6 Natural Treatments for IBD
Table of Contents
- Diet for IBD
- Herbal Remedies for IBD
- Acupuncture for IBD
- Supplements for IBD
- Stress Relief
- Sleep and Hydration
- Evinature’s Tips and Recommendations
Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a chronic illness, characterized by recurrent bouts of gut inflammation. The inflammation is the root cause for a host of other gastrointestinal symptoms, and depending on where it is located in the digestive tract, can cause severe complications when untreated. Many patients are turning to alternative medicine to either complement or replace their conventional medical treatment. To be sure, natural remedies for IBD and lifestyle management strategies can make a huge difference in patient quality of life and overall health. Here are our top 6 IBD natural treatments tips from internationally-leading GI experts:
Diet for IBD
“Diet for IBD” is a term laced with negative connotations. When we use the term ‘IBD diet’, we are referring to nutritional plans that take into account both the challenges of a gastrointestinal disease and guidelines for improving patient health through food.
There are certain ‘diets’, or nutritional plans, for patients with IBD that years of clinical research suggest can be beneficial to reducing symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation–all of which stem from the initial cause of inflammation. Your GI may initially recommend an elimination diet, for example, which slowly and selectively identifies specific food groups, such as dairy, gluten, and certain other gut irritants while increasing the quantity of other materials, such as fibers, to enhance digestion.
One such diet is the IBD-AID plan, or the IBD-Anti-Inflammatory diet. This plan consists of a few phases, typically three, following these steps:
Basic, Anti-Inflammatory Diet: This stage is both the introduction to the diet and the most restrictive part. Soft, well-cooked foods, while harsher, digestively-difficult dishes are diminished. Common components are:
- Smoothies
- Oatmeal (those undergoing a flare-up while starting this diet should NOT eat foods like oatmeal, which are high in fiber.)
- Plain yogurt
- Lean meats
- Pureed fruits and vegetables
- Broths and soft soups
- Ground flax or chia seeds
Texture Test: Phase two involves the gradual introduction, and when necessary, elimination, of certain textures or fibers from diet. Through adding new proteins, such as beans, lentils, and harder foods to digest, symptoms are heavily monitored to identify any dietary sensitivities or worsening of the IBD condition in response to consumed products. Some common foods for this stage are:
- Beans and/or lentils
- Aged or harder cheeses
- Well-cooked meat
- Goods cooked with various types of flour
- Green vegetables
- Berries and some fruits
Remission Phase: At this point, the symptoms have subsided, indicating that the foods consumed at this point do not cause inflammation, and patients can eat a wider variety of foods. The goal is to introduce fibers and nutrients to aid with digestion and maintain this phase as long as possible. Suggestions for this phase include:
- Stir-fried foods
- Meats
- Citrus fruits
- Whole beans
- Apples
In addition to this, the FODMAPs diet eliminates fermented oligo-, di-, mono- and polysaccharides. Saccharides are sugar groups, and when fermented, these sugars can be difficult to break down for digestion. This nutritional plan focuses on easy to digest foods, while avoiding common gut irritants such as caffeine, alcohol and overly processed ‘junk food’. The FODMAPs diet has become a staple of IBS and IBD treatment, and numerous studies sing the praises of the improved gut motility, reduced symptom frequency and severity, and decreased occurrence of IBD symptom flare-ups that comes together with adherence to this plan.
Low FODMAP-friendly foods look like the following:
- Rice-cakes
- Spelt-flour based products
- Sourdough
- Melons like cantaloupe
- Oranges
- Carrots
- Eggplant
- Eggs
- Firm tofu
- Bell pepper
- Almond milk
- Lactose-free milk and dairy products
- Macadamia nuts
- Peanuts
You are what you eat; and for IBD patients, nothing is more important than ensuring you receive the requisite amount of nutrients not only to maintain your health, but receive the right materials to support long-lasting gut health.
Herbal Remedies for IBD
Home remedies for IBD often contain botanical supplementation that contain nutrients often lacking in a modern diet. Herbs also contain certain compounds, such as antioxidants or anti-inflammatory materials that support gut health and reduce symptoms of IBD through direct or indirect means.
Curcumin for IBD
Curcumin is an active ingredient derived from the turmeric root. Centuries of use have noted its anti-inflammatory effect on the gut, and indeed, studies have found that use of curcumin strengthens gut integrity and digestive health. Curcumin interferes with the process of inflammation through indirect and direct means, in promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria (which exerts a balancing effect on the immune system to prevent autoimmune activation). In addition, curcumin retains the ability to bind to cytokines and white blood cells to block activation of inflammatory pathways.
Qing Dai for IBD
A re-emerging phenomena in the nutritional supplement world, Qing Dai is an herbal mixture derived from components of the Indigo naturalis plant. Where curcumin exerts both direct and indirect effects on gut health, Qing Dai is more of a targeted missile in its direct impact on gut health. Through interacting with the internal gut mucosal lining, reducing the number of free radical agents circulating in the intestines, and interacting directly with pro-inflammatory agents to downregulate their function, Qing Dai as a therapeutic agent has seen considerable success in treating IBD.
