One of the more serious chronic food related diseases is Crohn’s Disease. People with this disease have abnormalities of the immune system. The most common symptoms of Crohn’s disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea. This disease usually begins in young people with frequent diarrhea (irritable bowel syndrome) and progresses to inflammatory swelling of the digestive tract. Crohn’s Disease affects men and women equally and seems to run in some families.

 Normally, the initial treatment for most people with Crohn’s Disease is through the use of drugs that control inflammation. Drugs that suppress the immune system are also routinely prescribed. However, these drugs can cause serious side effects, including greater susceptibility to infection, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea and headache. Additionally, these drugs only provide temporary relief from the effects of Crohn’s by treating the symptoms instead of the underlying cause of the disease. More importantly, use of these drugs does not necessarily prevent the need for surgery. While surgery can help Crohn’s Disease, removing some of the damaged bowel, it cannot cure it and recurrent surgery can lead to malnutrition and eventually death. For more information please visit Sage Home under Links.

Laura,

I was actually a teenager when I had Crohn’s Disease; it was very painful. Through the years I have been hospitalized several times. It never occurred to me that foods could be a major factor that could control Crohns. Really, if you look at the entire picture and what it has done for me, it has changed my life dramatically. I don’t feel weak and tired I don’t have the day to day symptoms of Crohns anymore. I go with no medications for Crohns at all. I have been on this diet for three years so it is not a short term fix. Just a blood test can change your life.