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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Natural Remedies for Ulcerative Colitis: Yogurt


A yogurt a day could keep the doctors away.

Probiotics, "friendly" bacteria that reside in the gut, have been found to be effective in managing ulcerative colitis. They help control the number of potentially harmful bacteria, reduce inflammation, and improve the protective mucus lining of the gut.

Probiotics are among the more popular remedies for inflammatory bowel disease because they are without significant side effects and appear to be safe.

A University of Alberta study examined 34 people with mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis who were unresponsive to conventional treatment. The researchers gave them a probiotic supplement called VSL#3, which provided a total of 3,600 billion bacteria a day for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, 18 people (53 percent) demonstrated remission on sigmoidoscopy and a further 8 people (24 percent) had a favorable response.

Researchers at the University of Dundee analyzed bacteria from rectal biopsies of patients with active ulcerative colitis and healthy control subjects. There were significantly less bifidobacterium numbers in the ulcerative colitis biopsies, which suggested that these probiotic bacteria might have a protective role in the disease. In a further study, 18 people with active ulcerative colitis were given a bifidobacterium supplement or a placebo for one month. Sigmoidoscopy, biopsy, and blood tests showed significant improvement in the probiotic group compared with the placebo group.

An Italian study examined the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii, which was previously found to be beneficial in the maintenance of the other inflammmatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease. Researchers gave 25 patients with a mild-to-moderate flare-up of ulcerative colitis a supplement containing 250 milligrams of Saccharomyces boulardii three times a day for 4 weeks during maintenance treatment with the drug mesalazine (these patients were unsuitable for steroid therapy). Of the 24 patients who completed the study, 17 had clinical remission, which was confirmed by endoscopic exam.

By Cathy Wong, About.com Guide

29 comments:

  1. This is very informative! Great info!

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  2. Good luck. You are a true inspiration.

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  3. Yea i already knew that, and why did you have to say no homo lol ^

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  4. I always thought yogurt was good for you, although I think dumping packets of sugar and sprinkles into it as a child may have somewhat reduced its healthiness.

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  5. i found that to be pretty intriguing, especially the fact that of the 24 patients who completed the study, 17 had clinical remission, which was confirmed by endoscopic exam.

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  6. Wow... Fascinating info! I think someone in my family might be very happy to hear about this, haha!

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  7. I've been eating yogurt every day :) Good to hear that its actually healthy as well :D

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  8. Yogurts are good, they taste good, but they don't do miracles

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  9. i dont even know what that word is but i dont think i want it! maybe ill start eating yogurt.

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  10. I do love yogurt!

    Interesting post, liking the blog as usual.

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  11. I did not know this, i think ill be drinking more yakult from now on :)

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  12. love the sweet sour taste of yogurt. it's tasty and have health benefits but i don't eat it in front of my friend. well, you know what i mean! lol

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  13. no i havnt heard of the paleo diet perhaps u could do a post on it

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  14. That's a health food i could really get used to in a daily diet...

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  15. Thanks for the tip, I usually try to eat some yogurt everyday :)

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  16. yogurt is great when you have a stomach ache

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  17. I've heard about this before, though I remember Consumer Reports doing a segment on various yogurts and if I'm correct, not all of them live up to their claims on probiotic bacteria.

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  18. weird blog... cool story though. loving me some yogurt.

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