Help me! Heal me! (Ulcerative Colitis)

[Thirteen]

Greetings, all!

The name’s Joe.  I’ve been a member of this forum for years now, routinely referring to it for dietary guidance and whatnot, but have finally found a compelling reason to actually post and contribute—I’ve recently been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

My dietary history:  At some point in high school I decided to start trying to be healthier.  At the time, this consisted of simply trying to eat low fat foods—lots of salads, chicken, tuna, fruits/vegetables, etc.  I was shortly thereafter eating basically what the SAD “healthy” diet would be, including yogurt, whole grains, etc.  I also allowed myself one day a week to splurge and eat as much as I wanted of whatever I wanted.   I was very physically active with lifting weights, running nearly every day, etc.

I stumbled upon the Paleo Diet and it instantly resonated with me.  My diet at that point was pretty much just meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.  Stumbling upon this forum is what led me towards trying the raw version of the diet, which I have been following on and off for I want to say about four years now.  I say “on and off” because I’ve kinda been a sucker for social gatherings and family pressure…friends going out for pizza?  I was in.  Family ordering take-out?  For sure.  Indian food?  My favorite!  For the past couple of years, when I could help it, I’ve been eating  grass-fed beef (that I’d dry-age in the fridge myself), liver, marrow when available, salmon, clams, oysters, the occasional scallops (just the meat, as that’s what’s conventionally offered in the US) honey, fruits, vegetables, and I’d go through phases with pastured eggs and experimented with raw cheese (mostly goat and sheep)—all raw.  Going out with friends, holidays with the family, etc. were a different story—I followed hardly any rules in those circumstances and just tried to enjoy myself.

There was a period of time where I was very strict with the RPD for about three months.  Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until I broke the diet that I noticed the first symptom—a slightly bloody bowel movement with some mucous.  I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but my bowel movements were completely normalized afterwards and I ended up shrugging it off.  I would see those symptoms again every few months, usually when I misbehaved and overate on SAD foods for whatever reason.  A few months ago, the symptoms started occurring more frequently than I was comfortable with, and eventually they were commonplace—so I got checked out at a gastroenterologist.

Long story short, they performed a sigmoidoscopy last week and diagnosed me with colitis.  I could see on the monitor that there was some inflammation, and I could see the mucous I was familiar with running along the inside of my large intestine.  I asked about the cause, how to cure it, etc.  and the response I received was “We don’t know what causes it.  There is no cure.  But this is how you can manage it.”  They prescribed me some pills (Lialda?) and enemas, but I wanted to tell them to shove it—no pun intended.   I want to find my own way.  Still waiting on the official lab results from the biopsies, as well.

I see a lot of testimonials (on MDA, in particular) about healing or at least managing UC on a cooked Paleo diet—I assume a raw Paleo diet would be even more effective.  I’ve poked around on here and seen a few members speak on carbs being the culprit—I might experiment with that, if I don’t see enough improvement on my current regimen.  Ever since the diagnosis, I’ve been 100% raw and completely cut out all grains, dairy, nuts, and most vegetables.  My diet has been pretty much fruit, honey, marrow, liver, and clams/oysters (beef hasn’t been available and it takes me some time to dry-age it, which is how I prefer it).  My bowel movements have actually been more consistently well-formed the past few days, hardly any blood, and the mucous seems to be diminishing, as well.

I should add that I’ve never experienced any pain from the UC—some discomfort here and there from the spontaneous feeling of needing to pass some mucous but never any pain.

…am I on the right path?  Open to any suggestions on how to improve as much as I possibly can.

Thanks in advance!

[TylerDurden]

Well, a raw diet is far more effective in dealing with  diseases that are linked to inflammation. Cooking creates substances which inflame the human body.

Anyway, welcome to the forum! I had awful issues with my bowels which I got rid of as a result of this diet, so I am sure you will benefit therefrom too.

[van]

I would suggest you look at the various ways of building a healthy population of intestinal flora.  Also Phil has posted many articles on the benefits of eating foods that feed the flora, meaning they are resistant to digestion until they hit the colon where they are utilized by bacteria there, thus producing healing by-products that may sooth your intestines.   I could keep excess sugar including fruit to a minimum due to there feeding yeasts and fungi  which when an unbalanced flora is present can even make things worse.   Bone broths are said to be soothing.  I would also chew my foods very finely so as not to put coarse pieces of food through the inflamed parts of your intestine.    Overeating where you're not completely digesting food stuffs will aggravate your condition..     I have been using one teaspoon syllium to a cup of water, shaken with probiotics, and then kept in the fridge, I consume that through the day.  It is soothing, and will help form soft stools, and feed your bacteria population.  Food like fermented cabbage can help, but go easy with them.    I'm sure others here will chime in soon with other soothing foods that will help heal.   

