WANTED: Crohn's End
Sometimes you have to listen to your gut.
Document: Treatment Options for IBDs
Aug 18th
I would love to have your feedback on a new document I created today, Options for Treating IBDs.
I created this because many people are not aware of most of these treatment options. I do not want this document to cover every single treatment that exists, there are hundreds, but to be a beginning point for people to do more research.
It introduces diets, supplements, drugs and unconventional treatments.
Ancestral Health Symposium
Aug 11th
On August 5th and 6th I attended the first annual Ancestral Health Symposium, which is run by the Ancestral Health Society, a non-profit dedicated to developing solutions to our current health challenges from an evolutionary perspective. They ask questions such as, “How does health today compare with the health of our ancestors?” and “What makes up for any perceived differences in our health from our ancestors?”
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Getting Results
Aug 11th
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.”
Let’s think about this quote for a moment.
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Free Webinar by SCD Lifestyle
Jul 31st
Are you someone who’s tried the Specific Carbohydrate Diet but it didn’t work for you? Or have you tried it only to feel like you’ve achieved decent health, but know that there’s another 20% to be squeezed out but seems impossible to achieve?
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Dangers of Low Residue Diets in IBDs
Jul 25th
During my last interview trip with Tara Marie Rosas, she told me how the very foods that were recommended by her gastroenterologist, such as white rice, pasta and mashed potatoes from the low-residue diet [1], [2] were in hindsight, the very foods that hurt her by continuing her symptoms.
The low-residue diet is the only diet that is recommended by gastroenterologists for symptoms of bowel pain, otherwise, they advise patients to eat whatever they want, because they believe diet plays no role in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).
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Norwegian Review of LDN
Jul 23rd
This is a Norwegian review of the use of low-dose naltrexone in various autoimmune conditions, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Original article: http://tidsskriftet.no/article/2099398
Translated article: http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=no&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftidsskriftet.no%2Farticle%2F2099398&act=url
I once called a local compounding pharmacy to ask if it’s possible that pharmaceutical companies could pick up LDN, repatent it and hike up the price to profit from it’s wide spread use. The pharmacist I spoke with said absolutely, it happens all the time and it can be beneficial for patients because it can get promoted more, they learn about it sooner and see benefit.
But the following quote from the article in the final “Talk” section makes me see that this might not happen.
The pharmaceutical industry seems to have little interest in investigating the effect of low dose naltrexone, probably because the patent has expired. The treatment is most likely in conditions where the so-called biological drugs may be appropriate. Such drugs are very expensive…
That is a frickin’ excellent point! The companies that have developed biologic drugs have invested millions (I’m assuming, haven’t researched) of dollars into the development and marketing of their biologic drugs. To abandon that freight train and switch to LDN will hurt them economically. But even more important is that the biologic drugs are expensive, and even if they hike up the price of LDN, they probably won’t be able to match the price of their biologics, so they still will want to use the biologics for profit potential.
… and can be associated with several serious side effects. If naltrexone in low doses proved to be effective, it is conceivable that the use of several of the most expensive drugs can be reduced for some patients. Such potential savings should encourage research in the direction of the public.
It’s rare to see such a clear cut statement like that in a medical article or study, not sure why it is, perhaps it has to do with funding.
IBD Resource Thread
Jul 7th
A friend of mine, Pat Miller created a thread at IBDSupport.org listing many conventional and alternative approaches to treating inflammatory bowel diseases. I thought it worth sharing.
The Biopunk Manifesto
Jun 20th
My friend and former Production assistant Daniel Durrant sent me a very interesting video titled “A Biopunk Manifesto”.
GAPS – Day 52 & Blood Lab Results
Jun 16th
Other than low energy in the late afternoon and as I write this (eyes are heavy) I felt great today. No pain, little to no gas, and one solid BM today early in the morning.
I really think Kefir is making a difference. My gut feels so calm. I was drinking a commercial brand, but tonight I have a batch that will finish fermenting in a few hours. I’m interested in seeing if it will be more potent.
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