Ischemic Colitis

Ischemic colitis, is an illness that affects your colon health (colon or large intestine). With Ischemic colitis, the colon can become inflamed. There is also a possibility of colon becoming injured. Decline of blood flow to the large intestine, or a disruption of blood flow, can cause this illness. The disruption of blood flow can be long term or succinct.
This illness is also referred to as colonic ischemia. People who are 50 years old and older are at risk of getting Ischemic colitis. This is one of the common illnesses that affects the large intestine in older adults. It is important to go to your doctor if you have any significant bowel movements, because this condition can become serious.
In most people with Ischemic colitis, there are mild symptoms. In few cases does the illness become severe or life-threatening. If there is a serious deprivation of blood to the colon, severe damage is probable. Usually in this case ulcers begin to form in the lining of the colon. Ischemic colitis can affect any part of the colon, and it usually engages pain on the left side of your abdomen.
The most recurrent cause of inadequate blood flow to the colon, is blood clots. If the arteries near the colon are blocked, it can cause Ischemic colitis. In severe cases, build-up of fat in blood vessels is usually the cause of disruption of blood flow to the large intestine.
Sometimes other conditions may cause ischemic colitis. People with high sugar levels are at risk of getting this sickness. If you are under-going radiation to the abdominal, it can also cause Ischemic colitis. Rarely, do medications play a role in causing Ischemic colitis. If you are taking medication for blood pressure, inflamed blood vessels, or estrogen, there is a slight chance that you can get this illness as a side-effect.
Ischemic colitis can sometimes occur after having abdominal surgery. Especially, if you are getting an aneurysm near the colon. Ischemic colitis can also be caused by infections from viruses.
Treating Ischemic colitis depends how severe it is. Mild Ischemic colitis is usually treated by keeping the blood pressure as normal as possible. In doing so, it will help keep the blood flowing to the colon. Doctors may also prescribe antibiotics to help prevent infection. Symptoms for mild Ischemic colitis usually last for only one to two days, if treated properly. Dehydration though may lead to hospitalization, so you can get fluids into your system.
For some, surgery may be essential. If you have tenderness to the abdominal and a fever that refuses to go away, surgery is probably necessary if treatment is not working. People who have blocked arteries may also have to have surgery. Also, if a hole in your colon appears it must be removed.
Older adults are at a high risk for getting Ischemic colitis. Also, people who have conditions that are connected with heart disease are at risk of Ischemic colitis. This includes using tobacco, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Unfortunately, research has yet to find something that will definitely prevent you from getting Ischemic colitis. If you have a severe risk of this illness, such as high blood pressure and heart disease, keep on getting treatment. Taking Serovera on daily basis at the recommended dosage, exercising, following a colitis diet and stopping smoking can help your chances of preventing Ischemic colitis.

Alternative Diverticulitis Treatments

Dietary modification

Dietary modification may reduce the symptoms of diverticulitis.

A high-fiber diet and, occasionally, mild pain medications will help relieve symptoms in most cases. Sometimes an attack of diverticulitis is serious enough to require a hospital stay and possibly surgery.

Amount of Fiber in Some Foods
Fruits
Apple, raw, with skin	1 medium = 3.3 grams
Peach, raw	1 medium = 1.5 grams
Pear, raw	1 medium = 5.1 grams
Tangerine, raw	1 medium = 1.9 grams
Vegetables
Asparagus, fresh, cooked	4 spears = 1.2 grams
Broccoli, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 2.6 grams
Brussels sprouts, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 2 grams
Cabbage, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 1.5 grams
Carrot, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 2.3 grams
Cauliflower, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 1.7 grams
Romaine lettuce	1 cup = 1.2 grams
Spinach, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 2.2 grams
Summer squash, cooked	1 cup = 2.5 grams
Tomato, raw	1 = 1 gram
Winter squash, cooked	1 cup = 5.7 grams
Starchy Vegetables
Baked beans, canned, plain	1/2 cup = 6.3 grams
Kidney beans, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 5.7 grams
Lima beans, fresh, cooked	1/2 cup = 6.6 grams
Potato, fresh, cooked	1 = 2.3 grams
Grains
Bread, whole-wheat	1 slice = 1.9 grams
Brown rice, cooked	1 cup = 3.5 grams
Cereal, bran flake	3/4 cup = 5.3 grams
Oatmeal, plain, cooked	3/4 cup = 3 grams
White rice, cooked	1 cup = 0.6 grams