[cherimoya_kid]

You might want to try some Now brand vitamin D supplements. If they work, then you can focus on eating more vitamin D-rich foods.

[Inger]

Well, I would ditch the fruit/carbs, and go heavy on raw seafood. And no cheating. That is what your body has been telling you for long, you just was a little slow to truly get it  Our body always tell us, if we just listen.

Watch out for non native EMF, are you using WIFI, how are your surroundings, do you live in a city? Close to the ground or up in the "air"?
EMF pollution is very bad for the gut especially. It is not only the foods.

Stay dehydrated, drink plenty of good spring water. Get plenty of sunlight, preferably naked.
How is your sleep? Sleep is the single most important thing for health. With good sleep we heal. Without it we are lost.

Squat on the toilet, it helps the gut to heal too. I always squat. My gut is very happy 

DHA is the best when inflamed. It will help. Raw fats like grassfed beef fat might be healing too for the gut. You need to find out what works for you, test and you will know your own N=1

 

[Iguana]

EMF pollution is very bad for the gut especially.

Really? How is that?

Sorry Inger, such groundless affirmations have as much value than their opposite. One could as well write “EMF have no influence at all on the gut”: that would be equally unconvincing. This EMFs topic has been already extensively discussed with you on this forum and it’s been shown that the intensity of EMFs decreases with the square of the distance. Also no statistical evidence whatsoever has been found linking common exposures to EMFs to an increase in health problems. Nevertheless, due to the precautionary principle it is better to avoid staying for long periods very near a strong EMF source.

Hell, what am I still doing here? I wanted to stop participating in such endless loop discussions, but I’m hanging around… 

[Inger]

Francois,
i think you do not believe in it because you do not have that issue where you live.
You live on the countryside, right? Or at least lived?
I think you just do not know how bad the EMF situation has gotten in the cities (especially in Scandinavia, USA and Canada i guess) and around them just the last couple of years.
It is fun, you are all about natural eating but do not want to realize, non native radiation is very unnatural too... maybe because some can handle it pretty well... and some do not - and get sick.

My sister had bad diarrhea for a long time, she went to the doctor many times and they could not help. She tried to change her diet too, quit gluten etc. it did not help either. I always told her, you need to move... to the countryside
Then they moved a few weeks ago, from a place in the city where she got bathed in many wifi signals day and night from all the neighbors.. 4G.... every tech comfort you can wish..... to a place with almost no cellphone coverage at all, very remote.
From the first day on at the new place, her diarrhea disappeared.
She has husband and 3 kids that suffer from ADHD. They all feel so much better at the new place. Behavior is improved, moods are better, sleep is better...

I want you to go into a big city and live there for a few weeks or months or years. Eating all that fruit.
Lets see if you mind changes 

I have read about this deeply in theory too - why it happens but that is something you will have to read about yourself, if you are interested.

[Iguana]

I lived most of my life in a rather big city (Lausanne) from childhood to 2007. What mattered me was the air pollution, noise and traffic congestions.

Of course, living in crowded, polluted and congested town is detrimental. To know what the health improvement of for example what you sister experienced is really due, every possible cause should be isolated and removed one by one. Of course, this ain’t possible… so you can’t know if it’s due to a better air quality, less stress, less noise, less EMFs or even psychological/placebo factors.   

[Hanna]

Sorry, in German, but about ulcerative colitis healed by eating a raw food diet:
http://frohkost.blogspot.de/2013/10/warum-ernahrst-du-dich-nur-von-rohkost_4983.html

Perhaps Tyler would like to translate…

[Thirteen]

Well, a raw diet is far more effective in dealing with  diseases that are linked to inflammation. Cooking creates substances which inflame the human body.

Thank you, good sir!

I have no doubt that a raw diet will better suit me...I was just wondering if you thought it possible that someone suffering from UC could recover to the point of being able to tolerate the occasional cooked meat here or there for, again, social reasons every once in a while.  I understand that in general it will never be recommended by the vast majority of those on this forum, but I was just curious...

