The Benefits of a Gluten - and Casein - Free Diet

Research has proven the importance of a GFCF diet (gluten-free and casein-free) for many of the following conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Celiac, Depression, Weight-Loss, Psoriasis, Migraines, Multiple Sclerosis, Chron's Disease, Schizophrenia, Ulcerative Colitis, Chronic Diarrhea Cystic Fibrosis.

Many individuals have problems breaking down the proteins that are in diary called caseins and the protein in wheat, oats, barley, rye and spelt flours are called gluten. Illness occurs when the incomplete breakdown of the gluten and/or casein pass the intestines as peptide chains and enter into the bloodstream passing the blood brain barrier. The incomplete breakdown actually turns into casomorphines from the casein and glutomorphines from the gluten and transforms into an opiate. Opiates can cause any or all of the following side effects: clouded mental functioning, insomnia, diarrhea, impaired social connection, blocking of pain messages, dilated pupils, inflammation on the stomach lining and depression.

It is a vicious cycle that never ends. You eat the foods that one cannot breakdown properly and the result is inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, skin disorders, depression, weight issues, behavioral and mental issues.

Take heart, there is hope. One can implement a specialized GFCF diet and assist their body in healing while removing any toxic residue from the incomplete digestion of the offending foods. In addition, the daily use of adding digestive enzymes will lighten the burden of the body in the digestion process. Don't be overwhelmed since there are so many delicious and nutritious alternatives to explore to eat. There are numerous cookbooks and local health food stores will offer gluten-free and casein-free products from snack bars, flours, deli meats, dinner dishes, breads, cakes and more. Read all the labels before consuming anything. Educate and empower yourself.
Let Food Be Thy Medicine and not Thy Poison.

GFCF diet support groups available at http://www.coachforhealthyliving.com.

Colon Cancer Causes and Risk Factors

You or a family member have been diagnosed with colon cancer and you want to know what caused this cancer. Doctors don't know the exact cause of colon cancer, but they do know that it usually starts as small growths on the inside of the colon called polyps. These polyps can take years to grow large enough to be seen during a routine colonoscopy and then it takes several more years for those polyps to become cancerous.

While the exact cause of colon cancer is unknown, there are several risk factors that can increase your chances of developing this cancer. A risk factor is something that can raise the chances of you developing cancer or another disease. Some risk factors, such as age, cannot be changed while others, such as diet, can be modified and reduce the risk. The risk factors for colon cancer range from age to hereditary diseases.

The first risk factor for colon cancer is the most common. It is your age. Approximately 90% of all colon cancer cases are found in people over the age of 50. Many of these cases have no other risk factors, making this the most important factor in developing this cancer. This is why many doctors suggest getting a colonoscopy as part of your annual exam starting at age 50.

Another risk factor for developing colon cancer is your family's medical history and any hereditary diseases that may affect the development of colon polyps. If a member of your immediate family (parents, siblings, or children) has had colon cancer, you are more likely to develop it. The risk depends upon how many relatives have had it, how old they were when they were diagnosed and if the history spans multiple generations. This is referred to as a strong family history of colon cancer and may be caused by genetic mutations. These mutations are more common in certain ethnic groups, such as Jews of Eastern European heritage. If this is your case, you may want to have a blood test to check for any genetic mutations.

These genetic changes can cause several conditions, such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis (AFAP) and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC). All of these genetic conditions can develop into colon cancer, if left untreated. These conditions are rare and few of the people diagnosed with colon cancer actually have them.

Your medical history also contributes to your risk of developing colon cancer. Your risk is higher if you have had any cancer in the past. Large polyps, even after removal, can increase your chances of developing colon cancer. There are also certain diseases that can increase your risk of colon cancer, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

The final - and easiest to change - risk factors are diet, exercise and habits. A high fat, high calorie and high protein diet has been shown to increase the chances of you developing colon cancer. This type of diet may also contribute to another risk factor, weight. Lack of exercise also contributes to your risk. You can minimize these three risk factors by making some simple changes such as eating more fruits and vegetables and beginning exercise. These two changes will help you lose weight and improve your diet. Smoking and drinking also contribute to colon cancer risk. Some studies have shown that smoking increases your chance of developing colon cancer. Alcoholics are also at an increased risk for colon cancer because of their alcohol consumption. Studies have shown that drinking more than 2 drinks a day increases the risk of colon cancer.

