Natural Remedies for Crohn's Disease: Holistic Healing

A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with colitis. I went to the doctor constantly with diarherra, pus and bleeding. I was having pain after every meal and at one point, was losing a pound a day. My doctor told me that I would have to stay on a diet of soft foods. I found a book on the internet called "Crohns and Colitis". The author talked about eating a strict fruit diet. I starting doing it and the symptoms that I had been suffering from for over a year left me. The enzymes in the fruit made all of the difference.

I use turmeric, it works like magic for me - I have Crohn's disease, and finds it helps ease inflammation. All the anti-inflammatory pills that the doctor gave me only made me MUCH worse. Turmeric helps stop the 'loose stools'.

Curcumin is a naturally occurring chemical compound that is found in the spice turmeric. The two words are sometimes used interchangeably, but the technical difference between the two is that turmeric is the yellowish powder used to flavor foods, while curcumin is a chemical contained within turmeric.

Be careful with barley. It made my condition much worse. Now I have totally intolerance in every food I eat. I'll try pau d' arco

Hi!! I bought Pau D'arco capsules. The ones that are really dark green. I have Crohns. Can you tell me when and how does he take them? With food? I read it can increase bleeding, so I'm kind of scared. Do you know how does the Pau D'arco work? I've had Crohns since I was 7 and when I was 17 I had part of my distal ileum and part of my descending colon resected :(. I'm using humira and its kind of not working anymore

In regard to Pao d Arco; it is an amazing herb and has healed my daughter's irritated eyes when she places a warm tea bag on her eye externally and lets it soak. It has helped me with my lupus as well as immune support. Another herbal combination that could help Chrone's is the Anti-bio or Immune Support put out by Crystal Star. It has helped my fibromyaglia and lupus, which has affected joints, nerves, muscles in my body along with my bowels being affected. It has relieved my symptoms.

Crohn's Disease relief/cure. A lady I know had Crohn's in the past and I asked her about it because I was having stomach problems and my father had died from Crohn's. She said she had suffered and tried many different medicines with no success. She read about this remedy and it worked... Take 4 quality fish oil tablets before bed and 4 after waking up in the morning. She said she stopped taking them about 8 months later.

Try reading the book "Reversing the vicious cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. I follow a vegan version of the diet mentioned in this book. Although not in remission at the moment, turmeric, mineral drops, probiotics and the most magical thing, boiled cabbage (about 7 minutes) in a vegan broth and eat before I go to bed. The boiled cabbage makes most (95%) of my pain go away!!

I have sent many emails to you from where i live in Australia, about help from Ted with my Crohns disease after 46 years of suffering with chronic foul smelling diarrhea and gas... I have never found an answer to my emails on your web site, so I am hoping this will be answered soon."

03/05/2008: Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Dear Carmen: A diarrhea and a gas appears to be that the digestive system is not doing a complete digestion. It sometimes happens whenever certain pathogens or unfriendly bacteria are found in high amounts, the intestinal system is acid which introduces a host of unfriendly bacteria since they need acid environment to survive, or an incomplete digestive system, or that possibility that there is a leaky gut whenever the walls of intestinal system is damaged from bacteria, causing the intestinal system not to do complete digestion. It takes a couple of days for the body to normalize the digestive system with fulvic acid, so for initial couple of days of fulvic acid or humic acid, I would expect diarrhea or laxative effect as these humic acid have a somewhat detoxifying effect on the system. I also helps a lot' a lot that a dechlorinator made of sodium thiosulfate is added to the drinking water and drank, before taking the fulvic and humic acid. So that the fulvic and humic acid will be more compatible with the body by reduction of chlorine. It should be noted that the use of MMS (sodium chlorite solution between 25-28%) are contraindicated and not to be used with fulvic acid and humic acid. It remains to me, despite the promoter's claim, is still a chlorine compound regardless and it may cause the fulvic and humic acid to react with them very negatively to form cancer chlorine compounds. This is why I always use a dechlorinator, of sodium thiosulfate, where drops is used, 5-10 drops of 10% usually of sodium thiosulfate in a full glass of drinking water.

Therefore, there are certain supplements that help the digestion process, primarily fulvic and humic acid supplements, if that can be found. Usually I will dissolve a humic acid powder of 250 mg in a glass of water, and take it three times a day. It also helps if fulvic acid powder 250 mg is taken, if that can be found. This should correct the problematic digestion to be more complete digestion. It should be noted that in livestock animals that whenever a digestion of pigs, and cows the digestion is incomplete a fulvic acid or especially humic acid is added into the feed which prevents or stop foul smelling wastes that often occurs in animals because of unfriendly bacteria.

