Have you ever felt so bloated in your abdomen that people thought you were pregnant? A patient with ulcerative colitis recently told me she was asked this question. I’m Dr. Tom Rofrano from The Natural Medicine Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I’m going to help you understand more about what causes ulcerative colitis and natural treatment options for how to treat it.
Ulcerative Colitis Symptoms
A 51-year-old female patient was complaining about bloating and the other usual symptoms of abdominal cramps, diarrhea, indigestion, insomnia, skin issues, and anxiety. She was feeling terrible.
For over 20 years, she had ulcerative colitis, visited many doctors, and took the usual medications. While she was on the medications, she was still feeling terrible. When you’re not feeling well, it’s hard and affects your entire body. She wanted to know what was causing her ulcerative colitis. And she wanted to know if there were any ulcerative colitis natural cures available that would work for her.
Root Causes of Ulcerative Colitis
Before looking into how to treat ulcerative colitis naturally, our office believes that finding the root cause is the first step. We did an evaluation and some comprehensive testing to look for underlying root causes. Typically, I check for deficiencies, toxins, infections, food reactions, and hormones.
My patient had multiple nutrient deficiencies: vitamin D, folate, B12, and other nutrients. Those are the most common deficiencies I see. If your vitamin D is low, that can significantly affect your immune function, inflammation, and the whole cascade of events.
One thing that came up under toxins was that she had above-optimal mercury levels in her body.
She also had what many ulcerative colitis and IBS patients have which is bacteria and yeast overgrowth.
Ulcerative Colitis, Food Allergies, and Gluten Sensitivity
Another common root cause for ulcerative colitis and other chronic gut issues is gluten sensitivity. My patient had a very strong gluten sensitivity, other food allergies and sensitivities, and leaky gut.
All these imbalances typically affect your hormones, which was the case with her.
She had below optimal levels of the adrenal hormones, cortisol and DHEA, as well as testosterone and estrogen. If you think about it, if you’re having chronic digestive issues for over 20 years, you’re going to have deficiencies. They can affect your hormone levels and your entire body.
Ulcerative Colitis Treatment
I developed a diet called the FreeDiet® which is free of gluten, grains, sugar, yeast, dairy, eggs, soy, legumes, nightshades, and processed foods. Free of those foods that are commonly responsible for inflammation, autoimmune, gut, thyroid, and other chronic health.
Many people will try to avoid gluten for a while but don’t feel that much of a difference. That’s because there’s a lot more to it than that. I find that by avoiding all these foods initially you can make a lot of progress like my patient did. This doesn’t mean that this diet is a natural cure for colitis. We like to view it more as a natural medicine for ulcerative colitis. Focusing on what you ingest, and what’s in the food you ingest, can work wonders on all of us, even those with ulcerative colitis.
The FreeDiet® book goes over the diet in more detail, and you can go here for your complimentary copy of The FreeDiet® phase one food chart.
Regarding the supplements, I start my patients on the Functional Five™, which includes ActivMulti™, OmegaSorb™3X fish oil, D3 5000 +K2, Magnesium Malate, and a strong probiotic in her case PriobioXtreme™.
Healing the Gut
For digestive issues, colitis, IBS, and other gut issues, I also use GI Mend™ and Gut Immune Repair™ to help promote gut healing and support. For yeast and bacterial overgrowth, we use Yeast Defeat™, Microb-Balance™, and Curcumin Protect™.
Curcumin supports healthy inflammation and immune function. We add other supplements based on your specific deficiencies. This patient required MethylFolate, B12 Supreme™, and DHEA, and we added Adrenal Vibrance™ also to address the five areas of underlying root causes.
After a month, she came in feeling so much better. She didn’t feel pregnant anymore, and her bloating and gut symptoms were substantially improved. She lost 10 pounds the first month and was very excited about that.
Continued Improvement
She continued to improve, and three months later, we did some follow-up testing. Her stool test showed that her bacterial overgrowth had cleared up.
Her mercury levels were down to optimal levels. Her DHEA and adrenal function improved, and her inflammatory markers were normal.
Another thing that improved was her ANA, an autoimmune marker. It was very high when she first came in, and three months later her ANA was completely normal.
She was free of all gut symptoms, and she had more energy. All her other symptoms were either resolved or considered a lot better. She was feeling great and was working out regularly.
Get to the Root Cause
When you have these chronic gut, thyroid, or other autoimmune issues, you need to find out what the underlying root causes are, and I believe that most can get better when they are provided with the proper solutions. Understanding the root cause can then help you look into treatment options for ulcerative colitis, such as the natural remedies discussed here.
If you are struggling with health issues, call us at 561-627-5800 or email us at info@nmcwellness.com. We enjoy helping our clients achieve vibrant health and feel the best they have in years!