h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As more as been found out about IBS and Crohn's disease recently I thought I would start a new thread.

Basically it was thought for a while that some cases may be caused by an immuno problem similier to some thyroid conditions for example, ie. that for what ever reason the immune system begins attack the organs and tissues of the body. There was certainly some evidence of this, as trails of giving people worms seemed to have remarkable effects and no doubt focused the immune system on attacking something else.

But another more recent study found that most sufferers actually had a weakened immune system, that the cells of the instine were being damaged by bacteria that the immune system was unable to fight off. In addition seperate studies have found that mental stress can depress the immune system, for no apparent reason they have found nervious system cells connected to immune system cells. The worms may have a different affect, parasites like leeches have long been used for medical reasons, prehaps they stimulate the immune system in that area, prehaps they are a part of the natural chemistry of the gut, only recently have we been able to rid them from the population.

Also on the line of natural chemestry of the body I do believe a factor is the modern diet. We did not evolve to eat many food we now eat, the person in the article and the people in the other threads have taken steps to change their diet and it seems to of worked. I think a good guide is whether you can eat the food raw or not, with out any preparation. Largely all the trouble foods need cooking and preparation. The one exception I can easily think of is milk, but then we don't tend to eat milk past being a baby. Prehaps if people begin eating the diet of a hunter gatherer maybe it would avoid a lot of intestinal problems, as well as a hell of a lot of allergies, prehaps more than that conditions like diabetes etc. But people have to understand that our natural diet does absolutely contain meat, we are omnivores and it is not a health advantage not to eat a sensible amount of a range of meats at least every week.

I think we need to add that pregnancy does affect IBS, It totally cleared mine up and I was so happy - until I found the preganancy had cause my gallbladder to become inflamed and I had that removed too!

Ouch.