Crohn's Disease

Summary

See more very helpful information under the general category of auto-immune diseases.

Digestive system Crohn's disease is one of a number of conditions under the general category of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Crohn's is an inflammation or series of inflammations that can occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract from the oral cavity to the anus. Often there are multiple separate locations (skip lesions) affected. The inflammation is in the lining and extends deep into the walls of the intestinal tract.

It is considered by most to be an auto-immune disease and there are some reasons to believe it may be genetic.

Symptoms vary greatly from person to person but may include diarrhea, abdominal discomfort or pain, vomiting, weight loss. Discomfort often comes in episodes and may be triggered by stress, insufficient fluids, inadequate nutrition, allergic reaction to certain foods, or just not eating properly (gulping a meal down, eating on the run, etc.).

[search help: chrones, chrone, chrone's, chrons, crohns, regional enteritis]

Oils, blends & products recommended:

Oils & Blends: DigestZen, frankincense, peppermint, lemon, oregano

Stress: lavender, Serenity

Pain: cassia, DigestZen, peppermint

Essential oils based products: Life Long Vitality supplements

Also consider: basil, ginger, marjoram

Suggested protocols:

A protocol with multiple success experiences:

· Take PB Assist 3 times daily for 6 months

· Rub DigestZen on outside of tummy 2 times daily for 6 months

· Rub DigestZen and Ginger on bottoms of feet daily for 6 months

· Drink 1/2 of body weight in ounces of water daily

One success experience with one 00 capsule per day with:

· 2 drops DigestZen

· 2 drops frankincense

· fill remainder with Virgin Coconut Oil

Another successful experience using:

· 5 drops peppermint

· 5 drops Digest Zen

· 4 drops frankincense

Put in a size 00 capsule and taken by mouth twice a day, for two weeks. Then change the formula to:

· 5 drops of ginger

· 5 drops of peppermint or marjoram

· 4 drops of frankincense

Topical application of cassia, DigestZen, or peppermint for pain.

Topically apply or diffuse lavender or Serenity to manage stress.

Life Long Vitality supplements for balanced nutrition and also sufficient water with 2 drops of lemon essential oil per glass.

Experiences and Testimonials of others

Rob - Dr. Susan Lawton has suggested the following protocol for Crohn's Disease and has seen amazing help for folksl Do the following consistently for 6 months: take PB Assist 3 times daily, rub DigestZen on outside of tummy 2 times daily and rub DigestZen and ginger on bottoms of feet daily. Be sure and drink adequate water, 1/2 of body weight in ounces of daily.

Sharon - Besides using lavender and or Serenity to help manage stress, what else can a person afflicted with Crohn's disease use?

Tamalu - I would recommend the doTERRA Lifelong Wellness Trio, in addition to peppermint, lemon and oregano in capsules. Also in my research I found extensive research work has been done with frankincense and a plethora of bowel conditions, from chronic colitis to Crohn's. I would not hesitate to add frankincense to the capsule regimen, taking a 00 capsule up to twice daily.

Thor - As a sufferer of Crohn's Disease for over 20 years, I have found that a capsule of 2 drops of DigestZen and 2 drops of frankincense makes a world of difference in the pain level that I feel on a daily basis.

I have also found that using cassia, DigestZen, and peppermint externally can help with the pain as well. (Just don't put the cassia on and get in a hot shower - that one burned!)

Janelle - I like your capsule recipe. I would do exactly the same, maybe fill the remainder of the capsule with melted VCO. VCO is excellent for Crohn's and when synergistically combined with the DigestZen and frankincense some have had great success.

To get more VCO, you could make a VCO smoothie or just take a couple tablespoons of it in the morning.

Another option for Crohn’s is getting the oils blend, VCO and all with a rectal syringe and using a plug.

BK - I have a friend with Crohn's or colitis. He controls the pain with fresh juices blended with virgin coconut oil and he always has peppermint and lemon in his water.