The problem about using fulvic acid alone is whenever the body is in a long term low grade metabolic acidosis (which can actually be initiated from the use of hydrocarbons, taking aspartame, and eating simple white bread and other acid forming foods) that unfriendly bacteria tends to grow despite all efforts to take probiotics, which tends to restore intestinal flora with friendly bacteria such as eating yogurt. However, taking probiotics, will hardly put any firm grounding if the intestinal acidity is present which tends to kill off the friendly bacteria from too many overpowering unfriendly bacteria.

Therefore, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, in 1/2 glass of water I will take about 3 times a day. Once in the morning, once in the early afternoon and once before bedtime. While baking soda is not a perfect way to alkalizing, the ingredients are easy to find in most supermarkets. And it requires a least two weeks for the body to be able to to alkalize properly. Initially there will be alot of gases. Obviously eating certain foods such as peanuts, nuts, and especially beans will often result in excessive gas. How this phenomenon happens, as I understand it, at least one of the many reasons is that beans in generally blocks the body's ability to digest the foods into sugar by preventing certain enzymes to digest that and utilized by the body. So this leaves room for the intestinal bacteria to digest the beans into energy creating excess gases, and sometimes foul smelling, but not often. The key for me is to take sufficient baking soda to alkalize to that the urine pH and saliva pH is near 7 should be sufficient.

The second remedy, especially if it is autoimmunity is involved, is the borax remedy, which has a tendency, along with sufficient baking soda to alkalize usually resolves most of this in my experience. The dose can be anywhere from 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon of borax in one liter of drinking water. It's usually taken for about 4-5 days out of a week. Borax and alkalization in my opinion are two of the most important remedies for Crohn's disease, but there is also quite possibly Iodine, silicon, and molybdenum that I might consider that seems to go hand in hand. In the meaintime, I would avoid white flour, using any vegetable oils in cooking and replace eating bread in general with just eating rice instead. They seem to help some conditions of Crohn's whenever a white bread, cookies, pastries, as these are one of the highest in trans fatty acid, propionic acid, alloxan, and bromine, which tends to displace essential iodine from the system, which obviously lowers the metabolism and the immune system, resulting in the condition of digestive disorders resulting in Crohn's disease.

The third remedy that seems to be prevalent in some Crohn's disease especially if there is difficulty of digestion or some vomiting after meals is the royal jelly supplements, which can either be fresh frozen royal jelly, or the dried version. The one I had experience with some success is the fresh frozen ones, but never really gotten around to trying the dried, version since it was sitting in my refrigerator as an emergency aid kit whenever digestive process doesn't work. Still if royal jelly is not found a suitable substitute is the vitamin B complex. I do have plenty of problems with vitamin B use, that I don't like and therefore, have to carefully read the ingredients, where the B1 is thiamine mononitrate, not the thiamine hydrochloride. The B3 is niacinamide, not the niacin. The vitamin B6 is pyridoxine phosphate, not the pyridoxine hydrochloride, and there is plenty of B5 or that they are taken separately. A preferred form is probably the B50 or B100, where most of the Bs are 100 mg with possible exception of B12 and B9 which are usually 100 mcg. I suspect that we really need a lot more folate, in the order 50-100 mg rather than mcg, which seems to reduce the inflammation in some cases of intestinal issues. Of course, folic acid is actually quite cheap even by the kilogram if purchased from a manufacturing source, but somehow, in the strange world of supplement marketing they become amazingly expensive and the amount given is just too small. Therefore, a reasonable negotiation between the two worlds might be to get folic acid separately and I will probably take 1-2 mg (which is actually 1000-2000 mcg), which is quite small, but won't hurt the budget.

As to the other supplements such as silicon, iodine, and molybdenum these three have a tendency to reduce the Crohn's autoimmunity. The iodine I prefer is the sodium iodide, usually 1-10 mg. I actually use about 10 mg or more. I don't use mcg amounts or less than that because my experience has been the recommended dose by the authorities is way too too small to have an effect. As a historical backdrop over 150 years ago, people used to really cure goiter, the size of a baseball or larger, using about 200 mg of iodine taken for a couple of months. Today we do something that is more primitive than 150 years ago. We simply remove the thyroid and take thyroid supplements for the rest of our lives. This is a profitable method for drug companies, not for me anyway. It SHOULD BE noted that for the iodine to work best that an amino acid tyrosine supplements is taken together with it, since tyrosine is necessary for the thyroid to produce the thyroxine.

