Category Archives: diet for crohn’s disease

My Natural Methods to Treat Crohn’s

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It has been 8+ years now since diagnosis and I am still learning and experimenting.  I have been juicing fruits, veggies and herbs/super foods for just over 3 years straight now. My overall goal is to keep this disease from progressing and damaging my gi tract further. Up to 70% of those with Crohn’s will require surgery at some point.  I still take my Lialda medication as prescribed in addition to my natural treatments.

As I continue to include these natural treatments, I notice that I can handle a large variety of foods that I could never before.  My gi tract is not wearing itself away as in the first 2 years.  You can visually see this by looking in the toilet, which is important for anyone to do.

With that said, I practice a lot of natural treatments to get to this point.  I do this to an extent that I might be unique or thinking far differently from others with some of them.

  • The first thing is to learn about what to look out for on a nutrition label.  I am 100% convinced that certain harmful ingredients within food is harming the balance of flora.  This then causes your immune system to attack itself and to cause more imbalance.
  • I try to drink as much juice during the week as possible.  Try for 12-24oz of juice per day.  Yes this might be a lot, but surgery/doctors are expensive.
  • Try a 2-3 day Gi rest! The idea of this is to actually give your gi system a break from digesting and moving food.  This is where you only drink juice or smoothies for all meals.  I do this once a week on Sunday!
  • When all cleared out, I replace with strong probiotics and a potent green juice.  Let it all sit in your gut and repopulate/heal.

Repopulate GI Green Juice Recipe

Greens

  • 1 Bunch of Mint
  • 1 Bunch of Cilantro
  • 1 Bunch of Parsley
  • 2-3 cups of Kale

Sweet Cover

  • 1/4 Pineapple
  • 2 apples
  • 1 whole lemon
  • 3-4 clementines

Super Foods+Probiotics

  • Ginger or Tumeric Root
  • Naturewise 30 strains/30 Billion Count Time Release!

I hope you all enjoy your Easter Holiday and really take the time to look into this natural approach.  There are way too many people on Social Media that are having a very hard time with just the medical approach.  Some of the above needs to be added in my opinion.  Take care!! 🙂

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Resolution Time 2017

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It is that time again, where many want to set a resolution for the new year.  I always get the same question around this time: How do I get started?  I thought I would make a quick guide to help anyone get started.  Now this shouldn’t be just a quick resolution, so aim for at least a full year of juicing/cleansing.  I am on year 3 and I do not plan to stop as I feel it is just part of my daily life now.

Step#1: Buy a good juicer that makes this easy!

The Breville Juice Fountain: The most powerful, fast and easy juicer out there! Put a baggie in the catcher, rinse off the parts when done.  Scrub just the blade/mesh basket with soap and water. Done!

breville-juice-fountain-plus-juicer-c

https://www.amazon.com/Breville-JE98XL-Fountain-850-Watt-Extractor/dp/B003R28HWQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482785402&sr=8-3&keywords=the+breville+juice+fountain

Step #2:  Sign up for the FREE 30 day juicing challenge.  Tracee gives you free shopping lists and daily recipes that start out easy.  Toward the end, you get into the more advanced juices.

logo_noslogan_box

https://www.juicerecipes.com/30-day-challenge/

 

Step#3: Watch every video from Dan Mcdonald, Jay Kordich, Rawfully Kristina and Jason Vale.  These people are very inspirational and provide great tips, recipes and health information.

Dan: https://www.youtube.com/user/liferegenerator

Jay: https://www.youtube.com/user/LiveFoodsLiveBodies

Kristina: https://www.youtube.com/user/FullyRawKristina

Jason: https://www.youtube.com/user/Juicemasterjasonvale

 

Step #4: (Optional Cleansing)

Herbal once a week cleansing: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Tobias-Colon-Cleanse-Increased/dp/B00ISAPPLI/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1482787074&sr=8-1&keywords=dr.+tobias+colon+cleanse

Oregano oil:  https://www.amazon.com/Gaia-Herbs-Oregano-Liquid-Phyto-Capsules/dp/B00F1J8HOQ/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1482787223&sr=8-2&keywords=potent%2Boregano%2Boil&th=1

As always, I am available for any questions you have.  Have a happy New Year ahead!!!!

