Image by Christian Dorn from Pixabay

March 6th, 2023

Robert Roundtree MD

In a lecture hall last week, I listened to an impassioned speech on the upstream risks and necessary treatments of inflammatory Bowel Disease, IBD. Here is a snapshot of what to do to prevent Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Damage to the intestinal microbiome from ultra processed dietary choices, exposure to recurrent levels of antibiotics and chemicals damage the gut flora to a point that the intestinal lining gets disrupted leading to auto reactivity to self tissue and auto inflammation of local tissue activating the innate and adaptive immune system to attack us.

Then the gut lining gets inflamed and damaged leading to bloody and mucousy stools, weight loss, malabsorption, anemia and other systemic symptoms.

Dysbiotic (poor richness and species diversity) bacterial overgrowth leads to bacterial structures triggering innate immune receptors further triggering cytokines being released to recruit immune cells like neutrophils and inflammasome to activate and inflame local tissue. New evidence is also showing that viral bacteriophages are reducing bacterial biodiversity furtherer triggering illness.

For the younglings of the world: the avoidance of the disease states called IBD would follow by the following:

1) Avoid antibiotics - MOST IMPORTANT
2) Whole natural non processed diet SECOND
3) Avoid Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs and Acetaminophen
4) Keep vitamin A, D levels normal via diet and supplements/sun
5) Avoid toxins like endocrine disruptor chemicals - www.ewg.org
6) Expose children to dirt and natural pets at young ages
7) Avoid sanitizing the local environment
8) Breastfeed and try and deliver via vaginal routes
9) Consume lots of fiber rich foods for a prebiotic source of food for the microbiome
10) Drink lots of water and have daily bowel movements

 

Dr. M