Silicon supplements is rather hard to find in the Western countries, but can be done by eating rice (mostly unwashed, assuming they look clean enough), taking oatmeal and horsetail. I prefer to stop eating bread and white flour altogether due to the bromine process which causes them to be high in bromine. A bromine is a halogens, much like an iodine, but interestingly the bromine DISPLACES iodine, causing inadequate iodine, despite ADEQUATE intake of them. Interestingly, iodize salt are useless, since companies tend to add drying agents to look nice an white but these drying agent they add are aluminum compounds. I am also suspicious what they do add because the pH of these salt are always 5. A pure salt or sodium chloride always have a pH of 7, never 5. This is why when preparing foods it is safer for me to just use the sea salt and take the iodine separately. Another strange practice is to use potassium iodide, when a much safer sodium iodide can be use. In my experience a sodium iodide is much less toxic than the use of potassium iodide as well. It used to be that almost 80 something years ago, iodine were found to in every family doctors for all kinds of ailments and I still find this iodine to be amazing in the broad range of sickness, but with monopoly of medicine from the beginnings of Rockefeller finance Flexner report, all that were eliminated with more expensive surgeries and hormone replacements. Replacements don't work as well as what mother nature intended.

As to the molybdenum supplements I prefer a sodium molybdate kind, which generally is 1-5 mg but I may take more (such as 50 mg - the toxicity of sodium molybdate in general is very low), but not everyday. However, what is sold in the market is mcg, which is find, but I don't think it has much positive effect on autoimmuhity, still it's worth the mention that it helps in some cases of candida, yeast infection and crohns disease.

A simple way to reduce SOME of the problems, if not more of the Crohn's disease is the very simple sea salt supplement. The dose often requires one dose per week (quite possibly twice a week), which is a very rough estimation. The dose is 1 teaspoon of sea salt in 1 glass of water taken ideally in early evening when I am at home. It should be noted that a simple sea salt is alkaline in nature where it's pH is about 8, so it's this alkaline effect that might have some laxative effect, but the benefits of the sea salt is it kills many unfriendly bacteria whenever this is taken.

As a tip, if hydrogen peroxide drops such as 30 drops of 3% is added along with the borax remedy, in on liter of drinking water it helps much more in reduction of intestinal problems. Of course this has been only optional if I find it was not helped if I just took the borax alone. The hydrogen peroxide further makes it more effective.

Finally adding some bentonite clays, such as a big pinch of them in a drinking glass of bacteria, at least reduces the number of a bacteria. The benefit of using bentonite clay is that it reduces diarrhea, while at the same time reduce some intestinal issues.

If the Crohn's disease exists because of autoimmunity induced by excess free heavy metals, which in many case is happens too, then regulary taking spirulina and chlorella supplements for 4 or 5 days out of a week will help further improve on the problems.

It is still most important for me and is well aware by most readers that sugar, white flour, aspartame, heavy metals, vegetable oils used in cooking, bread, pastries, iron pots and pans, contaminated drinking water, potato chips are common triggers of the Crohn's disease. Hence should be avoided at least by me, and replaced that with rice, using glass cookware, R.O. water mixed sea salt 1/4 teaspoon per liter, and use of coconut oil for cooking only.

Hello,

This article mentions folic acid as a supplement to take. I just wanted to mention that folic acid is a synthetic supplement and folate or methyl folate is utilized by the body more appropriately…and folic acid can only be metabolized by about half of the population. The other half that can't metabolize it has a lot of inflammatory results.

I am 71 years old and vividly remember taking kerosene with a teaspoon of sugar for sore throats or colds. My grandmother gave that to all of us when we got sick. Turpentine was a seasonal remedy for colds and parasites. We survived and even today I use it. A good remedy for acid reflux or indigestion is to take 1/4 cup of aloe vera juice immediately before eating each meal and 1/4 cup after each meal. This neutralizes the acid and if there is irritation in the gastrointestinal tract, a tbsp of slippery elm bark powder will help to heal the irritated membranes in the tube. This is also good for those suffering with Crohn's disease. I have found that vinegar and baking soda irritates the digestive tract. The aloe and slippery elm soothes and heals. I hope this helps.

