Over one to two million people have Crohn’s or IBS or ulcerative colitis.
And it may be quite preventable according to this new study.
This is a colon photo showing ulcerative colitis:
And this colon shows a frequent outcome of ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease after a long time untreated. This is a tumor, adenoma, which can be cancerous:
What’s the difference between ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s?
Technically, Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease with inflammation that can be anywhere from the mouth to the heinous. In Crohn’s, not every inch of your digestive tract is inflamed. You may have Crohn’s causing stomach issues or smaller intestine issues, or large intestine issues. But the rest of your gastrointestinal tract may be reasonably healthy.
With ulcerative colitis, the inflammation is only in your colon, or your bowel and rectum. Ulster colitis is a lot worse than Crohn’s, in that it results in severe inflammation of the colon, and can lead to long-term formation of tumors including cancerous adenomas.
But they’re really all the same
Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome, I believe are all almost identical.
There caused by inflammation and the inflammation may affect some or all of the digestive tract.
Practically every person reading this has inflammation in the bowel.
They may not be symptomatic, but inflammation the bowel is the norm today.
And inflammation often extends into the small intestine as well.
Anything that reduces gut inflammation harmlessly is helpful
There are all sorts of treatments for digestive tract inflammation. Many of those treatments involve harmful antibiotics.
The trouble with antibiotics is that the gut contains all sorts of yeast and bacteria and antibiotics only kill SOME while letting other bad ones strengthen and increase in numbers.
When the antibiotics hit bad bugs, they often will dig in further.
When under attack, some of these bacteria form harmful cysts.
And some dig into the walls of the digestive tract, like fingers poking through the gut wall, digging in and creating more inflammation than was there before.
The solution to ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, and IBS may be as simple as vinegar
For many years, maybe even centuries, people were taking apple cider vinegar to fix gut problems. You could probably use any vinegar, but folklore says apple cider vinegar is what works.
So now, researchers gave mice ulcerative colitis. And they tried to treat these mice with vinegar (NOT apple cider vinegar).
Vinegar helps cure ulcerative colitis
And most interesting, they pretreated mice with vinegar, and these mice, when challenged with a chemical that creates ulcerative colitis, didn’t get the problem at all.
The 28 days of vinegar pretreatment prevented them from getting ulcerative colitis
You may want to consider this. Because not only did the mice avoid ulcerative colitis, but their bacteria and yeast in the gut was increased in quality. They had fewer E. coli in their feces, which is a good sign of a healthy gut.
What to do next
If you want to try this, always consult your doctor first before embarking on any self treatment. You may want to dissolve one or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, and drink it. You might wish to try a small amount first.
Many people say this has given them amazing relief, especially when done just after eating.
I think that some people have insufficient stomach acid, and the apple cider vinegar acidity may assist their digestive process.
In any event, if you have any of these problems, IBS, Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, you want to see a doctor about it, and you may want to discuss trying the apple cider vinegar with your doctor.
One special note on teeth
Apple cider vinegar is very acidic, and repeatedly swallowing it days, weeks, and months may result in softening your teeth, and even gum problems.
It is possible to dilute the apple cider vinegar quite a lot, plus you should rinse your mouth immediately after drinking the apple cider vinegar.
And you may also find that neutralizing it with a bit of baking soda may help.
I have found the baking soda can be problematic, but if you just use a little, it might help. There is nothing that is perfect; even Apple cider vinegar has trade-offs, but it has proven very useful for people with gut problems.
http://www.cdc.gov/ibd/ibd-epidemiology.htm
Vinegar Treatment Prevents the Development of Murine Experimental Colitis via Inhibition of Inflammation and Apoptosis
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.5b05415
Ulcerative Colitis vs. Crohn's Disease
http://gastro.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=169