Boswellia Serrata for IBD
Boswellia Serrata is an herb distinguished by Ayurvedic healers for thousands of years for its potent anti-oxidant effect on the body. When the body breaks down food, an oxidation reaction occurs; if done correctly, this reaction frees an oxygen molecule from the chemical bond. Occasionally, this reaction produces a reactive oxygen species, which acts like a chemical hook in the cell onto various intercellular processes and toxifies the cell. Boswellia Serrata indirectly impacts the formation of reactive oxygen species through reducing the amount of lipid peroxidation that occurs in the body, as well as enhances the endogenous antioxidant defense of the colon and intestinal lining.
Acupuncture for IBD
Acupuncture is the Traditional Chinese medical practice of inserting small needles into specific points in the body to reduce pain. Acupuncture that is used to treat pain in IBD patients typically also utilizes moxibustion, a process of burning dried mugwort cones on pressure points to enhance healing during acupuncture.
Together, these practices display positive results in the reduction of IBD-associated pain and stress. Whether it is truly a manipulation of qi, the life energy ancient Chinese healers assumed gathered at these points of the body, or a subtle conduction of neural junctions to upregulate healing process and downregulate stimulatory pain processes, studies suggest that acupuncture can be a potent natural therapy to manage symptoms of IBD.
Supplements for IBD
Many IBD patients experience malabsorption, an issue with uptake of nutrients in the small and large intestine. This can be associated with poor intestinal permeability, which interferes with the traffic of nutrients into the bloodstream, an imbalance of gut microbiota, or a side effect of inflammation. Either way, increasing the supply influx of nutrients can solve the issue of meeting the body’s demand, especially as that quantity rises when the body needs to heal and recover.
Iron for IBD
There are two forms of iron sold as a supplement; Fe2+ and Fe3+. Respectively named ferrous and ferric, the only difference between them is a single electron, yet these isotopes are absorbed in processes distinct from each other. Fe3+ is the bioavailable form of iron that is used by hemoglobin to bind oxygen, and combats iron-deficient anemia. Patients with IBD often experience iron-deficient anemia due to either internal bleeding in the intestinal tract (inflamed gut lining) or absorptive issues. Taking iron can help to alleviate any issues caused by this, which can range from systemic health problems caused by anemia to feelings of fatigue, depression or anxiety.
Magnesium for IBD
Magnesium is an important cofactor for many enzymes in the body. Many of the proteins responsible for digestion bind magnesium to initiate their function, similar to a key in an ignition. IBD patients may struggle to get enough of this important element, which not only ensures digestion, but modulates many intracellular processes as well.
Vitamins D, B12, C and K
Once again, malabsorption can lead to a deficit in these important vitamins. Vitamins are materials that are mostly supplied by diet, and when the uptake process is impaired, such as in IBD, then important functions of the body may occur in a diminished capacity. Vitamins D and B12 are important to generate energy and release of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, in the body. Vitamin C plays an essential role in the regulation of the immune system and reduction of inflammation, and there is a noted correlation between IBD patients and the amount of vitamin K in circulation.
Stress Relief
The brain-gut connection, known in scientific literature as the HPA axis, describes the direct pathway involving stress and digestion. Activation of the hypothalamus to stress releases CRH and cortisol, two hormones that stimulate the peripheral nervous system to downregulate digestion and, in the long-term, increase inflammation. Therefore, IBD patients should take care of both their physical health but their mental health as well.
Natural treatment for stress relief can involve regular, consistent exercise, which better enhances gut function and releases a host of hormonal factors to upregulate digestion and improve stress. Journaling, mindfulness exercise, speaking to a licensed psychotherapist, and meditation have all passed the test for reducing stress and anxiety in mind and body. Research demonstrates the veracity of these claims, showing significantly lower cortisol levels in those that employ at least one of these practices, if not more.
Not everyone has the time or energy to employ all of these techniques, if any. The most important thing, however, is to listen to your body, and give it what it needs. After all, your health comes first. Making time and space for yourself to reduce stress can impact your IBD symptoms and the frequency of flare-ups–but also your quality of life.
Sleep and Hydration
These may seem like a no-brainer, but sleep and hydration are essential to gut health. The home remedies for IBD employed above demonstrate high scientific efficacy, but any treatment for IBD will be less effective without these two cornerstones. Sleep resets your body on a systemic scale, and IBD patients may need more of it on average to facilitate long-lasting relief. As for hydration, your body cannot break down sugars and proteins without water. Dehydration can exacerbate any symptom of IBD while seemingly completely innocuous; after all, who hasn’t been a little dehydrated, right? However, improper hydration can lead to a dramatic increase in symptom severity and complications.
Evinature’s Tips and Recommendations
There are a number of options for IBD alternative treatments. Implementing the best ones for you and your lifestyle are important, and trial and error play a huge role in finding what works best. IBD is a hugely individualized chronic illness, and what works for some might not work for you. Therefore, patience is more than a virtue for IBD; it’s integral to the journey.
Evinature’s CurQD® protocol exemplifies the flexibility required for treating IBD. Combining Curcumin and Qing Dai in personalized doses for each patient, CurQD® leads the pack in cutting-edge gut health technology and treatment.
If you’re curious about trying herbal compounds for IBD, take our free online assessment for a tailored program that meets your personal needs.
Tessa Eskin