~Nick:)

Creamy Sweet Citrus: Immunity

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healthy-happy-life

I have made this same recipe over the past few days for a few reasons.  The first is that it tastes fantastic!  The second is that I am shooting for a strong immune system as everyone around me is sick with some kind of sinus/cough/everything else. haha.  The last is that my Breville Juicer broke and I can only juice soft produce with my manual one. I did use a bullet to blend in the avocado though.

Creamy Citrus Immunity

  • 3-4 Clementines
  • 2 Large Oranges
  • 1 Med Apple
  • 2-3 handfuls of Kale

Juice these ingredients and add to your blender/bullet with 1/2 avocado.  Place in the orange or apple first and then build the kale on top of it for high speed juicers.

The clementines have 120% vitamin C in just 2.  The Oranges have less vitamin C, but are still beneficial.  The Kale is also great for immunity and the avocado is a super food!

I love this easy mix and if I had my real juicer working, I would be cranking these out more often.  I hope you enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!!!

Photo Credit:  http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/

 

**The Beet Transit Test**

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**Photo credit: http://www.cuisineandhealth.com/colon-healthy-simple-beet-poop-test-will-seeing-red-literally/

The article link above provides some excellent information on how to check your colon health and to keep it as healthy as possible.  I do a beet transit test each Sunday as part of my mock fecal transplant therapy that I have posted about many times.

For a normal human you should start to see beet red stool after about 18-24 hours of consuming it.  When you have cleansed everything out as I have mentioned before, you see that much faster and you know you are now clear.

This test can tell you a lot of things.

  1. If you never see the beets: you are really constipated and slow moving in the gi.
  2. If you see it too quickly and you have not cleansed, you have IBS-D active.
  3. If you see it in about 12+ hours, you are doing pretty well.

Here is my recipe for today and it was pretty tasty also:

Beet Transit Juice + Choice probiotic

  • 3 small/med beets
  • 3 apples
  • 1/2 bag cranberries
  • 1/2 lemon
  • Coconut water to taste

Please consider the weekly cleanse.  I cleanse out with herbal and PH water.  I drink this juice and take probiotics to reseed the gi tract.

Have a great week ahead :):)

Crohn’s: Reset the Flora

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***I know this post seems repetitive, but it is vital to anyone’s treatment protocol***

Crohn’s Disease is the result of the immune system attacking healthy tissue, harmful bacteria and beneficial bacteria.  Did the poor bacteria balance activate the immune response or did the immune response cause the imbalance? This is the chicken or the egg for Crohn’s.  So what is the answer?

The answer is, I don’t know or care – haha.  All I know is that good vs bad bacteria is involved in this whole mix. I can manipulate the flora at least.

Here are my prescription drugs: I consider this to be level #1 and not the most extreme.

  • Lialda = Crohn’s inflammation drug: Keeps a potential future blockage at bay.
  • Viberzi = IBS-D drug: Slows down the gi to limit surprise bathroom trips.
  • Celexa = Anti-stress/Anxiety drug: The stress of life and my job.

These drugs are great and they work for me personally, but they are truly band-aid options and I am fully aware of this – haha. The problem is that many people will just take these medications and avoid certain foods without doing something to improve or change their flora.  

  • Taking a strong probiotic is just not enough on its own – I know, I’ve tried!

I am in the middle of my Sunday Cleanse, where I have evacuated everything like a colonoscopy would do (no TMI here).  I used a lot of water and a natural cleanse supplement to flush out everything to start with a clean slate.

I am now about to create a juice and now take the probiotics to create a super healthy environment.  This probiotic now has a chance to work and overtake anything that still remains after the cleanse.

My goal is to truly stay on the first level of drug management and not to get to the immune system suppressing drugs or surgery.

Order of Attack:

  1. Cleanse = Water, Juice, Herbal, Supplement: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ISAPPLI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  2. Replace = Juice, Probiotics
  3. Maintain = Juice, Oregano Oil, Garlic, Digestive Enzymes

I leave you with Dan McDonald.  Follow him and learn!  Take care ya’ll :):):)

 

Crohn’s: Breaking the Cycle

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Hello everyone!  It has been a while, but I guess it is good to be busy with life.  I wanted to talk about what I believe to be the sequence that starts the cycle of Crohn’s and how we might break that cycle.

