SUMMARY: In August, 2015, RUSH University published their study of 50 IBD Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) remission patients: The Specific Carbohydrate Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case Series. This is the largest report on a series of patients with IBD following the SCD to date and describes their clinical characteristics. 50 patients in remission eating SCD case series are reported which comprise: 36 subjects had Crohn’s Disease, 9 subjects had Ulcerative Colitis, and 5 subjects had in-determinant IBD.
Category Archives: Blog: IBD
Home test finds gut inflammation before relapse (3 months prior)
SUMMARY: Imagine a home test differentiating between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and autoimmune Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)! The time is nearing… IBdoc is a cheap easy to use home test that measures gut inflammation and presently is used in Europe. It is still 2 to 3 years away from FDA approval in the US, but clinical trial recruitment has begun; make the call and participate (see below for details.) The device finds gut inflammation before relapse or flare: actually 3 months ahead of IBD relapse giving you (and your physician) time to address such. The device hopefully too will be found capable of differentiating between IBD versus IBS. Update: tweeted from 11th Congress of ECCO March 16-19, 2016 presentation: fecal calprotectin rises 4 months before flares.
Preserve & Restore Loss of Microbiome Diversity is Aggressive Preventative Medicine
SUMMARY: Aggressive Preventative Medicine means preserving the microbiome you have and restoring any loss incurred. See how far that thought goes with your doctor! Diet really does work to alter the microbiome and can help to restore loss of microbiome; for example, fermented kimchi actually positively impacted metabolic syndrome factors including systolic and diastolic blood pressures, percent body fat, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol.
⇒⇒ This post teaches how to reduce the loss of microbiome diversity and restore such – crowding out concept.
Nice, SCD increased F. prausnitzii… hugh?!?
SUMMARY: This post is a followup to the post, IBD CROHN’S: SCD INCREASED MICROBIOME DIVERSITY BUT LOW RESIDUAL DIET REDUCED DIVERSITY. It discusses the significance of the finding that SCD increased F. prausnitzii within the microbiome for Crohn’s patients eating SCD. I’d suspect however, that similar results occur even for non-Crohn’s SCD consumers, which would be a good thing. For details of the microbiome changes due to SCD (microbial diversity increased to include 134 bacteria belonging to 32 different classes (Figure 8), the bacterial families over represented in the increase included over 20 species of the non-pathogenic clostridia family and more) read the post IBD CROHN’S: SCD INCREASED MICROBIOME DIVERSITY BUT LOW RESIDUAL DIET REDUCED DIVERSITY. Think about the 3.5 to 5 pounds of bacteria that lives on and in us: what are they, how did they get there, and what does their mix mean for our health? Ends up, F. prausnitzii is a major player in gut health and those having more of it fare better, at least for IBD where F. prausnitzii seems to be reduced. In summary, F. prausnitzii protects against pathogen invasion, modulates the immune system, is an acetate consumer, and is a producer of substantial quantities of butyrate as well as high amounts of antioxidant compounds. Some call F. prausnitzii a keystone peacekeeping microbe.
IBD CAM, LDN, probiotics, SCD… & Integrative Medicine benefits gut health
SUMMARY: IBD CAM “Probiotics, Special Diets [SCD], and Complementary Therapies: We Know Patients Want Them, So What Do We Tell Them?“ was presented at the Dec. 2014 Advances in IBD conference, by Dr. Sandra Kim, MD, who noted, “SO CERTAINLY THERE IS SOME PROMISE IN AT LEAST THINKING ABOUT THIS.” Now that’s a first!!! At least one conventional doctor is encouraging her peers to seriously educate themselves about IBD CAM, LDN, probiotics, SCD… and Integrative Medicine and to ask their patients if they are interested in them, using them and if so, what do they use, and to actively seek funding for further study of them! And… Dr. Kim has disclosure of conflicting interests — Speaker: Nestle Nutrition, Abbott Laboratories and Consultant: AbbVie Pharmaceuticals!
IBD Crohn’s: SCD increased microbiome diversity but Low Residual Diet reduced diversity
SUMMARY: Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) increased microbiome diversity in Crohn’s patients. The pediatric and adult IBD clinics at UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento, CA) conducted the study, Analysis of Gut Microbiome and Diet Modification in Patients with Crohn’s Disease, and here, found:
- SCD increased microbiome diversity whereas the low residual diet (LRD) decreased microbiome diversity. Interestingly, the SCD diet included an increased microbiota representation of F. prausnitzii, an anti-inflammatory commensal.
- Patient diet COMPLIANCE was about 80%, and
- The SCD MICROBIOME DIVERSITY REMAINED despite a 30 day washout between diets.
Given that it is now understood that IBD is associated with reduced microbiome diversity, perhaps this aspect of SCD (increasing microbiome diversity) explains the success many find using SCD to manage IBD as well as heal other illnesses. The followup post, NICE, EATING SCD INCREASED F. PRAUSNITZII… HUGH?!? explains the significance of F. prausnitzii in the microbiome.
Dr. Rob Knight updates: IBD microbiome skew & San Diego move
SUMMARY: Dr. Rob Knight updates: IBD microbiome skew and his San Diego move including the American Gut Project!
I follow a lot of microbiome researchers (see the page USEFUL MICROBIOME LINKS, The Labs section).
The Knight Lab (University of Colorado Boulder) is a personal favorite; Knight is a frequently cited Google Scholar Alert as he is a leading expert on microbiomes and bioinformatics. This page links to their research publications as does this page.
Dr. Rob Knight, recently left University of Colorado, Boulder to join the UC San Diego School of Medicine. With this move, microbiome research very well may be accelerated beyond the breakneck speed it is now.
Microbirth: Health Ramifications associated with C-Section birth
SUMMARY: Learn the long term health ramifications associated with C-Section birth. “Microbirth” information every parent needs to view.
“Microbirth“ is a new 60 minute documentary investigating the latest scientific research about the microscopic events happening during childbirth. As this Press Release explains, latest research is starting to indicate modern birth practices could be interfering with critical biological processes. From the changes that occur in the human pregnant vaginal microbiome to that microbiome which actually inoculates the baby, be it via C-section or vagina birth, these events are now showing to have associated consequences for the health of the child and such could have life-long consequences making our children more susceptible to disease later in life:
Food Managing IBD & AUTISM: The Studies
SUMMARY: Anytime food choices turns around chronic disease with studies that prove such, that should be an eye opener! Implementing principles of such diets should be considered for anyone wanting to prevent or manage chronic disease. This post presents studies for Food Managing IBD & AUTISM, where dietary protocols achieved remission and management (with reduction, if not elimination of medication) for autoimmune IBD , or positively altered the course of autism.
HOW? Diet can optimize (or modulate) the gut microbiome which is the source of 80 – 85 percent of our immunity:
The “1st International Symposium on the Microbiome in Health and Disease with a Special Focus on Autism,” July 2014: “the microbiome refers to the constellation of enteric bacteria that create an organ system that makes up 80% of our immune system...“
Microbiome DIET Mechanisms Prevent or Manage Disease (Focus: SCD & IBD)
Summary: Watch the short video to learn why most of your immunity resides in your gut. Then read about predictive autoimmunity in preventative medicine; the role of gut permeability, and disease, as well as how autoimmunity may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk, and the role of antibodies in unexplained miscarriages. The pearl is have a healthy gut which is your first-line immune defense. To that end, learn what the microbiome diet mechanisms are that prevent or manage disease with a focus on SCD and IBD.