villi longer and more efficient, which increases absorption of nutrients and protection from toxins. L-Glutamine is particularly good for autoimmune diseases like crohn's and the associated depression...it easily passes the blood brain barrier so it is a powerful brain tonic by converting to glutamic acid (cerebral function) & GABA.  The purest and cheapest is in scoopable, powder. Even thought the year supply, 1000 gram size is cheaper, if you buy the 500 gram and take a 3 gram dose it will last about 6 months -- you do this because it is sensitive to moisture contamination...so don't leave the lid off or have wet hands. In fact, for this reason I take the capsule form.

The tips of the intestinal villi have to be regrown every day...so if you really want to get serious, I would take L-Glutamine the way weight-lifters take it to help grow more muscle by growing longer Villi.  So to regrow (heal) your gut why not try taking 6 to 9 grams of L-Glutamine on an empty stomach (it's very cheap) in 2 divided doses..

6. Olive oil

Olive oil is one of the few fats that is good to consume. It is not in the same class as hydrogenated vegetable oil which the body treats like an ecological disaster - pasting the vicious substance on ones artery walls in the form of a thick plaque and leading to a HOST of other medical problems... Hydrogenated vegetable oil deserves a critical essay all its own. 

Numerous people already appreciate olive oil consumed cold, as in a salad vinaigrette; however, it is even more important to use olive oil for frying and baking because it and Macadamia nut oil are the only true mono-unsaturated oil (Omega-9). Poly-unsaturated oils (Omega-6) like corn, soy and safflower, when heated, produce a toxin called lipid peroxide that causes CELLULAR DAMAGE. And don't be fooled by claims that canola oil is mono-unsaturated. That is only partially true. This is because all vegetable food oils are a combination of mono unsaturated to poly-unsaturated oils at different percentages with a small percentage of sat-fat thrown in.  Olive and macadamia nut oils are 76% and 80% mono respectively, with less than 10% poly.  The percent of mono in canola oil is 54% with 37% poly -- so I guess, technically, it can be called a mono-unsaturated oil at 54%; however, that undesirable 37% poly looms large and is available to turn into a toxin (lipid peroxide).  Next the true poly-unsaturated oils soy and corn are at a mono to poly percentage of about 60/25%, making them VERY toxic when heated. Now consider safflower oil with a whopping 80% of its content available for toxin production!

Never eat cottonseed oil! Homo Erectus was never meant to eat cotton. Besides, it is necessary to soak cotton with several times the amount of insecticides as most crops, especially any other "fiber" crops. Yet, the cotton seed is allowed to slip through without meeting the more rigorous toxicity standards that food crops have to meet. Inexplicably, it does wind up in our food. 

One might wonder! What if one uses canola oil cold, before the poly-unsaturated oil (Omega-6) is turned toxic by cooking heat. Well, the problem now is in order to fully utilize the all-important Omega-3 in our diet, we want as close to a ratio of 4:1 as possible. That's 4 "Omega-6" to 1 "Omega-3."  Because the cheap Omega-6 is found EVERYWHERE, the average American diet is an unbalanced ratio of 20:1. One begins to see that one wants to make a concerted effort to eliminate poly-unsaturated Omega-6 Food-Oil from their diet. So, use OLIVE OIL for everything! 

7. Filtered Tap Water

Stop drinking plain tap water and cooking with it.  Use water filtered with reverse osmosis or the highest rated carbon filter you can find... never use distilled... it leaches minerals from your bones. Reverse osmosis is very low on trace minerals , so replace with trace mineral drops.  Tap water is really not clean enough to bath in, anymore. Tap water has become such a noxious cocktail of animal hormones, hormone mimics, antibiotics, fluorine, and chlorine that it could be the eventual death of us all. A "death" presently indicated by E-coli 0157, created by over-use of antibiotics, and which no synthetic drug on Earth can kill. 

8. Chromium Amino Acid Chelated (Albion Chelation)

There is some controversy concerning the safety of picolinate -- so there is no point taking a chance when there are several other forms...in particular, my favorite, amino acid chelated.  Polynicotinate is also good.

Taken at a dosage of 400 micrograms daily. Buy a good brand in a health food store or a trusted location on the Web. Avoid brands that contain dicalcium phosphate: it blocks the use of several other key vitamins. Also avoid calcium carbonate: some forms contains Lead! 

As it does in "Tums" and some other antacids, the carbonate prohibits the acid in the stomach that is required for some vitamin use and mineral absorption. The human body does not absorb the calcium in "Tums" as the ads say. The stomach acid that is required for the body to utilize the calcium is neutralized by the carbonate, rendering the calcium useless to the body. In another time and place one might say that getting the necessary calcium via a Tums tablet is a rank obfuscation - a lie by another name. 

Most people with digestion problems suffer from too little acid anyway, not too much acid, especially as the sufferer gets older. Tums may be a detractor to health. I've sworn off them completely, and I'm not looking back. But then, I don't get indigestion anymore, anyway. 

9. Acidophilus/ Digestive Enzymes

I've found the non-dairy forms to be the best.  However, the best & cheapest way to get a broad spectrum of probiotics (10) is consume 1 or 2 cups of plain  Kefir. Usually only found in health food stores, Kefir is "Super Yogurt"-- higher in protein and probiotics, yet lower in lactose.   If you don't use Kefir then it is best to use what is called a "Heat Stabilized Probiotics" or "Freezed-Dried Probiotics" in capsule form (I would avoid tablets).    Take a broad spectrum Digestive Enzyme Formula just before each Fat & Protein meal.

