Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (115 page)

Take zinc.
Much research has been done on zinc and diarrhea in children. It shortens the duration of acute diarrhea by boosting the body’s immune system. Children can take 20 mg daily and adults can take 50 mg daily for up to two weeks.

Diverticula are pea-sized pouches that have blown out of the intestinal wall, primarily in the colon. There hasn’t been much research on the underlying cause of these diverticula. It’s commonly believed that a low-fiber diet, constipation, and getting older predispose us. Soft, bulky stools easily pass through the colon and respond to peristaltic waves; hard, dehydrated stools are more difficult to push along, and the bowel wall has to work harder. As a result, the muscles in the colon thicken to help this abnormal situation, which results in greatly increased pressures within the bowel. Over time, this prolonged pressure can push out portions of the bowel wall, causing diverticular pouches. It’s like pushing on a balloon.

Although diverticulitis was unknown until 1917, currently about half of all people over the age of 60 have diverticular disease, and about 10 percent of the population will have it by the age of 40. It occurs more commonly in women than in men and with increasing frequency with age. In three-fourths of us, diverticula will never cause any problem or issue. When these diverticular pockets don’t bother us, we call it diverticulosis.

When the diverticula become infected, it’s called diverticulitis. Infection of the diverticular pockets can be a very serious illness. The suffix “-itis” means “inflammation.” You will experience pain, most commonly around the left side of the lower
abdomen (except in Asians, who present most often on the right side) and often a fever with or without nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation. It is usually at this point that a physician will order tests to discover diverticulitis and diverticulosis. These infections are treated with antibiotics and a soft-fiber diet or liquid. In most cases taking antibiotics will clear up the diverticulitis. If not, it’s important to figure out why. If your diverticulitis doesn’t respond, you may be in the small minority of people who require surgery. The possible complications of diverticulitis are bleeding, bowel obstruction, fistulas, abscesses, perforation, and peritonitis. So, if you think you are having a diverticular problem, call your doctor.

Once the inflammation resolves, a high-fiber diet is recommended. Diverticular pouches don’t go away, but a high-fiber diet will prevent most future attacks. Repeated episodes of diverticulitis may require surgery. A disease of Western civilization, diverticular disease occurs rarely in people who consume a high-fiber diet. There is no evidence to support the notion that people with diverticular disease need to avoid nuts, seeds, or corn once inflammation has resolved.

I can find no good research on natural therapies or herbal medicines for prevention of diverticulitis.

Consume a high-fiber diet.
A high-fiber diet is of first and foremost importance for preventing the development and recurrence of diverticular disease. If you are recovering from a flare-up of diverticulitis, begin with a soft-fiber diet. Cook vegetables until fairly soft, eat cooked fruits, use easy-to-digest grains like oatmeal, and make vegetable soups with tofu. Foods with seeds (such as strawberries, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds) can catch in your diverticula and cause irritation. Until healed, avoid seed foods.

Once you are feeling well, establish a high-fiber diet as a normal part of your life. Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products contain zero fiber and need to be eaten in moderation. Psyllium seeds are a good fiber supplement choice because they are nonirritating. Studies have shown that people eating a high-fiber, low-fat diet lower their risks of diverticular disease significantly. (Men who eat a high-red-meat, low-fiber diet have even higher incidences.) It may take you some time to get accustomed to a high-fiber, low-fat diet, but it will be worth the effort. The benefits reach further than your digestive tract, lowering your risk factors for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Be certain to drink plenty of water and other healthy beverages.

Supplement with probiotics
. Friendly flora can help fight the infection while it’s active and protect you from future infection. Take one capsule two to three times daily for prevention; two capsules three times daily during flare-up.

Take gamma oryzanol
. While studies of gamma oryzanol, a compound in rice bran oil, were not directly involved with diverticulitis, gamma oryzanol is known to have a healing effect on the colon. (See discussion of gastric ulcers and gastritis in
Chapter 20
.) Take 100 mg three times daily for three to six weeks.

Take protective omega-3 fatty acids.
I can find no research on this in relation to diverticular disease, but fish oils and protective omega-6 oils such as evening primrose oil and borage oil increase the levels of prostaglandin E2 series, which promote healing and repair. Take 1,000 to 2,000 mg three times a day.

Take aloe vera.
Aloe vera, which contains vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, has been used by many cultures to heal the digestive tract. Its anti-inflammatory properties are soothing to mucous membranes, and it has been shown to reduce pain. Again, I cannot find any published research in connection to diverticulitis, but use of aloe makes sense. Aloe reduces bleeding time, which is important with ruptured diverticula. Dosages vary from product to product, so read the label.

Take slippery elm bark.
Slippery elm bark has demulcent properties and is gentle, soothing, and nourishing to mucous membranes. Drink as a tea, chew on the bark, or take in capsules. To make a tea, simmer 1 teaspoon of slippery elm bark in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes and strain. Sweeten if you want and drink freely; it can be used in large amounts without harm. Or take two to four capsules three times daily.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 10 to 15 percent of all American adults and is the most common gastrointestinal complaint. Seventy-five percent of those affected never seek a physician’s help—they just learn to live with it. Over the years, IBS has had a variety of names: spastic colon, spastic bowel, mucous colitis, colitis, and functional bowel disease. It accounts for 10 percent of all doctor’s visits and 50 percent of referrals to gastroenterologists. It’s the second most common reason why people miss work, and the economic burden was $1.35 billion in 2003. It affects women three times as often as men. It runs across all socioeconomic groups.

Associated symptoms are abdominal pain and spasms, bloating, gas, and abnormal bowel movements. Bowel movements usually relieve the discomfort. Diarrhea alternating with constipation is the most common pattern, although some people
are diagnosed with IBS for chronic constipation. (See “Constipation” earlier in this chapter; the lines between IBS-type constipation and chronic constipation are blurry.)

Anemia, weight loss, rectal bleeding, and fever are
not
symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Bowel changes accompanied by these symptoms need to be checked out by a physician to discover the cause.