The Critical Link To Crohn’s Disease and The Gut

Do you feel:

• Inflammation in your gut?
• Pain from the left side under the ribcage?
• A sense of fullness after 1-4 hours after eating?
• Excessive belching, burning, or burping after eating a meal?
• Excessive usage of antacids?

If you are experiencing any of these situations, then you might be experiencing Crohn’s disease and how it is affecting your gut system.

The human body and the gut microbiome have a wonderful connection as they help balance each other out. The human body protects the organs and the systems from harmful factors that are from the outside, while the organs and the systems help make sure that the body is functioning properly. With the gut system, it helps the body by providing food to be digested and can help transfer hormones from the gut to the brain. Even though the gut can help make sure the body is functioning correctly, it can be prone to dysfunctions from factors that can harm the gut system. Inflammation, intestinal permeability, and other harmful factors can cause the gut not to work properly. It can cause many problems that can hurt the body, and if it is not treated, it can turn into chronic illnesses.

Crohn’s Disease and The Gut

A recent study that was published in 2019, researchers have discovered that there is a critical link between IL-1ɑ (interleukin-1ɑ) and the gut microbiome. What IL-1ɑ is, is that it is a protein that controls the inflammation in the gut. Researchers were shocked about this information and were able to find that by blocking the IL-1ɑ protein since it is a pro-inflammatory protein in the gut, it can cause a significant decrease in the severity of intestinal inflammation of Crohn’s disease.

Surprisingly there are some more research and information about the effects of anti-ILalpha treatment for helping out the body. The research shows that a study was being controlled by changing the body’s intestinal microbial ecosystem and even correcting mucosal dysbiosis. What this treatment does is that it decreases the ratio of Proteobacteria to be Bacteroidetes, while also decreasing the Helicobacter species as well as increasing Mucispirillum schaedleri and Lactobacillus salivarus. With these microflora modifications being linked, they can provide similar biological effects that steroids have been able to produce in the body, thus considering to be the gold standard for treatment.

With these findings, they show the diversity and balance of how the gut microbiome plays a huge role not only in gastrointestinal health but also playing a role in the health of the immune system and the inflammatory response in the body. Even though this study has been tested on subjects and further research is still needed, it gives many researchers hope for finding some therapeutic targets for any patients that may be suffering from any of these deliberating conditions. The findings can provide the rationale for medical researchers to help conduct a clinical trial for blocking IL-1ɑ for patients that have IBD.

Studies on Crohn’s Disease

Studies have shown that IBD, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, are autoimmune conditions that causes multiple triggers that will chronically stimulate the immune system over a long period in the body. These autoimmune conditions can cause the immune system to become overburden and be unable to function properly. What comes with these autoimmune conditions is chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation has become the result of function loss, thus leading the body to have chronic gastrointestinal ailments.

These can be characterized by diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and other crippling manifestations that can greatly affect a patient’s quality of life and overall health and wellness. Studies have shown that there is no surprise that the microbial composition of the GI tract can play a huge role in the development of IBD. The studies found that imbalance or dysbiosis are associated with an increase in intestinal inflammation that may cause IBD. Research has shown that the intestinal microbiome can greatly impact the body’s immune health since 70% of the immune system lies within the GI tract.

Studies have demonstrated that there are events, both chemical and molecular, that can shift the microbiome and exacerbate disease activity in patients that have IBD. Although there is a contrast for healthy individual’s gut microbiomes that are shown to be much more stable. Furthermore, the science shows that E. coli can proliferate in IBD during flare-ups in the body. When this happens, it can further contribute to the patient’s symptoms and the progression of the disease.

When a person is trying to get healthier, the best way to do it is by avoiding pro-inflammatory foods that can cause the gut to have inflammation. Studies have found that processed foods, sugars, and trans fats can cause inflammation. The best way to be healthy is to increase the intake of an anti-inflammatory diet that is rich in antioxidants, have high omega-3s, and have a high dosage of prebiotic and probiotic supplements. With these healthy options, they can assist with the inflammatory response within the GI tract to help reduce the IBD flare-ups. With certain bacteriophages, they have been shown to infect and inhibit the growth of E. coli, which surprisingly has also been shown to help reduce the symptoms and can even potentially slow the progress of IBD.

Conclusion

With more and more research discovering the link between Crohn’s disease and the gut system is truly remarkable as researchers and scientists are finding ways to calm down and even prevent inflammation from happening. By eating healthy, nutritious food that contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties can help the body dampen the effects of inflammation and improve the overall health and wellness of the body. Some products are here to help the body and provide support to the gastrointestinal system.

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

References:

Jurgelewicz, Michael. “New Study Demonstrates Fasting-Mimicking Diet Reduces Inflammatory Bowel Disease Pathology.” Designs for Health, 15 Mar. 2019, blog.designsforhealth.com/node/974.

Jurgelewicz, Michael. “New Study Demonstrates Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Can Reach Remission with Diet Alone.” Designs for Health, 4 Jan. 2018, blog.designsforhealth.com/si-42214/new-study-demonstrates-patients-with-inflammatory-bowel-disease-can-reach-remission-with-diet-alone.

Jurgelewicz, Michael. “New Study Identifies How the Microbiome Is Disrupted in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.” Designs for Health, 7 June 2019, blog.designsforhealth.com/node/1036.

Matsuoka, Katsuyoshi, and Takanori Kanai. “The Gut Microbiota and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.” Seminars in Immunopathology, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Jan. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4281375/.

Menghini, Paola, et al. “Neutralization of IL-1α Ameliorates Crohn’s Disease-like Ileitis by Functional Alterations of the Gut Microbiome.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 26 Dec. 2019, www.pnas.org/content/116/52/26717.

staff, Science X. “Researchers Discover Critical Link to Controlling Inflammation in Crohn’s Disease.” Medical Xpress – Medical Research Advances and Health News, Medical Xpress, 16 Dec. 2019, medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-critical-link-inflammation-crohn-disease.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter.

Team, DFH. “Discovery of a Critical Link between Crohn’s and the Gut Microbiome.” Designs for Health, 5 Mar. 2020, blog.designsforhealth.com/node/1208.

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