Anyway, welcome to the forum! I had awful issues with my bowels which I got rid of as a result of this diet, so I am sure you will benefit therefrom too.

I vaguely recall a post from a while ago (I want to say it was by Iguana?) who was speaking on the pitfalls of going "part-time raw paleo," and how it could be potentially as dangerous as a full-time SAD diet (i.e. it's all or nothing).  If so, I feel like I've kinda validated that theory considering my dietary history...

I would suggest you look at the various ways of building a healthy population of intestinal flora.  Also Phil has posted many articles on the benefits of eating foods that feed the flora, meaning they are resistant to digestion until they hit the colon where they are utilized by bacteria there, thus producing healing by-products that may sooth your intestines.

Thanks, Van.  I'm going to look into this, as from the amateur research I've done, it sounds like intestinal flora could be the root cause of conditions like UC.

I could keep excess sugar including fruit to a minimum due to there feeding yeasts and fungi  which when an unbalanced flora is present can even make things worse.

I was afraid I was going to have to nix the fruit...but it fits.  Not an unreasonable approach.

Bone broths are said to be soothing.

I'm trying to stay 100% raw while I recover, if possible...is there a raw alternative?

I would also chew my foods very finely so as not to put coarse pieces of food through the inflamed parts of your intestine.    Overeating where you're not completely digesting food stuffs will aggravate your condition.

I have actually already been making a conscious effort to do this.

I have been using one teaspoon syllium to a cup of water, shaken with probiotics, and then kept in the fridge, I consume that through the day.  It is soothing, and will help form soft stools, and feed your bacteria population.

From what I read, psyllium is generally not recommended from a raw/paleo perspective...would healing from UC be a valid exception in favor of its usage?

Food like fermented cabbage can help, but go easy with them.

I've been eating a couple of raw fermented pickles every day or so.

You might want to try some Now brand vitamin D supplements. If they work, then you can focus on eating more vitamin D-rich foods.

Thanks, CK.  I've always been a little skeptical of the efficacy of supplements, though.  And did you mean to say  if they don't work to focus on more vitamin-D rich foods?  I eat salmon, oysters, and beef liver pretty routinely.  If I had to, I could look to include some organic pastured eggs, although almost all the ones I have immediate access to were raised at least partially on supplemental soy-ish feed...

Well, I would ditch the fruit/carbs, and go heavy on raw seafood.

Thanks, Inger!  If I had to (::gulp: give up fruit, I'd naturally up the raw seafood so as to break up the monotony.

And no cheating. That is what your body has been telling you for long, you just was a little slow to truly get it  Our body always tell us, if we just listen.

Guess I was a little on the wild side.    And a little subborn.   

I'm hearing it loud and clear, now.

Watch out for non native EMF, are you using WIFI, how are your surroundings, do you live in a city? Close to the ground or up in the "air"?
EMF pollution is very bad for the gut especially. It is not only the foods.

I live in New Jersey--it's densely populated.  Very close to NYC, too--I routinely visit the city.  I live on a ground level apartment.  Not sure what I can do to counteract this...

Stay dehydrated, drink plenty of good spring water.

I've been drinking at least 2 liters of spring water a day.

Get plenty of sunlight, preferably naked.

I seize every possible opportunity to go "sunwalking"--spending lots of time walking with as much skin exposed to the sun as possible.  Going to a nude beach is on my bucketlist...

How is your sleep? Sleep is the single most important thing for health. With good sleep we heal. Without it we are lost.

My level of sleep is not where I'd like it to be...but I've been aiming for at least six hours of quality sleep per night.

Squat on the toilet, it helps the gut to heal too. I always squat. My gut is very happy 

I've been doing this for a few years now...it does make things go much more...smoothly... 

DHA is the best when inflamed. It will help.

Are you also recommending supplementation?

Raw fats like grassfed beef fat might be healing too for the gut.

I jump on every possible opportunity to purchase raw grass-fed beef marrow, but it isn't available all the time.  I'm sitting on a few days worth right now.

N=1

...I like this! 

Sorry, in German, but about ulcerative colitis healed by eating a raw food diet:
http://frohkost.blogspot.de/2013/10/warum-ernahrst-du-dich-nur-von-rohkost_4983.html

Perhaps Tyler would like to translate…

Thanks, Hanna.  If anyone could extract any nuggets of insight from this, I'd appreciate it...