How to Control Ulcerative Colitis Flare Up?

Flare up symptoms of ulcerative colitis can be controlled by natural remedies and also medication. While herbs like turmeric, aloe Vera and Boswellia have a major role in controlling the inflammation; patients should also avoid high fiber diets and cut down on stress.

An inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis causes inflammation in the lining of the colon and rectum and is characterized by open sores and ulcers. Its main symptoms include diarrhea accompanied by frequent watery and bloody stools and abdominal cramps. Due to the similarities in symptoms, it is often confused with Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome, which is actually a functional bowel disorder.

A far more serious disease compared to Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis requires immediate treatment. Regarded as an intermittent disease, patients suffering from ulcerative colitis experience painful flare up symptoms in the form of loose stool and severe abdominal cramps from time to time. Several natural remedies as well as medications are available for controlling flare-ups. The remedial treatment is based on the symptoms a patient experiences and looks to control the pain, ulcers and inflammation and also improve the overall health.

Apart from prescribed medications, remedies for ulcerative colitis flare-ups include taking herbal supplements and also nutritional supplements in the form of vitamins and minerals.

Probiotics - A gut friendly bacteria, probiotics is mainly taken in the form of VSL-3 and helps control the inflammation of the colon.

Turmeric - Having strong anti-inflammatory properties, it also helps fight infection and even has a role in preventing cancer.

Aloe Vera - Taken in the form of gel capsules or drunk as juice, aloe vera helps in controlling ulcers along with reducing inflammation. It also helps in healing other digestive tract and stomach ailments.
Boswellia - Taken in the form of capsules, Boswellia has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and thus helps control abdominal cramps, loose stool and stabilizes bowel movement.

Nutritional Supplements - Frequent loose stool leads to the loss of essential body fluids and nutrients leading to weight loss and fatigue. Thus, patients suffering from this disease must take multi-vitamin capsules to make up for the loss of nutrients. Iron supplements help in controlling anemia, while Vitamin E being a strong anti-oxidant, has anti-inflammatory properties, prevents bleeding, and also boosts the immune system.

Moreover it has been seen that diet has a major role in the flare up of the disease. Patients suffering from ulcerative colitis should avoid fiber-rich foods like whole wheat bread, raw fruits, vegetables, dairy products, alcohol, caffeine and red meat. Removing fibers from the diet results in lesser formation of undigested residue and thus helps in controlling the frequent loose stools. Although oils should be avoided as much as possible, omega-3 fatty acids present in fatty fish like tuna, sardine and mackerel help in reducing flare up symptoms and controlling inflammation.

Is Your Colon Spastic?

If you suffer from diarrhea or alternating with constipation, lower abdominal stomach cramps and frequent gas and bloating that you may have a spastic colon!

Spastic colon, otherwise known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS is a condition that can range from being terribly inconvenient to being debilitating and is considered to be the most common chronic health issue in America today.

Some of the symptoms of era bull bowel syndrome or spastic colon are the same symptoms of other diseases so you want to make sure to get a complete diagnosis before you decide that this Is what you have. Symptoms can include cramping of the lower abdomen, constipation, diarrhea or alternating constipation and diarrhea as well as polluting and gas in mucus in the stools. These attacks can happen at any time during the day or night and sometimes even when you are sleeping, waking you up and causing you to run to the bathroom. This is a real physical problem where your bowels simply just do not work properly.

As you can imagine, people who suffer from a spastic colon may want to hide themselves In the house never knowing when the next attack will come. Although there is no "cure" for spastic colon, there are many things you can do to alleviate and sometimes even eliminate the symptoms.

if you suspect that you have IBS or spastic colon you must see your doctor who will probably send you to a specialist to determine if this Is truly your problem. Symptoms associated with this problem can also mean more serious diseases that need to be treated right away. Says there is no test that can tell you that you specifically have spastic colon, what the doctor will do is run a series of tests to eliminate other problems. These other problems include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, diverticulosis and food allergies.

Once you have been properly diagnosed, you can go about trying to control your symptoms. Although there are some medicines out there for spastic colon (IBS), your best bet is to change your diet. What you want to do is avoid insoluble fiber and high-fat foods. Narrow your diet down to include mostly foods that are full of soluble fiber until your symptoms ease up and then adding different foods and monitor your symptoms to try to pinpoint trigger foods. Once you know what your true foods are you can avoid eating those altogether.

