Healthy Habits for IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease or IBD is a term that is used to classify a group of diseases that affect the digestive tract and cause inflammation through it. This condition largely includes two diseases namely Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative Colitis tends to affect only the inner linings of the digestive tract and the effects are limited to the colon. Crohn’s causes inflammation of more layers of the organs and tends to affect more organs in the digestive tract.

These diseases are long-term and since they affect one of the most important systems in the body, responsible for providing nutrition, it tends to adversely affect overall health and quality of life.

The IBD symptoms include a vast range of conditions ranging from indigestion, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, blood in the stool or vomit, low energy, deficiencies, and an adverse impact on mental health and energy levels. While there is a lack of awareness about these diseases and they tend t be excluded from usual health talks, they tend to affect a large part of the population.

In a country like India alone, there are one million cases reported every year. Globally, there are nearly 400 cases in every 10,000 of the population. A large number of people suffer in silence as they are embarrassed to talk about their lack of energy motivation and their painful yet frequent visits to the washroom. However, there are ways to heal IBD naturally.

IBD like any other digestive tract disorder is rooted in an imbalance in the digestive tract. This disease, like many others, stems from an unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits that disturb the normal balance of the body, causing inflammation and other symptoms associated with IBD.

These symptoms are a result of the body trying to restore its natural balance. The fever, diarrhea, coughing, pain are indications of the body’s remedial struggles. A physician can provide certain medicines to reduce the pain, quelling, or diarrhea but these will only help alleviate the pain and in fact, are harmful as they do not allow the body’s remedial effects to reach fruition.

The right way to tackle this disease is not to suppress the body’s effort to restore balance but rather cooperate with it. This is why it is important to heal IBD naturally rather than relying on medicines and physicians.

What Causes IBD?

While the exact cause of IBD is still unknown, studies suggest that the consumption of certain types of food, smoking cigarettes or marijuana, and a lack of exercise have been linked to flares and the onset of IBD.

Since IBD is rooted in unhealthy lifestyle choices, one can easily tackle the problem, take preventive measures, or heal IBD naturally by making sufficient changes in their lifestyle or diet.

Here are some ways in which you can heal IBD naturally without having to rely on medication, medical procedures, or surgery throughout your life-

Portion Control

Most people don’t realize how harmful overeating can be for your digestive tract health and gut health. Stuffing yourself with food or overeating causes an added strain on your stomach and the digestive tract. A chronically overworked bowel will lead to stagnant bulk in the bowels which starts to decompose after a certain period.

Apart from this, overeating causes overexertion on the body as the clone is still digesting food from the previous meal while you consume your next. This cycle causes the digestive tract to be chronically fatigued and impairs digestion causing diseases such as IBD.

Avoiding Excessive Cooked Food

Have you ever noticed how animals survive on uncooked food and eat foods as presented in the natural form? This is because that is the way food was intended to be consumed. Humans have deviated from this and tend to cook and overcook their food.

This is harmful as it results in reactions that cause the breakdown of nutrients and is responsible for the destruction of food due to heat. Cooking renders food toxic. That combined with our habit to reheat food and use toxic methods such as a microwave that emit harmful radiation, results in a negative impact on the body.

Try to induce natural uncooked food such as salads, smoothies, etc into your diet to help your body heal IBD naturally.

Avoiding Animal Based Products

This is one of the leading causes of inflammatory bowel diseases. Animal-based products such as meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy contain saturated fat. Foods such as red meat are high in cholesterol and have several disadvantages.

Animals-based food is more difficult to digest and stresses the digestive tract causing flares. These foods are also quick to spoil and, in many instances, turn rancid even after ingestion.

This disrupts the natural balance of the body and has adverse effects on gut health. If you intend to heal IBD naturally, animal-based products are to be avoided at all costs. It is important to switch to a plant-based diet to avoid flares and to heal your body.

Good Food Combinations

Food combining is an essential practice that is highly beneficial and helps you align all your meals with your digestive physiology and chemistry. The basis of this practice is that foods can be categorized based on the digestive enzymes and the transit times they require to be digested properly.

It is essential to be mindful of how you combine food when you create a meal to ensure that foods that require the same transit time and the same enzymes to be digested are eaten along with each other.

This prevents invariable digestion and decomposition of foods in the gut leading to better gut health and improved digestion. Food is divided into six major categories such as fruits, proteins, fats/oils, mildly starchy vegetables, no starchy vegetables, and carbohydrates.

Proper food combining and awareness regarding the right food combinations along with the nutritional value can improve health and digestive health helping one heal IBD naturally.