Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (130 page)

Conventional treatments are similar to those for other autoimmune conditions and involve the use of immunosuppressive medications such as steroids, interferon alpha 2A and B, Levamisole, cyclosporine, Cytoxan, colchicine, Trental, and thalidomide. Not a group to be dealt with lightly.

This is a perfect condition in which to use the DIGIN model to try to find underlying imbalances and triggers.

Intestinal permeability testing

Organic acid testing

Lactose intolerance test

Testing for gluten and antigliadin antibodies

IgE, IgG, IgM food and environmental sensitivity testing

After testing, you’ll have a better idea of any underlying problems. Look up related sections in this book to help you with the specifics. Then detoxify if necessary, clean up your diet, take probiotics, and increase your intake of vitamins, minerals, and other antioxidants.

Try metabolic cleansing.
Metabolic cleansing involves going on a hypoallergenic food plan for one to three weeks and taking a nutrient-rich protein powder designed to help restore your liver’s detoxification capacities. For a thorough discussion of metabolic cleansing, see
Chapter 18
.

Take and eat antioxidants.
You’ll find fruits and vegetables to be great natural sources of antioxidants. Make sure you eat 5 to 12 servings daily, if not more. They probably won’t give enough protection by themselves, so add nutritional supplements. Vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione, trace minerals, and other antioxidants may be helpful in decreasing the incidence and severity of flareups. Research shows that BD patients have an increased need for antioxidants.
Therefore, supplementation with trace elements involved in the antioxidative processes may increase scavenger enzyme activities, and consequently, an improvement in clinical symptoms may be expected. While much more research is needed in this area, there is no reason not to add them to your daily routine. Take an antioxidant combination with carotenoids, selenium, glutathione, or N-acetyl cysteine, and that may contain lipoic acid, grape seed extract, Pycnogenol, or other antioxidant nutrients.

Take vitamin E.
Take 800 to 1,000 IU d-alpha tocopherol with mixed tocopherols daily. Look for a product with a high gamma-tocopherol or high tocotrienol content.

Take vitamin C.
Take a minimum of 2,000 mg of vitamin C daily. To maximize effects see the section on vitamin C flush in
Chapter 18
.

Try BG-104.
This is a Chinese herbal supplement. One study looked at the effectiveness of BG-104 in people with BD and Sjögren’s disease. Both BG-104 and vitamin E were found to have an anti-inflammatory effect. They enhance antioxidant activity to reduce sedimentation rates (a measure of tissue breakdown) and number of neutrophils (white blood cells) and lower C-reactive protein levels, which is a measure of inflammation.

Balance your pH.
See
Chapter 17
for more information.

Try acupuncture.
There is limited research in this area, but one study showed a positive effect on improving immune function and trace mineral status; however, a 2002 letter in the
British Journal of Ophthalmology
(Murray and Aboteen, 2002) discussed a BD patient who developed pathergy-like pustules at the sites of acupuncture needle placement, indicating caution in the use of this treatment.