Avoidance of nuts, popcorn, and sunflower, pumpkin, caraway, and sesame seeds has been recommended by physicians out of fear that food particles could enter, block, or irritate the diverticula. However, no scientific data support this treatment measure. Eating a high-fiber diet is the only requirement highly emphasized across the literature and eliminating specific foods is not necessary. The seeds in tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, strawberries, and raspberries, as well as poppy seeds, are generally considered harmless. People differ in the amounts and types of foods they can eat. Decisions about diet should be made based on what works best for each person. Keeping a food diary may help identify individual items in one's diet.

If cramps, bloating, and constipation are problems, the doctor may prescribe a short course of pain medication. However, many medications affect emptying of the colon, an undesirable side effect for people with diverticulosis.

Aloe Vera

The Aloe Vera plant is believed by many to be one of nature's most incredible byproducts. It has been used for many years around the house to treat cuts and burns, and has been incorporated into countless of commercial products such as lip-balm, shampoo, and sunscreen/sunburn lotions. However, there exists a concentrated powdered extract from aloe called aloe mucilaginous polysaccharide. It is used to treat auto-immune disorders and diseases. Particularly those in the digestive tract.

Aloe Mucilaginous Polysaccharides may be used to help treat diverticulitis. Aloe mucilaginous polysaccharides are long-chain sugar molecules composed of individual mannose and glucose sugar molecules connected together — which have been attributed to subduing and reducing symptoms associated with UC.

The AMP molecule is extracted from the aloe plant in a controlled environment. To get the highest refinement of AMP, lyophilization must be used to preserve the varying sizes of molecules that contain these potent healing properties. To learn more about lyophilization, read this article: Processing of Aloe Mucilaginous Polysaccharides.

SEROVERA® AMP 500 is currently the only vendor of organically certified freeze-dried AMP.

Points to Remember

• Diverticulosis occurs when small pouches, called diverticula, bulge outward through weak spots in the colon (large intestine).
  
  
• The pouches form when pressure inside the colon builds, usually because of constipation.
  
  
• Most people with diverticulosis never have any discomfort or symptoms.
  
  
• The most likely cause of diverticulosis is a low-fiber diet because it increases constipation and pressure inside the colon.
  
  
• For most people with diverticulosis, eating a high-fiber diet is the only treatment needed.
  
  
• You can increase your fiber intake by eating these foods: whole grain breads and cereals; fruit like apples and peaches; vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, spinach, carrots, asparagus, and squash; and starchy vegetables like kidney beans and lima beans.
  
  
• Diverticulitis occurs when the pouches become infected or inflamed and cause pain and tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen.

Lialda™ (mesalamine)

“Mesalamine has been associated with a syndrome that may be difficult to distinguish from an ulcerative colitis flare-up. If you experience cramping, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, fever, headache or rash, prompt withdrawal is required. Some patients taking mesalamine have reported heart-related hypersensitivity reactions, such as inflammation of the heart muscle and inflammation of the lining of the heart. Tell your doctor if you have problems with your liver or kidneys.”

Whoa! If you are unfamiliar with Lialda™, Lialda™ is a new UC treatment option approved by the FDA.

We love the word ‘new’ as it applies to digestive treatment options. All kidding aside, this is the type of “new technology” that makes it to the medicine cabinet of your very bathroom, approved by the FDA and prescribed by doctors who were schmoozed to a nice lunch or dinner, given a print out about how it can help(?) UC patients. All sounds great till you have to “promptly withdraw”.