I haven't seen any fierce objections specifically to raw honey.  I'd prefer to not go ZC, if it's avoidable, and If I'm nixing all other sources of carbs (fruit, veg), honey might be my only recourse...thoughts?

Thanks!

[goodsamaritan]

My son does olive oil enemas and vco enemas when he has colon problems.
Just recently he again ate lots of pop corn (when I wasn't there)... and again suffered.
Now he does his own enemas.
Water enema first, then the oil.

[van]

I can't help but jump in.  I used to be a big colonic enema user.  I have reversed my opinion ( of course if there's a blockage, there's need) but I think it's better to let the body do it's own healing.   To flush out the intestines, not only do you risk bowel extension from pressurizing it with fluids, but you wash out colonies of bacteria, and you upset the natural peristalsis that occurs from pressure of feces, and peristalsis from the acidic nature of bacteria themselves which signals the colon to move.    I'm much more in line with the information of feeding the colon and letting the bacteria heal it from within.  Remember there are more cells inside the large intestine than all the cells in the rest of the body combined.  To cultivate that garden is to cultivate billions and billions of cells with a cultural life force that can generate outwards.   I have little doubt when the asians talk about life force or chi, that in part is what they are talking about. 

[Hanna]

If anyone could extract any nuggets of insight from this, I'd appreciate it...

The girl’s diet, who healed herself from a severe form of this disease (that’s me BTW), was/is like this:

1) including non-acidic fruit, but fruit is calorie wise not the major part of the diet,
2) not eating much meat (!), eating mainly fatty fish and seafood as animal food,
3) including nuts, coconut, avocado and other sources of plant fat,
4) eating vegetable on a daily basis, including greens and seaweed,
5) calories stemming mainly from (plant and animal) fat, 
6) never eating foods rich in fat/protein at the same meal as foods rich in sugar
and never combining two different foods rich in fat/protein (with certain exceptions, such as beef brain and beef marrow at the same meal),
7) only eating foods which don’t cause negative symptoms in your special case (maybe you suffer from hidden food allergies or the like), no matter what others tell you.

And always using your own brain, experimenting for yourself etc.

[TylerDurden]

When on a raw, palaeolithic diet, one should always be as close to 100%  raw as possible  until one has healed fully. Doing a partially-raw diet is a bad idea re healing as the body then has to divert important resources towards countering all the toxins that are coming in regularly from the cooked foods you are eating.

Bone-broths are not needed on a raw palaeolithic diet and are not raw, either.

[Inger]

Instead of bone broths, eat the connective tissue and take care to eat the whole animal as much as you can. Eating only the muscle meat is a big mistake

you want the stuff with much collagen in it. Raw heart is great too, more collagen than just the muscles (even if it is sort of a muscle too).

try high meat too, very easy to make, and very good for the gut!

[Inger]

I live in New Jersey--it's densely populated.  Very close to NYC, too--I routinely visit the city.  I live on a ground level apartment.  Not sure what I can do to counteract this...

I've been drinking at least 2 liters of spring water a day.

I seize every possible opportunity to go "sunwalking"--spending lots of time walking with as much skin exposed to the sun as possible.  Going to a nude beach is on my bucketlist...

My level of sleep is not where I'd like it to be...but I've been aiming for at least six hours of quality sleep per night.

I've been doing this for a few years now...it does make things go much more...smoothly... 

Are you also recommending supplementation?

New York and its surroundings are EMF hell to be honest.

You can start with checking out on maps on the internet where celltowers are located close to you
do you get wifi signals at your place? Do you use wifi yourself?

Start with going wired - with everything. Ditch everything wireless in your house. There are always wired options!

Shut off your cellphones at night, and when you have them on, keep them as far away from your body as you can. Talk only on speaker and as little as you can.

Cut the breaker in your bedroom, remove all electronics from it too. Bedroom is for sleep (and sex  ) only

Avoid artificial light after sunset, use candles instead! Will help you sleep. Use f.lux on your computer - avoid blue light as much as you can.

2 liters of water is not much, I drink around 4 liter / day.. and I am a woman 165 cm / 54 kg
The non native EMF is dehydrating... that is why we need way more water then we would out in the wild
If you drink it ice cold it is even better!
Cold helps to when in a high EMF environment, it helps mitigate the damage. Try to keepit as cold as you can in your home, and take cold showers/baths.. use as little clothes as possible, just stay cool   

You might have to move to regain full health  if your area is bad regarding non native EMF - I moved too, just 3 weeks ago.