Hi...I have been using Colloidal Silver for about 20 years . I am not a medical doctor, but have read it destroys both good and bad bacteria. That said, it can leave the intestinal lining open to attack from bad bacteria without enough good bacteria to help. Another source recommended using Kefir to rebuild good bacteria and protect the lining of the intestine. It makes sense and I have found it helps reduce diarrhea. I make my own from the Kefir grains. Maybe a thought for some to try?

Do you have any experience with soil based organisms? Or gallium nitrate?

My husband has Crohn's, and has had surgery once already.. All his pain and diarrhea has come back. Food does not digest comes straight out.. If anyone can please help!

Thank you.

Dear Lara,

There are some stories of success with herbs like slippery elm, barley and turmeric here.

Activated Charcoal Powder may be of help also. There is a story on the charcoalremedies.com website of a man drinking charcoal water daily for his Crohn's Disease with great success.

Charcoal for Crohn's Disease

I hope you find a good solution for him soon.

~Mama to Many~

Are you sure this is safe? I also took barley pills after reading your comment. At first I felt relief from my symptoms for the whole month. I can take any food I want. But then when I increased the dosage to 4 pills every meal I developed urticaria and keratosis pilaris. I'm also taking some blackstrap molasses, baking soda, chlorella, and Apple Cider Vinegar pills. I started to take Blackstrap Molasses and Apple Cider Vinegar pills almost 2 weeks ago. I don't know what's happening. Kindly enlighten me. I read somewhere that barley is gluten but the pills I'm taking are gluten free. The brand I'm taking is pines barley grass. USDA organic and gluten free. When I also take some Apple Cider Vinegar pills, my body starts to itch. I can't get any relief from antihistamines. The only thing that helped me lessen my hives is vitamin a. I'm also now taking flaxseed oil. I stopped taking Apple Cider Vinegar pills, blackstrap molasses and barley. I don't know if I'm going to stop taking chlorella. I'm taking chlorella because of my problem with my hormones and hyperthyroidism for one year on and off. I can testify that chlorella made my thyroid back to normal. It is almost a week since I developed urticaria. It's rainy season in our country I don't know if it has connections. There are a lot of small insects too and mosquitos. Maybe it's an infection in the blood or hexheimer's?

Hi Linda,

What are the side effects you found out about barley? Would you share it with us?

I would like to know how much of the Pau D Arco tea have you been drinking daily. What strength? I started taking it today.

Kombucha and probiotics for Crohn's Disease. I had to have my colon, and anus removed with emergency surgery due to untreated chronic diarrhea(mutating fungus in the colon). After surgery, it started to attack my small intestine. It could have been prevented by consuming Kombucha. I make my Kombucha with apple juice (frozen purified water) no extra sugar, plus add 1 probiotic capsule the first 2 batches. It is very acidic, so I mix 1fl. oz. with 15 oz. water. Drink 3 times a day forever, and say goodbye to medical doctor!

While you were taking the barley grass and slippery elm, were you on any other medications that you took at the same time? If so what were they? Thank you

I also took barley but made my condition worse. At first I felt relief but after a month, I feel bloated. I had itches and hives. I also had blepharitis and eczema. I only took barley and Apple Cider Vinegar so I think I got this from barley.

Personally, I drink broth, but he says that he eats it, so I surmise he means to eat the cooked cabbage leaves. IDK whether there's any reason to pour out the broth, or if it's better to drink it. He doesn't say.

Since I suffer fron uncontrolled Crohn's Disease I am very careful on what I ingest. I have discovered that using white distilled vinegar with plain romain lettuce helps to ease the cramps. Romian lettuce is all water, and with vinegar it seems to sooth my digestive system. I eat some about every 3rd day or so just to help maintain.

Just rip lettuce up and pour some vinegar in, enough to get the lettuce damp. I usually add salt, but if you are one a low salt diet, I would not recommend it. Use any seasoning you enjoy. My only salt intake other than from foods naturally is when I eat this. My blood pressue is fine and my cholestrol is also lower now.

Hope it helps someone suffering as I do.

Fruit smoothies works as good as prednisone, though the prednisone has to be tapered of gradually. Without fruit smoothies, flare ups occurred even with prednisone and asacol. Not a cure, but a great help. Lets put it this way, I am NOT on prednisone (praise the Almighty), which is really MORE than I can ask for. One cup; made from all fresh fruit with 1/2 tsp of soy protein (from the powder mix). BTW, I also gave up black tea, except if constipated, and reduced all sweets except when I go on a binge. Also, DARK Chocolate in VERY SMALL quantities (an ounce?) helps shut off any symptoms of GERD.

