(IBD)
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- What is IBD?
- Symptoms of IBD
- Causes of IBD
- Prevention of IBD
- Risk factors for IBD
- Complications of IBD
- When to see a doctor about IBD
- Diagnosis of IBD
- Conventional treatment of IBD
- Alternative/complementary treatment of IBD
- Living with IBD
- Caring for someone with IBD
Prevention of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be unpreventable in certain circumstances:
- Genetics - people from certain ethnic backgrounds seem to be more likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease. There are many reasons hypothesised about this and one of them is the lack of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet and the ratio of omega-3:omega-6 fatty acids being too high in omega-6. This has not been proven, but is one reason that has interesting possibilities because it means that more cases of inflammatory bowel disease could be preventable based on dietary recommendations
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There are ways to prevent IBD from occurring:
- Diet - while diet is not a currently known cause of inflammatory bowel disease, it is known that following a diet that includes mostly fresh, unprocessed and low fat foods, with plenty of soluble fibre (that has been gradually added to the diet) seems to help symptoms
- Environment - many studies show that inflammatory bowel disease is not common in people who work outdoors (as they tend to get enough sunlight, exercise and socialising), were breastfed as babies (get the extra immunity from the mother) and are from middle-lower socio-economic backgrounds (maybe because they tend to eat less meat and more legumes)
- Stress - while not directly causing inflammatory bowel disease in the first place, stress can aggravate it and make the symptoms worse, so reducing stress is encouraged through some type of relaxation therapy (meditation, tai chi, yoga are all good examples)
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< 3: causes 5: risk factors > Last reviewed: 31 July 2008 || Last updated: 14 February 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