Nope, I generally do not believe in supplements. You need the real package with DHA, not fish oils. It seriously is a huge difference.

I have been visiting the nude beaches around here too, love it 
but more than anything i love the tiny tiny lake 10 minutes bike ride from here - I can tan there nude just alone - and it has very poor to zero cellphone connection too, i feel so amazing when I am there!     

[Inger]

I lived most of my life in a rather big city (Lausanne) from childhood to 2007. What mattered me was the air pollution, noise and traffic congestions.

Of course, living in crowded, polluted and congested town is detrimental. To know what the health improvement of for example what you sister experienced is really due, every possible cause should be isolated and removed one by one. Of course, this ain’t possible… so you can’t know if it’s due to a better air quality, less stress, less noise, less EMFs or even psychological/placebo factors.   

Francois,
year 2007 is very very different from 2014.
The non native EMF in cities and their surroundings had increased dramatically - more than you can ever imagine, since then, and it continues to do so every year

I am not going to talk to you about this issue anymore before you have read the book

Going somewhere; Truth about a Life in Science
 by Andrew Marino

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Somewhere-Truth-about-Science/dp/0981854915

To get a picture, go and watch, say, Hamburg, on this map. It will show you the antennas....... and how many here are - way more than 1000 just in Hamburg City.
do you really think this is good for us?

http://www.handymasten.com/#

When the government of Germany even agree children that live near antennas get more leukemia... and many others health issues too
how can this be good for life? And now that everyone has smart phones... with wifi on 24/7..... even carrying them in their pockets all day long.... spending endless hours in front of the computer... on facebook..etc....
Because you do not have this issue, do not means it does not exist.
I would say it is the biggest single health destroyer today. That is why I will never stop pointing to it. Because close to no one does.
It is not all about the food.

 

[Inger]

Thirteen,
 here is an EMF rx for you, lots of great info what to do

http://jackkruse.com/emf-rx-the-top-ten-emf-faqs/

[goodsamaritan]

I can't help but jump in.  I used to be a big colonic enema user.  I have reversed my opinion ( of course if there's a blockage, there's need) but I think it's better to let the body do it's own healing.   To flush out the intestines, not only do you risk bowel extension from pressurizing it with fluids, but you wash out colonies of bacteria, and you upset the natural peristalsis that occurs from pressure of feces, and peristalsis from the acidic nature of bacteria themselves which signals the colon to move.    I'm much more in line with the information of feeding the colon and letting the bacteria heal it from within.  Remember there are more cells inside the large intestine than all the cells in the rest of the body combined.  To cultivate that garden is to cultivate billions and billions of cells with a cultural life force that can generate outwards.   I have little doubt when the asians talk about life force or chi, that in part is what they are talking about. 

Thanks for the warning.

I meant to say my son only does this oil enema once or twice when he does something really stupid like eating pop corn. ( a bucket full )

Which through our experience 2x already, his colon cannot expel pop corn on its own. Like he did Saturday evening, my son 13 yrs old ate pop corn in a movie with his siblings and come Monday he was going down again, weak, could not go to school, his tummy felt some pain.  A water enema (400 ml) got rid of most of the junk, and an olive oil enema (250 ml) got rid of the rest of his junk.

Otherwise my son does not do enemas at all.

I agree with Van.  Use only in emergencies when you are trying to fix something.

[Thirteen]

My son does olive oil enemas and vco enemas when he has colon problems.
Just recently he again ate lots of pop corn (when I wasn't there)... and again suffered.
Now he does his own enemas.
Water enema first, then the oil.

Thanks, GS!

While I can accept that they have their place in treating certain conditions, I feel like enemas should be a last resort, a "Plan B," if you will.  There's also just something kinda counter-intuitive about sticking foodstuff back up in the wrong direction of our digestive system...

I think it's better to let the body do it's own healing.

I'm much more in line with the information of feeding the colon and letting the bacteria heal it from within.

Agreed!

1) including non-acidic fruit, but fruit is calorie wise not the major part of the diet

Acidic fruits?  Or acid-forming fruits?

2) not eating much meat (!), eating mainly fatty fish and seafood as animal food

Interesting...I'm finishing off some grass-fed ground beef right now--maybe I can start cycling more salmon, etc. once I do so.