It's important to eat a lot of foods with soluble fiber such as rice, oatmeal, soy, carrots, squash, many in his, potatoes, applesauce and pasta in addition to taking a soluble fiber supplement to help ease the digestive process.

You will have to experiment with different foods to find out which ones make your bowels irritable but some foods that seem to consistently do this for most people are high-fat foods, coffee, and alcohol.

While you want to be careful with foods that are high in the insoluble fibers such as fruits and vegetables you also need to include them in your diet as they contain vitamins and minerals that are important to your overall health. The key is to make sure that you cook them, remove the skins and eat them with other foods that are high in soluble fiber. For example, you might try combining rice with cooked carrots or have oatmeal with your morning fruit

Your spastic colon does not have to turn you into a shut in, afraid to go out shopping or even out to eat for fear that an attack will come. With a little bit of time and experimentation you can identify your trigger foods and get yourself on the eating plan that will soothe the digestive process and help alleviate your symptoms and attacks.

Colitis Explained: Part I What is Colitis?

Colitis is the term for inflammation of the colon or large bowel or intestine. The rectum is the very last part of the colon. When it is inflamed the term proctitis is used. Understanding the causes and treatment of colitis requires a basic understanding of the colon and inflammation.

The beginning of the colon is called the cecum. It begins in the lower right portion of the abdomen where the last part of the small intestine (ileum) empties into the large intestine. This part of the colon is also where the appendix attaches. The segments of the colon in order from the beginning of the colon or cecum going distally are ascending, transverse, descending, sigmoid colon and rectum. One of the major jobs of the colon is to recycle water for the body. When the entire colon is present and healthy the stools have only enough water in them to remain soft and easy to pass, but not so watery or loose that leakage occurs and dehydration ensues. When a large part of the colon is removed or when the colon is significantly injured the stools are very watery and frequent.

Inflammation is the body? response to infection or suspected attack or irritation. Inflammation of a body area is labeled by adding the suffix ??itis??to the body part, hence tonsillitis when tonsils are inflamed and appendicitis when the appendix is inflamed. Recognized since ancient times, inflammation has been classically described by the presence of signs and symptoms of redness (rubor), pain (dolar), heat (calor), swelling (tumor) and impairment of the function of the involved organ or tissue. If you have arthritis, joint inflammation; the joint is red, swollen, painful, warm and is stiff, preventing normal function.

In colitis the colon is usually quite red and swollen appearing when seen by colonoscopy (scope exam of the colon). Abdominal pain and impaired function occurs resulting in diarrhea because the damaged colon loses some of its ability to absorb water. If enough damage occurs to the lining sloughing of the surface cells occurs with passage of bloody stools, mucus, and even the appearance of tissue.

Inflammation has cell and fluid components. The cell component includes various white blood cells. The type of white blood cells found in the lining of the intestine determines the cause and effect on the intestine. Fluids include chemicals secreted to fight infection or presumed infection that can cause damage to the colon lining.

Colitis can be acute (self-limited) like E. coli infection or chronic like in ulcerative colitis. Causes of colitis include infections, ischemia (poor blood flow), food allergies, food protein intolerances, lack of normal bacterial flora or stool (after antibiotics, diversion after a colostomy), radiation injury, chemotherapy induced low white blood cell counts (neutropenic), or idiopathic (unknown cause).

Chronic colitis is one of several types of inflammatory bowel disorders or IBD for short and should not be confused with IBS the term for irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) does not involve any colon inflammation though it was referred to in the past as mucus colitis because of common symptom of excess mucus in stools or spastic colitis because of the common complaint of painful spasms of the colon that commonly occur in IBS. Biopsies of colon tissue in irritable bowel syndrome are normal and do not show signs of inflammation therefore it is not considered an inflammatory bowel disorder.

The food allergy expert-the food doc Dr. Scot Lewey reviews in more detail the various types of colitis, their causes and treatment in part II of this series. In the future href=?ttp://www.thefooddoc.com??target=?blank??www.thefooddoc.com will offer online help for colitis, Crohn's disease, food allergies, food intolerance, Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

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Ulcerative Colitis Diet 101 - How an Ulcerative Colitis Diet Can Help You

Take it from me: an ulcerative colitis diet can be very helpful in relieving the symptoms of this painful disease.

Here are some facts about whether an ulcerative colitis diet can help you and tips for implementing a program that works with your lifestyle.

