Ulcerative colitis is a painful, debilitating condition that affects roughly 900,000 Americans.

Unfortunately, the standard treatments for ulcerative colitis frequently make things even worse!  Medications (which can include anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and immunosuppressive drugs) cause a variety of side effects and surgery can be life-changing, plus the disease can recur after surgery.

But many colitis sufferers have gotten tremendous relief by helping to safely and naturally reduce the stress on their colon, promote smooth digestion, and curb their inflammatory immune responses!

If you suffer from colitis, here is what you need to know about the condition and how you can get lasting relief: 

Life with Ulcerative colitis (UC)

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammation of the inner lining of the colon (large intestine) and/or rectum.

Typical symptoms are poor digestion, explosive bowel movements (as many as 30 or more a day!), rectal bleeding and pain.  As a result of these symptoms, you may also experience weight loss, fatigue and fever.   

In addition, long-term symptoms may include:

• Severe bleeding
• Liver disease
• Joint inflammation
• Perforated colon
• Dehydration
• Skin problems
• An increased risk of colon cancer
• Bone or muscle weakening

 

It’s a mystery…but not really

UC is somewhat of a mystery, but it’s becoming more clear what is behind it.

First, it is considered an autoimmune condition--meaning your immune system becomes hypersensitive, then begins to see normal tissue in your colon as a dangerous invader and launches an inflammatory response. 

There is also a suspected genetic relationship.  Studies have shown that a person with a first-degree relative with UC is up to 10 times more likely to develop the disease.

Medication use is also a factor, especially with antibiotics, birth control pills and NSAIDS.  These medications cause unhealthy changes to your gut microbiome and make you far more susceptible to infection, inflammation and disease.

Lastly, stress is also a factor and can trigger flare-ups.

The treatment options—as bad as the condition itself?

Although the symptoms of UC can be severe and debilitating, the typical remedies (drugs or surgery) can arguably be as bad or worse!

When it comes to drugs, the standard offerings are steroids, antibiotics or immunosuppressors.

Steroids can help reduce the inflammation, but they also can cause a wide variety of side effects, including bone loss or fractures, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, cataracts, glaucoma, increased chance of infection., low cortisol levels and increased risk of lymphoma.

Antibiotics upset your gut microbiome, weakening your immune function and further disrupting the digestive process—as if you’re not in enough agony as it is.

And immunosuppressive drugs may help to "quiet" the inflammatory immune reaction going on, but then you're lacking the protection of your immune system--and are far more susceptible to viruses, infections and diseases of all kinds (including cancer).

As far as surgery goes, with UC, you stand about a one in four chance of needing it at some point—meaning removal of some or all of your colon (colectomy). 

With a partial colectomy, even though the diseased portion of your colon is removed, you’re not home free because UC can "move down the road" and strike another area of the colon.

And if you go the route of a proctocolectomy (complete rectum and colon removal), you will end up with either a pouch that connects the small intestine to the anus (talk about anything-but-normal BMs for life), or a colostomy (a hole in your abdomen with a bag attached to catch feces).

Natural UC relief

Even though colitis sufferers may understandably feel hopeless at times, one thing that is for certain is that there are very effective strategies for counteracting it that can leave you feeling a WHOLE lot better!

Here are 4 safe, easy and effective strategies that can help bring lasting relief to UC sufferers:

1- Encourage sound digestion

Encouraging sound digestion and nutrient absorption is essential for colitis sufferers.

And a great way to help is to eat nutrient-packed meals that your body can more efficiently break down!

When digestion can be accomplished more easily, your wastes can move through the intestines smoothly like they should--with less chance of constipation, diarrhea, excessive gas or irritation.

And eating for better digestion is what you will learn to do in the Great Taste No Pain digestive health system.

In the Great Taste No Pain system, I show you step by step how to structure delicious, nutritious meals to encourage easier digestion, help nourish your body, help minimize irritation and increase your chances of feeling great after eating.

And the dishes in the recipe section are the best!  You’ll be shocked at how delicious eating for better health can be. 

2- Strengthen your gut microbiome

For people with UC, it's vital to have a strong gut wall and help keep harmful bacteria in check.

Step 1 is having a nutritious diet to nourish and encourage a healthy gut microbiome. 

However, experts also recommend supplementing with probiotic strains from both the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species. 

And Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula perfectly fits the bill!

Super Shield’s full-spectrum formula contains potent, well-studied strains of both Lactobacillus (which reside in the small intestine) and Bifidobacteria (that live in the large intestine), so your entire intestinal tract is covered!

3- Keep inflammation low

Keeping inflammation low in the intestines is crucial for UC sufferers.

And one natural anti-inflammatory that is showing great promise in the treatment of colitis is turmeric!

Studies are showing that turmeric has been helpful in curbing inflammation and maintaining remission in UC sufferers!

Plus, turmeric has been shown to have anti-cancer properties and to help decrease joint pain, and it’s a very effective antioxidant too!  

Although Indian cuisine contains turmeric, the amount you’d get in your diet would be far too low to make a significant difference.  That’s why it’s best to supplement with a high-quality, organic turmeric formula like Optimal Turmeric Blend!

Every 2-capsule dose of Optimal Turmeric Blend provides a soothing 750 mg of pure, organic turmeric, along with black pepper extract to enhance absorbability. 

4- Ease inflammatory immune responses with Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is a major contributing factor to our rising rates of autoimmune diseases, including ulcerative colitis.

Vitamin D helps calm excessive inflammatory actions of your immune system, so without its protective efforts, your immune system is more likely to “misbehave” and attack your healthy cells and organs!

So, if you’ve got UC (or other autoimmune issues), it’s crucial to make sure your body maintains a health-promoting Vitamin D level!

Supplementation with a quality vitamin D formula like Optimum DK Formula with FruiteX-B can help you achieve this important goal.  Optimum DK Formula contains a therapeutic dose of 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D3, plus its partners K1 and K2, and the mineral boron.

All of these nutrients work synergistically to help encourage proper immune responses, as well as support bone, heart and neurological health!

If you have ulcerative colitis, put the power of safe, natural measures to work for you and see the tremendous difference it can make in how you feel!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia