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Crohn's Disease (CD) is one of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) affecting around 75,000 in Australia. It's pretty crappy to deal with and can really, really, take a toll your quality of life if it gets bad. Normally, it affects the mucosa of the ileum and colon, causing skip lesions which just means it's patchy. However, it can develop along any section of the gastrointestinal tract - hence how it can get out of hand quickly. Some CD sufferers end up with stoma pouches as the damage to their intestines was so severe. So when I tell you that lifestyle and diet management can be a crucial component of managing CD, I do mean crucial. Often people with Crohn's will undergo regular colonoscopies to assess the damage. They will often be prescribed steroids, immunosuppressants and anti-inflammatory drugs by their GP/Specialist to manage the disease progression, as well as potential surgery.
Symptoms
Oddly, people with CD go through bouts of active CD and remission, where symptoms can be quite 'light'. When the disease is most active, symptoms can include:
Diarrhoea and constipation
Blood and mucous in the stool
Fatigue
Abdominal pain and cramping
Reduced appetite
Unintentional weight loss
Fever
Perianal fistulas and abscess
However, due to the inflammatory nature of CD, there may also be inflammation or pain around the joints, other nearby digestive organs (liver, bile ducts, kidneys), vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition, low mood or depression, and certainly dysbiosis of the gut. This dysbiosis in the gut can be a key to managing the inflammation levels and therefore the damage levels, as some microbes are protective and others are more pro-inflammatory.
Risk Factors for Crohn's Onset
Some risk factors for Crohn's can include:
Genetics
Dysregulated immune system
Poor microbiome diversity/ infection
Smoking
Intestinal permeability
Caucasian decsent
Age (older population are more at risk)
Medications (ibuprofen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories etc)
Poor diet (high 'Western diet' with refined sugars, refined grains and low fibre)
What can you do?
Diet - In general a Mediterranean style diet can be super helpful in keeping active periods low, but this is dependant on what food you can tolerate. We're mostly looking at anti-inflammatory foods as this is an inflammatory condition: Turmeric, fatty fish, berries, oats, avocado, flaxmeal, eggs, pumpkin are anti-inflammatory foods. Optimal digestion should also be assessed. There is a difference in diet when in active vs remission periods and this should be discussed with your nutritionist or naturopath for an individual plan.
Herbs to consider - under naturopathic care - we might suggest the use of some evidence based herbs such as Slippery elm, Ginger, Globe Artichoke, Marshmallow, Licorice, Golden seal, Graviola, Turmeric, Boswellia, or even Chamomile. It all depends on where you're at and what your main symptoms are.
It is not appropriate to self treat with these herbs, except maybe Slippery Elm, so please book a consult should you wish to explore these as options. Hope this gave you some insight into Crohn's Disease.