Colitis
What is Colitis?
Colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that results in chronic swelling of the digestive tract, usually in the large intestine (colon) and the rectum. Colitis generally refers to two common types of conditions, either Chrohn’s Disease, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract, or ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum. Many patients with these conditions exhibit diarrhea, abdominal pain or bloating, weight loss, and frequent bowel movements.
Colitis can have many different causes, including:
- Acute and chronic infections, including food poisoning
- Inflammatory disorders, including “Leaky Gut”
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lack of blood flow to the colon
- Past radiation to the large bowel
- High sugar, low fiber diets
- Fatty acid imbalances in the colon
- Heavy metal toxicity
Symptoms may include:
- Abdominal bloating
- Abdominal pain that is constant or intermittent
- Bloody stools
- Rectal bleeding
- Chills
- Constant urge to have a bowel movement
- Constipation, despite the urge to have a bowel movement
- Dehydration
- Diarrhea
- Increased intestinal gas
- Weight loss
Who is Affected?
It is estimated that as many as 1.4 million Americans have colitis, mainly Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis. Males and females appear to be affected equally. Colitis tends to run in families.
What are Options for Treatment?
At the Magaziner Center for Wellness, we treat colitis by removing the agents that irritate the colon, namely through nutritional supplementation, changes to the diet and other detoxification methods. Before beginning a treatment program, we look closely at a patient’s diet and lifestyle – to determine whether or not there may be sensitivities to foods, use of artificial sweeteners or other processed foods. We often find intestinal dysbiosis, or lack of normal bacterial homeostasis (balance), that may be contributing to inflammation and heightening symptomatology.
We have also treated our patients suffering specifically from Crohn’s Disease using FDA-approved naltrexone, in a low dose, to boost the immune system and decrease inflammation of the colon.
Lastly, we utilize the detox and gastrointestinal health programs within the ONDAMED® biofeedback machine to complement these lifestyle changes and natural therapies designed to treat the major forms of Colitis.