3) including nuts, coconut, avocado and other sources of plant fat

I feel like I should probably avoid nuts for now, young coconuts being an exception.  I was on the fence about avocado...guess I'll just have to experiment.

4) eating vegetable on a daily basis, including greens and seaweed

I don't make eating greens a habit too much--do you think doing so was highly effective?

5) calories stemming mainly from (plant and animal) fat

Makes sense...I'd personally favor animal fat, but if need be I could tap into coconut and avocado.

6) never eating foods rich in fat/protein at the same meal as foods rich in sugar
and never combining two different foods rich in fat/protein (with certain exceptions, such as beef brain and beef marrow at the same meal)

I typically eat only one kind of food at a time, anyway.  Exception would be if I decided to work avocado in to my diet...it may likely be in the form of a raw guacamole with a little onions, tomatoes, etc. included, and using sliced bell peppers as "chips"...I've treated myself to this every once in a while in the past.

7) only eating foods which don’t cause negative symptoms in your special case (maybe you suffer from hidden food allergies or the like), no matter what others tell you.

And always using your own brain, experimenting for yourself etc.

Superb advice. 

When on a raw, palaeolithic diet, one should always be as close to 100%  raw as possible  until one has healed fully. Doing a partially-raw diet is a bad idea re healing as the body then has to divert important resources towards countering all the toxins that are coming in regularly from the cooked foods you are eating.

Seems legit...thanks, TD.  I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...

Bone-broths are not needed on a raw palaeolithic diet and are not raw, either.

I figured just as much...

Instead of bone broths, eat the connective tissue and take care to eat the whole animal as much as you can. Eating only the muscle meat is a big mistake

you want the stuff with much collagen in it. Raw heart is great too, more collagen than just the muscles (even if it is sort of a muscle too).

The grass-fed 85% lean ground beef that I have regular access to must have some connective tissue (and therefore collagen) in it, yea?

try high meat too, very easy to make, and very good for the gut!

I'd definitely like to try this.  Though not standard high meat, I used to dry-age grass-fed rib steaks in my fridge for months before eating them...it was absolutely fantastic once aged.  But I probably wasn't getting any of the typical benefits of high meat as it wasn't in a sealed container, etc. but just kinda left open in the fridge.

do you get wifi signals at your place? Do you use wifi yourself?

I'm sure there is plenty of signal buzzing around me as I type this...but I have a wifi hotspot that I hardly even turn on--usually just when I need to sign online to work from home.

Shut off your cellphones at night, and when you have them on, keep them as far away from your body as you can.

Does putting my phone on airplane mode count? 

Cut the breaker in your bedroom, remove all electronics from it too. Bedroom is for sleep (and sex  ) only

Yes, ma'am! 

And there are no electronics in my bedroom.

Avoid artificial light after sunset, use candles instead! Will help you sleep. Use f.lux on your computer - avoid blue light as much as you can.

I think on some level I was already keen to this...I usually don't utilize electronics too much in my spare time, particularly late at night.

2 liters of water is not much, I drink around 4 liter / day.. and I am a woman 165 cm / 54 kg
The non native EMF is dehydrating... that is why we need way more water then we would out in the wild

To correct myself, I actually drink about 2 liters a day at work, not including what I drink in the morning or for the rest of the day afterwards.  I'm more in the range of 3 liters, so I guess I could still stand to up the H2O.

If you drink it ice cold it is even better!

Interesting...for some reason, I was under the impression that room temperature was most optimal.

Cold helps to when in a high EMF environment, it helps mitigate the damage. Try to keepit as cold as you can in your home, and take cold showers/baths.. use as little clothes as possible, just stay cool   

Not a problem--I'm already fond of the cold.  My showers are usually on the cool side, year-round.

You might have to move to regain full health  if your area is bad regarding non native EMF - I moved too, just 3 weeks ago.

I do often find myself fantasizing about living off-the-grid...

Nope, I generally do not believe in supplements. You need the real package with DHA, not fish oils. It seriously is a huge difference.

Ah, okay--I would've thought the same.

I have been visiting the nude beaches around here too, love it 
but more than anything i love the tiny tiny lake 10 minutes bike ride from here - I can tan there nude just alone - and it has very poor to zero cellphone connection too, i feel so amazing when I am there!     

...sounds like you're really living the life, Inger!   