10. Garlic

Fresh  Garlic is best.  And isn't it interesting how sulpha drugs are harmful to the gut, but sulfur FOODS like garlic and onions are natural antibiotics that sooth and help heal the colon? 

11. Green Foods/Algae

There are numerous good green food formulas along with various combinations of green foods like spiralina, chorrella, and blue green algae.  Again, if you want the best (also the most expensive) meal replacement green food like "Living Fuel Rx" is the complete package.  It along with Kefir,  fish oil, and freshly ground flax seed can stop Crohn's in its tracks. 

12. Tea

Most black and green tea have extremely high levels of fluoride. One needs to find an organic tea or extract that is grown in a fluoride free area of the world.  Incidentally, never use sodium fluoride dental products.   

13. Sugar

OK - this is a tough one. Never use Saccharin, Equal or refined sugar. The hazards of these substances is well known and well documented.  Refined sugar, thought safe as mothers milk, if discovered today might even be labeled as a hazardous food substance - right up there with the dreaded MSG (monosodium glutamate). Refined sugar is too much, too fast, too soon and causes a pancreatic freak-out of insulin production every time it is consumed. 

Use "Stevia" extract, instead. It has no calories and is "glycemic zero." It can be found at numerous locations on the Web and at your local health food store. It is a great substitute for "Equal" because it's natural. 

The reader is reminded that Saccharin, Equal (aspartame) or refined sugar - like aspirin, hydrogenated vegetable oil, Pepsid AC - and a thousand other ubiquitous everyday items that seem innocuous - are not harmless at all. They are not found in nature, so they put a huge strain on a confused liver and digestive system that for 2 million years of evolution on the Serengeti plains as a hunter/gatherer, never saw anything remotely close to a Tylenol or a Twinkie. 

If the reader feels they must continue to use sugar, then use a form with a low glycemic number like Tupelo honey. This should be kept to a minimum; however, especially if you have heart disease because even low glycemic fructose causes your very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) to increase which can exacerbate heart problems.  I don't mean to insult the reader's intelligence, but let me explain a little bit about the glycemic numbers, how they pertain to sugar, and like Paul Harvey, a little bit of the rest of the story... 

The lower the glycemic number of the sugar article, the less insulin has to be arduously manufactured by special bodies on the pancreas to deal with it. Insulin, remember, maintains a thin range of the level of raw sugar in the blood... the lower that glycemic number, the better...<BUT>  there is one fallacy, Low glycemic fructose can have a very low # like 32 but it still contributes to Fructose-induced Insulin Resistance  So use Stevia or Xylitol. Remember, insulin makes you fat! 

The rest of the story? The reader must use caution in a sugary subterfuge of real corporate chicanery. An evil trick the 'wholesome' juice manufacturer (like Ocean Spray) will employ is to advertise the health benefits of "100% Juice" sweetened with fructose. The only problem is that the sweet substance that they are using is a cheap concentrated grape juice, which still has a high glycemic value of close to 90. In other words, Ocean Spray's "fructose" is almost as bad as table sugar, even though it is still, technically, 100% juice. 

15. Dairy

At last and finally, we come upon the most successfully campaigned razzle-dazzles of all time. It's a cruel, dirtily fought campaign of bald-faced lies, clever obfuscation, and crass influence peddling. Behold the men behind the marketing who knowingly and inaccurately pontificate, "Milk does a body good."  

Dairy is an inefficient and unhealthful way to try to get calcium -- primarily because the percentage of magnesium is too low.  You need at least a 2 to 1 (Cal/Mag) ratio, and many holistic types feel it should be closer to one to one.  Also the pasteurization process destroys any good bacteria and healthful characteristics along with the bad bacteria.  The raw milk people say that the good bacteria protect you from the bad, plus the protein and cholesterol have not been damaged.  I suggest you research www.mercola.com for straight raw milk info.  

So, the dairy industry gives pause and has us beg the question. Why consume a food like milk that is not good for you (lactose intolerance, bad cholesterol, homogenization atomizing the fat into perfect little plaque scales to plug up the reader's arteries... Don't get me started... After a very young age, milk is more indigestible and is an overall detriment to health. Never drink milk again, and never look back. 

So... Got milk? I sincerely hope not... 

A great milk substitute is the previously mentioned  Kefir.  It is thick & sour ( fermented ) so if you  add ice water and Stevia to sweeten ...it taste great.  However, if you add extracts ( vanilla, etc.) you can make a milkshake tasting drink that kids love better than ole' boring milk. 

0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0 

That's more than enough regarding my struggle and relief from my Bowel disease. It is a relief that I hope I was able to share with you if you are a fellow sufferer; at least 1 in 10 of you are. 

Truly, I was living a hell on Earth until I discovered Colostrum. In turn, the nutritional community that turned me on to Colostrum has turned me on to a host of other quality-of-life enhancing substances that I can take with a lot more safety (and a lot more effectively) than Prednisone or sulphasalazine. These new nutritional substances have been a true corner-turner for me! 

Sincerely, I now understand that old cliché, "A new lease on life," as I never have before. In fact, it's no longer a cliché: I have that new lease on life. I think the suffering reader can have it, too. 

Worryingly, I also have a new appreciation for irony. How is it that the 8 or 10 doctors attending me - who saw me suffering for almost a decade - could remotely fail to even hint at the relief that I had to find entirely by myself?  HOW??  WHY?? 

The implications of that are puzzling, disappointing, and more than a little troubling... 

Well be...