How can your diet affect issues of inflammation within the body? We know that diet and nutrition play a role in overall health and can contribute to many diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and other organ issues. If you suffer from inflammation of portions of the digestive tract, you know what a painful ordeal daily life can become. Particularly for those who suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), diet can play a crucial role in worsening or alleviating the condition. Beginning an anti-inflammatory diet before treatment with mesenchymal stem cells can drastically reduce the amount of time spent in treatment and recovery because it allows the inflammation within the body to decrease. Once the diet has caused the inflammation to lessen, mesenchymal stem cell therapy can target the affected areas with greater efficiency and potency, eliminating the root causes of the inflammation.
A recent study demonstrated that ingesting certain probiotics and prebiotic foods, as well as restricting carbohydrate intake and altering the fatty acid intake can seriously impact both the flares of bowel inflammation and increase the likelihood of remission. Current treatment for IBD consists mainly of heavy drugs and biotic agents such as corticosteroids and more invasive methods of treatment, including surgery, which can be as severe as complete removal of the colon. The surgical alternatives are not without risk and can end up causing the patient even more serious health threats, such as ileostomy. Because of the delicate balance of bacteria in the digestive tract, this fragile biome is subject to both manipulation and serious problems. Because many people with IBD have problems digesting food, their diets can be incredibly inconsistent, with patients often going long periods of time unable to eat solid food. Adjusting the diet to maintain control over the biome in the digestive tract can provide the patient with a break from the flares that cause the pain, and encourage a more consistent healthy diet. This diet, with restrictions on the carbs that promote the growth of the problematic bacteria, can create an environment inside the patient that is much more conducive to both healthy digestion and healing.
What is an Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
What does this type of diet look like? To discourage these flares, the IBD-Anti-Inflammatory Diet, or IBD-AID, encourages patients to eat more healthily in four ways.
- First, patients are encouraged to limit the ingestion of carbohydrates, particularly those such as lactose, that often result in digestive issues.
- Secondly, patients are encouraged to ingest soluble fiber and fermented foods for the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics.
- Thirdly, patients modify their fat intake, limiting polyunsaturated fats, while concurrently reviewing the entire diet plan to ensure ingestion of essential nutrients.
- The final component looks at changing the texture and consistency of the food to be ingested (pureeing or otherwise blending, processing, or softening the food before ingestion.
While changing the diet, this drastically does amount to a lifestyle change, the benefits to those who stuck with the program about their IBD were clear. Regardless, the study definitely indicates the positive impact adjustment of diet can have on the patient as they prepare for stem cell therapy. Adjusting the biome in the digestive tract to limit the conditions that promote the growth of the inflammation-causing bacteria can ready the patient’s body, regulating the flare-ups to the point that a stem cell therapy treatment has more of a chance of producing dramatic results in promoting remission of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