Thirteen,
 here is an EMF rx for you, lots of great info what to do

http://jackkruse.com/emf-rx-the-top-ten-emf-faqs/

This is great!  I'll have to peruse it...

I meant to say my son only does this oil enema once or twice when he does something really stupid like eating pop corn. ( a bucket full )

There are some artisan popcorn brands in some of the health food supermarkets near me.  That stuff is fiendishly tasty...

I agree with Van.  Use only in emergencies when you are trying to fix something.

This makes perfect sense to me...thanks again!

[Hanna]

I don’t eat any acidic fruit, such as oranges.

Concerning nuts: You can try, for example, walnuts and coconut cream. Also olives etc. It’s paranoid to avoid any plant fats. I’m almost sure it doesn’t help the bowels to eat just meat, perhaps quite the opposite. 

Eating, for example, just vegetables, such as fennel and chicory, and nothing else for two or three days was highly effective in my case. Eating in this way is a traditional health cure. Vegetables are perhaps much more important than other foods to heal large bowel conditions, perhaps because they contain prebiotics. Read for example this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prebiotic_(nutrition)

Nuts appear to have prebiotic properties too - see for example:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24642201
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24315808
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493170/

[cherimoya_kid]

Thanks, CK.  I've always been a little skeptical of the efficacy of supplements, though.  And did you mean to say  if they don't work to focus on more vitamin-D rich foods?

No. The point of taking the supplements is to see if they give you an immediate benefit within just a few days. If they don't,  you're probably not deficient. You can also get blood work done, but that's a lot more expensive.  The Now brand vitamin D is the best I've tried.

[Thirteen]

I don’t eat any acidic fruit, such as oranges.

The whole acid/alkaline approach is interesting...but I understand that fruits that may have an acidic PH (e.g. oranges, lemons, grapefruit) are actually alkaline-forming in the body.  You're recommending avoiding foods that have an actual acidic PH, correct?

Concerning nuts: You can try, for example, walnuts and coconut cream. Also olives etc.

I have access to raw sprouted walnuts and young coconuts (non-organic, though).  I'd  have to look for olives...

It’s paranoid to avoid any plant fats. I’m almost sure it doesn’t help the bowels to eat just meat, perhaps quite the opposite. 

I've just always felt like raw animal fats (and meat) digest so much more easily, while raw plant fats always seem to go hand-in-hand with high fiber.  High fiber doesn't seem ideal for UC...but I'm certainly not opposed to the variety, especially if you had a lot of success with incorporating plant fats.

Eating, for example, just vegetables, such as fennel and chicory, and nothing else for two or three days was highly effective in my case. Eating in this way is a traditional health cure. Vegetables are perhaps much more important than other foods to heal large bowel conditions, perhaps because they contain prebiotics. Read for example this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prebiotic_(nutrition)

Very interesting...I've enjoyed raw sunchokes in the past--maybe I could give those a try.

Nuts appear to have prebiotic properties too - see for example:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24642201
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24315808
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493170/

Those articles seem to reference almonds almost exclusively--there must be similar benefits with other varieties, wouldn't you think?  Walnuts and maybe macadamias would probably be a preference for me...

No. The point of taking the supplements is to see if they give you an immediate benefit within just a few days. If they don't,  you're probably not deficient. You can also get blood work done, but that's a lot more expensive.  The Now brand vitamin D is the best I've tried.

Ah, I see--just use the supplements to quickly troubleshoot the underlying issue.  Thanks, CK.

[eveheart]

I've just always felt like raw animal fats (and meat) digest so much more easily, while raw plant fats always seem to go hand-in-hand with high fiber.  High fiber doesn't seem ideal for UC...but I'm certainly not opposed to the variety, especially if you had a lot of success with incorporating plant fats.

I find that the fiber that I ingest when I eat moderate amounts of plant fats (mostly avocado, coconut, nuts) does not irritate my bowels. High fiber (to me) is when someone chows down on whole grains and legumes all day long and sips on psyllium husk shakes for extra fiber.

[Thirteen]

I find that the fiber that I ingest when I eat moderate amounts of plant fats (mostly avocado, coconut, nuts) does not irritate my bowels. High fiber (to me) is when someone chows down on whole grains and legumes all day long and sips on psyllium husk shakes for extra fiber.

I've consumed generous amounts of plant fats in the past with no ill effects, as well--I was just concerned about doing so while trying to recover from UC...

Maybe I'll experiment with one of the three today.

Thanks!