The Crohn’s Cycle: My View(opinion)

  1. Antibiotics throughout your lifetime+ possible genetic predisposition.
  2. Food going in that has the wrong nutrients and tons of chemicals/preservatives.
  3. Gut flora begins to do a flip flop of good vs bad bacteria.
  4. The immune system reacts and attacks all bacteria and tissue. 
  5. Crohn’s develops due to a compromised immune system and harmful bacteria overgrowth.

The medication used is for inflammation and lowering immune response, but not aimed at the compromised topsy turvy flora.  Some don’t know what to eat or try to eat the right food. Some try taking probiotics, but they get lost in the trillions of harmful bacteria and yeast.  The cycle keeps on going until something drastic is done like surgery.  Now I would never question someone’s decision to go with surgery.  They have had a unique path and they should be the only ones to make decisions.

How can we brake the cycle?

(Take your medicine as prescribed throughout) = I have learned the hard way to stop.

Picture a garden full of bugs, weeds, mushrooms and other crap you do not want in your garden.  You can put pure water on it and fertilizer for food.  You can put seeds all around as well.  Your garden may respond to healthy additions, but odds are it will not survive with all that harsh stuff in there.  (This of course is your Gi Tract)

I know I am repeating myself, but this is why fecal transplants begin to work!! Everything is evacuated and replaced with healthy flora, bacteria and yeast.

Here would be my steps: ( I am currently doing this weekly)

  1. Eat more organic/pure food and get rid of the commercial food from big companies.
  2. Begin to drink pure juices of course to help flush out the bad and bring in good. 
  3. Do a weekly cleanse once a week. (IMPORTANT)
  4. RIGHT After this cleanse bring in the juice, turmeric, strong probiotics, ECT..
  5. Repeat from #1 and start to totally change the environment inside the Gi.

This is all based on what I believe to be common sense.  If you have crazy stuff growing in your gi and or garden, you need to clear that stuff out and then add in the good stuff/seeds.

(I do take my medicine for Crohn’s to prevent any swelling from stress)  I call stress the silent poison!!! I strive to be chill at all times!! – I am a teacher – haha

Have a great week!!:)

 

 

 

 

Stress-Anxiety-Crohn’s

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There are many activators for Crohn’s Disease flare-ups.  Your diet is a major activator, but it is easy to control what you choose to put in your mouth.  Quality sleep can be another, but you can control the time you go to bed and when is best to wake up.

I have found that stress/anxiety is the hardest activator to control by far.  Sometimes you do not even feel the stress during your day, but it could be there slowly activating a Crohn’s flare. I got to the hospital thanks to stress/anxiety on 2 separate occasions. I was controlling my diet, sleeping fairly well, but work and personal life stress produced a Crohn’s flare that blocked my intestines twice!

After the second trip to the hospital, I promised myself and others that I would take my Crohn’s medication as directed.  I also asked to be placed on a daily stress/anxiety medication: Lexapro and now Celexa.

 I literally can’t control the stress on my own.  I try to mentally do it, but I just can’t do it without medical intervention.  I know it is not great to take SSRI medication, but I just can’t do it on my own and I cannot land in the hospital again. 

I still juice daily and take my turmeric supplements/vitamins.  I eat a lot of garlic and take probiotics here and there.  I find that this natural approach helps to keep tissue healthy and is wonderful for the entire body.  Too many benefits to list!

That said, the medical approach helps to control the stress that the natural method can not seem to treat.

I am sure many of you experience stress like I do and find that it really influences your symptoms.  Send a message and get the conversation going.

Thank you all:)

Fecal Transplant Alternative

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http://www.webmd.com/ibd-crohns-disease/crohns-disease/news/20150410/stem-cells-fecal-transplants-show-promise-for-crohns-disease

The link above talks about using fecal transplants to alter the gi environment which allows the patient to achieve remission from Crohn’s Disease.

