What is Crohn's disease?

• Crohn's disease (CD) is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The disease can affect any part of the GI tract but predominates in the final part of the small intestine or the terminal ileum. In general, isolated sections of the bowel will become diseased and ulcerated while other sections will remain healthy.
  

• Symptoms include chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, ulcers, mouth blisters, low grade fevers, joint pain, constipation, cramps, gas, fatigue, weight loss, fistulas and loss of appetite. As the disease shifts from flares to periods of remission, the intestinal walls tend to thicken from inflammation and scar tissue and blockages may occur.
  

• Nutritional deficiencies are common with CD. Abdominal pain and other symptoms may lead to food avoidance. The damaged intestinal walls are not able to efficiently absorb food and nutrients. Many CD sufferers have vitamin B deficiencies because of malabsorption.
  

• CD sufferers may undergo psychological examinations before a final diagnosis is reached. Make no mistake, the pain and suffering is real.
  

What causes Crohn's disease?

• CD is an auto immune disease. An abnormal immune response to food or bacteria in the gut damages the intestinal walls. Genetics would be play a key role in this process.
  

• CD is a normal immune response to an infectious bacteria. This would be very similar to tuberculosis where the body's response is more destructive than the organism is. Different bacterial strains could cause different symptoms and might explain the variability of this disease.
  

• Interestingly, people who develop CD eat significantly higher amounts of refined sugars than the average person.
  

How is CD treated today?

• Corticosteriods (or "steroids") including prednisone and methlyprednisolone: These medications will rapidly reduce inflammation and pain and increase appetite. Long term use has been associated with a list of horrible side effects, such as arthritis, stunted growth, ulcers, vision impairment, and bone loss. These medications often interfere with protein synthesis, a necessary process for healing the intestinal wall. CD patients will often become "steroid" dependent and require additional medications to reduce doses of corticosteroids.
  

• Aminosalicylates: including mesalamine and sulfasalazine. These "aspirin-like" medications help to reduce inflammation of the intestines. A common side effect is diarrhea and chronic headaches.
  

• Immune Suppressants: including 6-mercaptopurine (6MP), azathioprine, and methotrexate. Many of these type of medications were developed to decrease organ rejections. They work by directly suppressing and interfering with the body's own immune function. Use of these medications often carry an increased risk of cancer and/or bone marrow damage.
  

• Antibiotics: including ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and metrondazole. Metrondazole is often prescribed to help fistulas and colonic infections. Long term use of antibiotics can create an imbalance in gut flora, resulting in diarrhea, and resistance in bacteria. Antibiotics can also weaken the immune system. Interestingly enough, symptoms of Crohn's disease and other bowel diseases often occur after long term use of these medications.

1. Diagnosis

After many tests and examinations, a diagnosis is made.

2. Steroid Therapy

A high dose of prednisone will be prescribed to rapidly reduce inflammation, increase appetite, and alleviate pain. The patient will be advised to avoid problematic foods, but that diet has little influence on the disease.

3. Reduction of Steroids

Once the symptoms have been alleviated, the next step is to get the patient off of prednisone because of its severe side effects. Patients slowly taper the prednisone dose over many months. Symptoms may return near or below the 10 mg dose.

4. Drug Maintenance

Inevitably, the doctor will prescribe another medication. This is done to allow those who have become steroid dependent to stop taking prednisone or as a "maintenance" dose to keep the patient in "remission". Mesalamine or 6MP are commonly used here.

5. Temporary Remission

Patients will continue on these non-steroid medications until an increase in symptoms requires the use of prednisone (go back to step 3).

A Link between Crohn's and Diet?

• Robert C. Atkins, M.D. states in his book, Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution, that he has a 85 percent success rate of treating CD patients with a sugar-restricted (low carbohydrate) diet and high doses of B-vitamins, including folic acid and pantethine.
  

• Wolfgang Lutz, M.D., a medical clinician in Austria has a success rate of over 90 percent when treating his patients with a low carbohydrate diet for at least one year.
  

• Elaine Gottschall, M.S. has had remarkable success at healing others suffering from Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis with a specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), even curing her own daughter.
  

• John Yudkin, M.D. states in his book, Sweet and Dangerous, that he has successfully used a low carbohydrate diet to treat a variety of gastrointestinal ailments. In one study he achieved a 70 percent success rate.