The Symptoms

Though the causes of ulcerative colitis are unknown we do know what it does; it causes problems in the large intestines and rectum. Symptoms of this disease can be anywhere from slight abdominal pain to severe weight loss--more severe still, there are sometimes complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers.

Because certain foods are known to be triggers of attacks, a specially-designed ulcerative colitis diet can sometimes be helpful in alleviating the symptoms of this often debilitating disease.

What is an Ulcerative Colitis Diet?

A typical diet for this disease will have you eating small amounts of food throughout the day. This helps to avoid overloading the intestine and possibly triggering an acute attack. It will also be low in fatty foods like nuts, beans, bran, popcorn and seeds; consumption of fats is also a common trigger.

Does it Work?

A diet of this kind will commonly allow only small amounts of dairy. Typically, a diet plan for ulcerative colitis is the same as any nutritionally-based diet. Full of protein, good fats, fruits and vegetables and grains while limiting fat and sugar intake.

Foods to Avoid

Though there is no scientific evidence that any specific foods cause flare-ups in the disease, people who suffer from this disease have found triggers that are common to them all. Some of them, like alcohol, caffeine and carbonated drinks, are things that should be avoided in any diet; at least in excess.

Dried fruit, beans, and foods containing sulfur or sulfate as preservatives are also prone to causing attacks. The list continues with spicy foods, nuts, some meat, popcorn, high-fiber foods, seeds, raw vegetables, and things that contain sorbitol.

Balancing Life With a Colitis Diet

The trick with ulcerative colitis is balancing medications with a diet. In some cases, a person may choose to avoid medications in favor of a diet.

Similarly, some may choose to take medications and eat whatever they desire. However, these plans work best in conjunction. The medications are primarily designed to heal damage, while the diet plan is designed to minimize the damage before it is done to the body.

Importance of Nutrients

More important than the diet, though, is a vitamin regimen. Because the disease is so depleting, nutritional supplements are essential to the health of the sufferer. Without these, medication or a diet plan will not do much good.

If you or a loved one are suffering from this horrible disease, rest assured that there are things that can help. An ulcerative colitis diet plan can help alleviate the symptoms, and can even prevent some occurrences. Though the cause is unknown, and there is not yet a cure, there is always room for hope. Until then, though, consider managing your symptoms with a specially-designed diet plan.

Ulcerative Colitis And Abnormalities In The Immune System

Many patients suffering from ulcerative colitis have been observed to have abnormalities of the immune system. However, it is not known if these abnormalities are a cause or are a result of this type of irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease. Many doctors opine that in case of ulcerative colitis the immune system reacts abnormally to bacteria present in the digestive tract leading to an inflammatory and ulcerative condition.

Inflammation in case of ulcerative colitis resulting from an abnormally functioning immune system leads to the formation of sores called as ulcers in the inner lining of the colon and rectum. These ulcers form in areas where the epithelial cells lining the colon and rectum have been lysed due to inflammation. These dead cells then bleed and produce pus that in turn leads to an infectious condition. Inflammation also increases the urge to clear the large intestines thus causing bleeding diarrhea.

Since inflammation is a major cause for ulceration in ulcerative colitis, the disease is also termed as inflammatory bowel syndrome. If the inflammation occurs deeper within the walls of the intestines and also occurs in other parts of the digestive tract including mouth, esophagus, stomach and small intestines then the same condition is termed as Crohn's disease.

As a result of inflammation, patients might also suffer from other inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, eye inflammation, liver diseases and osteoporosis. Although the exact reason as to why symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome occur outside the colon is not known, it is postulated that inflammation caused by the immune system might be the predominant reason.

Other causes of ulcerative colitis have been outlined as stressful lifestyles, emotional problems and allergies to certain types of foods. These three are also known to lead to inflammatory conditions. No wonder then that people suffering from any one, two or all three of these are more prone to suffer from Crohn's disease.

In consonance with the fact that ulcerative colitis appears to be caused by inflammatory reactions, its treatment also involves the use of anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids and immunomodulators. Being a systemic problem involving the immune system rather than just the colon, there is also a chance for contracting cancer if it is left untreated. Therefore, timely treatment of irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease is mandatory not only to relieve oneself of its unbearable symptoms but also to overcome the risk of suffering from cancer.

Thus, those suffering from ulcerative colitis might also have immune system abnormalities that in fact might cause the inflammatory condition.