Ulcerative colitis is a condition of inflammatory bowel diseases that affects your large intestine. This is a serious disease that could cause multiple complications at once and inflame the body. Lining of the large intestine is known as colon and ulcerative colitis affects this along with some symptoms of Crohn’s Disease. Other IBD symptoms can also be present depending on the condition of the patient going through it. Inflammation in the digestive tract can take a toll on your regular lifestyle; hence it is important to cure it in one way or the other. Before switching to more serious medical treatments, you can try some natural remedies that can be treat ulcerative colitis without any major problems.
Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis
It is important to know about some common symptoms that you might have in this condition. This helps to understand the right remedy for your treatment. Here are probable symptoms of ulcerative colitis you may experience if you have this disease-
- Fatigue
- Diarrhoea that is accompanied with blood or pus
- Weight loss
- Inability to defecate despite having urge to do so
- Rectal bleeding
- Abdominal pain and cramps in stomach
- Rectal pain
- Sudden weakness in body
- Skin rashes
- Sores in mouth
- Liver disease
- Pus or mucus in the bowel movements
Natural Remedies for Ulcerative Colitis
There is no proper natural cure of ulcerative colitis yet, but there are treatment options that can reduce the symptoms and ease the disease. The natural remedies for ulcerative colitis are beneficial in providing both short term and long term relief depending on severity of inflammation in the large intestine. Remedies can include yoga, exercise, dietary supplements and herbs to treat this inflammatory bowel disease.
1. Meditation or Yoga
People suffering from IBD diseases often go through anxiety and depression because of continuous pain and prolonged symptoms. These symptoms can be targeted through meditation and yoga practise. Meditation relaxes your mind and improves your mental health condition; it lowers down your stress levels and aids your body in recovery process.
Yoga also has a positive effect on your health both in physical and mental terms. Yoga poses helps to lower down the pain and inflammation in the digestive tract. They also improve your bowel movements and conditions related to passing of stool. Yoga improves your functions and thus has a positive impact on ulcerative colitis symptoms. Yoga also gives mindfulness to tackle IBD problems and conditions in a better way.
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2. Herbal remedies
Herbs have been used as earliest treatments for digestive disorders and IBD symptoms. Herbs are natural cleansers and have healing properties that reduce the inflammation in the body. Some studies show that herbs such as aloe vera, curcumin and neem provide health benefits to people suffering from ulcerative colitis. These plant herbs have medicinal extracts that aid in proper digestive functioning in the body and recovery from inflammation on the lining of large intestine.
a) Aloe vera has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used to treat ulcerative colitis. According to a study by National Institute of Medicine published in 2014, patients who were given aloe vera gel to consume had 30% increased recovery rate that those who did not. Some patients were able to minimize their symptoms in a few weeks and lead a healthy lifestyle.
b) Curcumin- it is an active ingredient that is present in spice turmeric. This has also got anti-inflammatory properties that are very effective in curing symptoms of IBD. With ulcerative colitis, it is recommended that you have mesalamine that helps to cure this condition more efficiently.
3. Walnuts
Walnuts are known to be having multiple health benefits along with their tendency to be effective against colon cancer and inflammation caused in the body. Ulcerative colitis can also be benefitted from these nuts are they help to repair cells in the large intestine and reduce inflammation in the abdomen. This can also treat problems such as cramps, muscle pain and bloody stools. Walnuts can also provide with an additional layer of protection to prevent IBD symptoms from occurring frequently. You must add walnuts in your diet and beverages in order to reduce symptoms of ulcerative colitis.
4. Have more Omega-3 fatty acids
Foods containing omega-3 fatty acids are said to be super foods because they contain so many benefits to your digestive health and overall development of the body. Omega-3 fatty acids are present in fish oil and some other seafood that can be consumed in order to treat this digestive health disorder. Fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties in them that reduce inflammation in the colon and provide people with relief from this severe disease.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in the following foods-
- Nuts
- Fatty fish
- Sardines
- Certain types of green vegetables
- Fish liver oil
5. Exercise benefits IBD symptoms
Exercise is one of the remedies that can boost the functions in the body and reduce the rate of infection. If you go for 30 minutes of daily exercise in your park or gym, then you can tackle many symptoms of ulcerative colitis causing inflammation very soon. It helps to relieve the following symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases including ulcerative colitis-
- Helps to relieve stress
- Strengthens the immune system
- Improves psychological well being
- Reduce anxiety
- Reduce depression
- Helps to maintain a healthy weight
- Improve bone strength
- Improves muscle strength
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6. Avoid Food Triggers
There are certain types of food triggers that can elevate the symptoms of ulcerative colitis and make it worse for your health. You must prevent food triggers from affecting your recovery and abdominal pain or bloating due to inflammation in the large intestine. Trigger foods can be
- Foods that take time to digest such as skin or seeds, raw vegetables and whole nuts
- Lactose products that is commonly found in dairy items such as soft cheese and milk
- Sugars that cannot be absorbed by the body properly, including non-absorbable sugars, sorbitol and mannitol
- High fat containing food like greasy foods and cream
- Avoid alcohol especially beer and wine
- Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and soft drinks
- Spicy foods that contain hot spices and cause damage to your abdomen and lead to further inflammation
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