Prefer the less intrusive, less risky road? We do too… If you’re not on the fence about your health & Ulcerative Colitis, consider SEROVERA® AMP 500 — an all natural, drug-free, risk-free, dietary supplement that may help reduce flare-ups and achieve remission.

More on SEROVERA® AMP 500.

*If you are currently prescribed Lialda™, be sure to revisit the “important safety information” section of your brochure.

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Allergy Disorders Linked w/ IBS

Study also found IBS 2 times more likely in people with depression.

There may be a link between allergies and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults, says a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

IBS occurs in about 15 percent of the U.S. population. Some studies have suggested that allergen exposure may lead to IBS symptoms in some patients, but the frequency hadn't been examined.

In this study, researchers looked at 125 adults and found the likelihood of IBS was much higher in patients with allergic eczema (3.85 times) and seasonal allergic rhinitis (2.67) times. They also found that IBS was 2.56 times more likely in people with depression.

"The reported presence of allergic dermatitis was highly correlated to the presence of IBS in our population," the study authors wrote. "In atopic disease, allergic dermatitis is the first step of the 'atopic' march.' In early childhood, AE (allergic eczema) is frequently associated with gastrointestinal dysfunction and food allergy. A clinical history of AE may be a useful marker for patients with gut hypersensitivity and atopic IBS."

The researchers also found that asthma and IBS were reported by 12 of 41 patients (29 percent), similar to findings in a previous study. The researchers proposed that "this subgroup of IBS (atopic IBS) be considered separately from patients with IBS without atopic symptoms, because they may have distinct pathophysiologic features and may benefit from specific therapeutic interventions."

The study was published recently in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

More information

Visit serovera.com for detailed information about IBS.

SOURCE; American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, news release, January 2008

L-Glutamine Aids Gastrointestinal Function

L-glutamine is the most prevalent amino acid in the bloodstream and because human cells readily synthesize it, it is usually considered a non-essential amino acid.

It is found in high concentration in skeletal muscle, lung, liver, brain, and stomach tissue. Skeletal muscle contains the greatest intracellular concentration of glutamine, comprising up to 60 percent of total body glutamine stores, and is considered the primary storage depot and exporter of glutamine to other tissues. Under certain pathological circumstances the body's tissues need more glutamine than the amount supplied by diet and biosynthesis. During catabolic stress intracellular glutamine levels can drop more than 50 percent, and it is under these circumstances that supplemental glutamine becomes necessary. In times of metabolic stress, glutamine is released into circulation, where it is transported to the tissue in need. Intracellular skeletal muscle glutamine concentration is affected by various insults, including injury, sepsis, prolonged stress, starvation, and the use of glucocorticoids. Therefore, glutamine has been re-classified as a conditionally essential amino acid.

Research demonstrates glutamine supplementation may be beneficial when added to total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for surgery, trauma, and cancer patients. In addition, evidence suggests it may provide benefit for certain gastrointestinal conditions, wound healing, critically ill neonates, HIV/AIDS patients, immune enhancement in endurance athletes, and prevention of complications associated with chemotherapy, radiation, and bone marrow transplant.

Biochemistry

L-glutamine accounts for 30-35 percent of the amino acid nitrogen in the plasma. It contains two ammonia groups, one from its precursor, glutamate, and the other from free ammonia in the bloodstream. One of glutamine's roles is to protect the body from high levels of ammonia by acting as a "nitrogen shuttle." Thus, glutamine can act as a buffer, accepting, then releasing excess ammonia when needed to form other amino acids, amino sugars, nucleotides, and urea. This capacity to accept and donate nitrogen makes glutamine the major vehicle for nitrogen transfer among tissues. Glutamine is one of the three amino acids involved in glutathione synthesis. Glutathione, an important intracellular antioxidant and hepatic detoxifier, is comprised of glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine.

