Beat Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A Cleveland Clinic study found that fish oil, soluble fiber and antioxidants helped treat patients with ulcerative colitis and reduced their need for steroid therapy. Patients who took the supplements, which have fewer side effects and are safer than many of the colitis drugs on the market, were less likely to start treatment with the drugs.

The study involved patients aged 18 and older who suffered from mild to moderate active ulcerative colitis. Those who were on corticosteroid therapy and were given the nutritional supplement needed significantly lower doses of the drugs to control their symptoms than those given a placebo.

Ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that typically affects those between the ages of 15 and 40, can cause abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and fever. Drugs like corticosteroids are used to control inflammation in the disease, but, while they're highly effective, long-term use often leads to:

• Insomnia
• Mood alterations
• Increased appetite
• Hypertension
• Osteoporosis
• Other negative side-effects

The side effects are often so severe that many patients stop using the drugs all together. However, over 25 percent of patients who stop their use have a relapse of symptoms.

While the nutritional supplement in the current study combined fish oil, soluble fiber and antioxidants, previous studies have shown that fish oil alone is also able to reduce the need for corticosteroids in colitis patients.

Researchers believe that a nutritional supplement like SEROVERA® AMP 500 may help to diminish inflammation and provide nutrition in colitis patients, and suggest physicians add this combination of ingredients to their ulcerative colitis therapy regimens.