Inflammatory Bowel Disease - What Should You Know?

Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease cause inflammations of the bowels and thus are collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease. However, there are differences between both the diseases. Ulcerative colitis primarily affects the colon or the large intestines and also causes ulcers. Crohn s disease may not cause ulcers but causes inflammations and can affect any part of the digestive system, i.e. from the mouth to the anus. There are other versions of these diseases which sort of fall midway between the two but have characteristics of both and are generally classified as inflammations of the bowel.

Inflammatory bowel disease was initially thought to be an autoimmune disease where the immune system starts attacking the cells within the body and thus causing inflammation of the intestines. However, this autoimmune disorder starts attacking necessary gut bacteria, which are required for digestion. Thus this causes the inflammation of the intestines resulting in the disorder.

Whole grain bread contains fiber, which tends to aggravate symptoms. In fact, it is better to avoid fiber-rich foods as they trigger inflammation and cause an acute increase in the symptoms. It is best to consult with your doctor if you have IBD to get the best diet and food sources for you. However, some foods which you should be avoided in general are nuts and seeds, raw and dried fruits, raw vegetables, cured and tough meats, certain vegetable like broccoli and cabbage among others.

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease has generally been noticed to be more in areas where the standard of living is very high. In these areas personal hygiene and the cleanliness is quite high and thus this may result in very little exposure to bad bacteria. For example, IBD is more common in Western European nations compared to poorer area of the world such as Africa. This results in the immune system trying to attack healthy gut bacteria, which in turn results in autoimmune disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.