This has been trying and so far the flare ups have pretty much stopped. Through all of this I have remained pretty well off; last 4 days symptom free. My method of cure is 10,000 iu vitamin d3 daily with 1,000 mg vitamin c, 1200 mg fish oil, a good multivitamin such as men's health one a day, 2 caps of cayenne pepper 450 mg (do not take if you are allergic to capsicum and if you are uncomfortable with the idea) with a vitamin b complex taken every other day (the b is the one every other day). The cayenne was added after taking 2 500 mg black walnut hull capsules twice a day for 22 days to detox the intestines. After the black walnut caps were completed I felt a lot less desire to imbibe alcohol... no physical pain or anything, just less desire. After adding cayenne I have noticed my circulation getting better, my appetite better controlled, and a lot more active.

I am the closest I have ever been to feeling like I beat this thing without having to restrict my diet. Things are coming out normal, and I am happy again. Another treat I found that is very good for you along the way is mulberry juice (no specific quantity required... I could drink a liter of the stuff and not bat an eye). A good source for this is vitacost; they are inexpensive and have a good reputation. As far as the supplements you can pretty much get them at the dollar store and not spend a ton. I order cayenne on line through Walmart. I have not had a resection or surgery for the Crohn's as of yet.

Hi your article was really helpful my husband is also suffering from crohn and I know flare ups are so horrible. In this disease he is also on some steroids - its part of treatment. Just wanted to know could you please tell me when and how much barley capsule you take in day with slippery elm herb thank you.

Crohns & Colitis

I have been sick with Colitis for the past six years, have tried every remedy recommended by Naturopath, Doctors, Specialists and Blood Analysts. I finally found a supplement that has managed my colitis amazingly. The product is a hydrolyzed white fish and miraculously calms down the inflammation and you will have regular bowel movements within 3 weeks - good luck!! Unfortunately you can only get this supplement from a Naturopath - its very inexpensive and effective. In Canada the product is $68 but I imagine in the states its much cheaper.

There is a product called "Seacure" That is hydrolyzed white fish that is very economical. It is used for many reasons - see the reviews on iherb.com. I hope this helps! MyWay, :

What's the name of the book?

Hi. After you cook it, do you eat the cabbage, drink the broth, or both?

Hi!!! Are they turmeric pills or curcumin? I bought curcumin and they didn't work for my Crohns :(. Plus they had a weird taste.

Anyone suffering from Crohn's might want to try the Paleo diet (primarily NO grains or dairy). I have been on this diet for four months and have not had a flare-up during this time. May be too soon to tell, but have read posts by other Crohn's sufferers saying that they were cured by following a Paleo diet plan.

I have questions about the Paleo diet because I was told to not eat raw fruits/veggies and nuts. Isn't that what the Paleo diet mainly consists of? I'm afraid to try it....

Regarding the Vegetables on a Paleo Diet: You can lightly steam or saute them. Just rember the more you cook them, the less nutrition. Try to get free range meat.

Dear Earth Clinic,

I have read that Vitamin D3 may be helpful in treating Crohns disease.

Do you know if this is true, as I have been using 15000 iu per day for 2 months now and have yet not noticed any difference.

Also do you have any latest research on healing Crohns disease, with its Chronic diarrhea and gas pains?

Kind regards,

Miranda.

I read about the properties of Cider Vinegar about 6 wks ago. I have Crohn's and after coming off an immunosuppressant some 18 months ago I developped a not uncommon side effect of Crohn's, flitting arthritis, quite intense, moving from joint to joint, generally in the wrists/hands, sometimes the feet, on a daily basis. I tried cider vinegar and after a few days I was virtually pain free for about a week, and then messed up the quantity required, and it came back. I have found that about 2 tbspns a day, spread through the day (with a slice of lemon and tspn of honey, generally 1 tbsn with a pint of hot water is a refreshing drink in the afternoon) and after a couple of days I was almost pain free (a vague awareness, not pain, of certain joints) and that has gone on now for over a week. I take 1 tspn in the morning with some lime juice and again 2 more lots of the same in the evening and just before bed

It also appears to be beneficial for the Crohn's, product/leaking.

Below that, even 1 tspn, the arthritis makes its presence felt, but much less so.

I have concerns about the acidity and the long term effect on teeth, so I am now trying it with some bicarb. I will report back.

Unfortunately it did not work on a wart on my finger, but then that has been resisting everything (surgery, freezing, caustic pencil, salicylic acid (3 yrs) duct tape) for the last 15 years.