Clinical Indications

Gastrointestinal Disease

The gastrointestinal tract is by far the greatest user of glutamine in the body, as enterocytes in the intestinal epithelium use glutamine as their principal metabolic fuel. Most of the research on glutamine and its connection to intestinal permeability has been conducted in conjunction with the use of TPN. Commercially available TPN solutions do not contain glutamine, which can result in atrophy of the mucosa and villi of the small intestine. Addition of glutamine to the TPN solution reverses mucosal atrophy associated with various gastrointestinal conditions. Research has demonstrated glutamine-enriched TPN decreases villous atrophy, increases jejunal weight, and decreases intestinal permeability. Trauma, infection, starvation, chemotherapy, and other stressors are all associated with a derangement of normal intestinal permeability. One potential consequence of increased intestinal permeability is microbial translocation. Bacteria, fungi, and their toxins may translocate across the mucosal barrier into the bloodstream and cause sepsis. In numerous animal studies of experimentally induced intestinal hyperpermeability, the addition of glutamine or glutamine dipeptides (stable dipeptides of glutamine with alanine or glycine) to TPN improved gut barrier function, as well as immune activity in the gut. Conditions characterized by increased intestinal permeability that might benefit from glutamine supplementation include food allergies and associated conditions, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. A clinical study of ulcerative colitis patients demonstrated that feeding 30 g daily of glutamine-rich germinated barley foodstuff (GBF) for four weeks resulted in significant clinical and endoscopic improvement, independent of disease state. Disease exacerbation returned when GBF treatment was discontinued. It has also been suggested that cabbage juice consumption may provide benefit to patients with gastric ulcers and gastritis, by virtue of its high glutamine content.

Wound Healing

The gastrointestinal tract has a large number of immune cells along its length -- fibroblasts, lymphocytes, and macrophages. The ability of glutamine to nourish these immune cells may account for its positive impact on the gastrointestinal tract and immunity. Healing of surgical wounds, trauma injuries, and bums is accomplished in part by the actions of these immune cells. Their proper functioning is dependent on glutamine as a metabolic fuel for growth and proliferation. Therefore, a depletion of intracellular glutamine can slow growth of these cells, and ultimately prolong healing. A small clinical study conducted recently in Poland demonstrated glutamine-supplemented TPN rapidly improved a number of immune parameters in malnourished surgical patients with sepsis. Additional clinical trials also suggest that glutamine supplementation, as well as arginine and omega-3 fatty acids, may promote restoration of normal tissue function and intestinal permeability in post-operative patients.

Foods & Supplements That Can Worsten Diarrhea

If you suffer from Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s and have chronic diarrhea the following foods and supplements may contribute to loose stools.

• Dried beans, corn, vegetables and cabbage family veggies are all high in fiber, which may worsen diarrhea


• Fruits and juices containing fructose, can worsen diarrhea


• Caffeine beverages such as coffee and tea can have a laxative effect


• Alcohol like beer, wine and liquor can worsen diarrhea


• Fatty meats like bacon, lunch meats, and heavily marbled meats can worsen diarrhea


• Fried foods, pastries and chips which are high in fat can do the same


• NutraSweet may even be a problem for some people


• Too much intake of nuts or nut butters can worsen symptoms


• Concentrated sweets


• Dried fruits like figs, dates, raisins and prunes can have a laxative effect


• Sugar-free gum and mints containing sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol have been known to have a laxative effect


• Real black licorice

In addition to the above, several supplements can cause more frequent bowel movements and exacerbate existing diarrhea.

Supplements that can worsen symptoms:

• 5-HTP


• Acetyl L-carnitine


• Activated charcoal


• Bee pollen


• Borage oil


• Bovine colostrum


• Cayenne


• Chlorophyll


• Chondroitin sulfate


• DHA


• EPA


• Flaxseed oil


• Glucosamine


• Guarana


• Guar gum