The concept of this successful treatment caused me to find an easier way to change the flora weekly.  It is also much easier and very cheap.

The Fecal Transplant Alternative Treatment:

  1. You must find a way to clear out all fecal matter in your gi/colon first.  I use a lot of water and a prescription medicine for a pain I get from constipation (Linzess). The goal here is to get it all out! This mimics the fecal transplant because it is like the colonoscopy prep, but much easier!!
  2. The next phase is re-population of the gi/colon.  I take some probiotics and create a super juice that you will see below.  This mimics the insertion of someone’s healthy flora/fecal matter into your colon.  Again, so much easier!!
  3. Continue to add in extremely health juices and probiotics.  This is done once a week!

If you are weekly purging the gi system and adding in the good stuff to create the ideal environment, you can limit symptoms and keep Crohn’s Disease at bay.

Re-population Juice:

  • 2 apples
  • 4-5 carrots
  • 1 large beet
  • Kale
  • 1 whole lemon with skin

Take this juice and blend in 1/2 avocado with ice!  This will also help with hunger!!

 

A 3-Day Juice Fast/Cleanse

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Since I enjoyed my 1-day juice fast last week, I decided to give a 3-day fast a try.  I did the same thing as I did last week where I cleansed out all of the waste on a Friday afternoon.  I actually made a very red juice with 2 beets so that I could tell everything was all clear.  After this, I took some probiotics to seed the gi tract.  The hardest part of all of this is the hunger that you feel throughout.  The key here is to blend in ingredients that will curb your hunger at the major meal times.

The graphic above is from Joe Cross and gives you an idea on how many juices/smoothies you would consume daily.  I like to blend in either avocado or banana to really solve the hunger problem.  The fresh juices can be between these blended hunger drinks. I did not really follow the recipes above, but I did try to create a good variety for my plan.

Friday: (After work)

  • Cleanse everything out
  • Probiotics/Turmeric Supplements
  • Green Tea with honey
  • Dinner juice with blended avocado and or banana for hunger.

Saturday:

  • Morning Green Tea and Honey
  • Breakfast juice with avocado and or banana
  • Water
  • Lunch juice with blended
  • Mid-afternoon green juice
  • Dinner juice with blended
  • Green Tea and Honey

Sunday:

  • Morning Green Tea and Honey
  • Breakfast juice with avocado and or banana
  • Water
  • Lunch juice with blended
  • Mid-afternoon green juice
  • Dinner juice with blended
  • Green Tea and Honey

Monday Morning:  A light breakfast to bring in solid food.

I have to say that I feel energized and light/agile.  I can’t explain the feeling really, but I feel more aware and clear headed.  It is quite amazing!

Give the one day a try and see how you feel – All the best to you:)

 

**A One Day Gi Rest**

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If you have gotten the chance to watch Joe Cross and his first movie “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead”, you watched Joe drink juice for 60 days with little to no food.  That is an amazing accomplishment that takes a ton of mental/physical strength.  His goal was to lose weight and he sure did.

If you are someone with Crohn’s Disease your goal is to try and keep or gain weight.  This is where a shorter time frame would be more beneficial than 60 days.  Jason Vale is someone to follow for this as he has designed some 3 day, 7 day and other programs.

I am doing a 1 day bowel rest/cleanse today since I am off and I can make juice all day long. Benefits to a bowel rest for Crohn’s and overall health:

  • The first thing that I did was to clear out the whole colon completely.  You can do this with either a ton of juice/water or give it some help with a few caps of Miralax.  It is important to clear out the colon before you add in all of the good stuff.
  • After I was all cleansed out, I took some probiotics and some organic turmeric  and went to bed.  I woke up feeling awesome by the way!
  • I started my day with green tea and honey.
  • I next made a green juice 32oz for breakfast.
  • For lunch I made a juice with avocado and banana blending in to curb hunger.
  • Later on I made a bit more green tea to curb hunger.
  • At dinner time I had another juice with blended in avocado for hunger.

Resume food intake the next day and feel great!!! Your body will love this little break. If you do this once a week, which I plan to do, maybe it is just that little edge your body needs to win this crohn’s battle!

All the best everyone!