Rob - I would experiment with augmenting the frankincense and DigestZen blend with ginger, peppermint or marjoram. One of these could enhance your blend.

Cheryl - I have a student who suffers from Crohns and now has contracted Lymes. He is on a 2 month regimen of nasty antibiotics which is really causing the Crohns to flare. Can someone send me some information on oils and Crohns as well as Lymes?

Jan - I was diagnosed with borderline Lyme’s disease and also had to do the nasty antibiotic regime 15 years ago. It caused a lot of problems until I finished the antibiotic course. I started a Candida regime after I got off the antibiotics. There are several oils that helped me they included thyme, oregano, clove, On Guard, and anything citrus. Also, I started the doTERRA wellness pack and their Probiotics product.

With the oils I usually put just one drop of each in a 16 ounce glass bottle and drink from it all day long, alternating the oils one at a time. Oregano is kind of nasty by itself, but with a little wild orange and a teaspoon of agave, it is not too bad. Hope this helps a little. I no longer have any traces of the Lyme’s disease in my system, and my doctor now wonders if they misdiagnosed me...LOL! The power of the oils... Love doTERRA!

Loryjean - The Maker's Diet by Jonathan Rubin is an excellent book on Crohns' and successfully dealing with it.

Marti - Help with Crohns disease?

Thor - I drink a peppermint tea (4 cups water, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 drop peppermint - work on it until you get your taste right) everyday that helps me with my Crohns. I also use frankincense, DigestZen and peppermint in a capsule when the pain is really bad.

Pat - In answer to some queries regarding Crohn's. There has been extensive research done with frankincense and a plethora of bowel conditions, from chronic colitis to Crohn's. I would not hesitate to add frankincense to the capsule regiment listed below.

· 5 drops peppermint

· 5 drops Digest Zen

· 4 drops frankincense

Put in a size 00 capsule and take by mouth twice a day, for two weeks. Then change the formula to:

· 5 drops of ginger

· 5 drops of peppermint or marjoram

· 4 drops of frankincense

Also for the pain use cassia, Digest Zen and peppermint externally in the painful area.

Blend fresh fruits with virgin coconut oil and always use lemon and/or peppermint in your water.

I also heard that this tea recipe works everyday with Crohn's.

· 4 cups water

· 2 tbsp honey or agave

· 1 drop peppermint (You may need to adjust the peppermint to your taste.)

Julia - I've also heard, in my herbal classes that eliminating chicken from your diet will help. On that note, I would also suggest eating green smoothies every day along with the essential oils and blends.

Anonymous - I have a friend who has chrone’s disease. She had surgery a few months ago to have the affected part of her intestine removed. Does anyone know of any oils that might be useful to someone with this condition?

Kathy – Thought this might be useful (see Science & Research tab) it talks about Chrone’s disease (and other auto immune diseases).

In other words, Candida acts as a long term vaccination displaying the body's own cellular receptors to the body's immune system. When the immune system sees such receptors for a long enough time, it will attack cells which display such receptors, which includes the cells of the body. There is research which shows that such immune system reactions occur. The yeast Candida is the primary target. If the Candida is removed the body stops attacking itself.

The solution is simple and effective:

· 5 drops melaleuca essential oil (doTerra)

· 5 drops lemon essential oil (doTerra)

· 3 drops oregano essential oil (doTerra)

Put drops into an empty 00 capsule (buy at any health food store) and take one daily for 30 days. Stop for 2 weeks then take again for 30 days. Everyone needs this candida cleanse.

Of course the solution is simple and effective but the hard part is learning white sugar is your enemy – stay away from soda, sugary junk food. Even smoothies or carrot juice can overload your system so drink them slowly over a period of time and never more than 6 ounces at a time. While on these capsules, eat as healthy as possible and get plenty of water too.

Denise – My husband has Crohn's. Here's what he put together for it using essential oils:

(from OmniTerra.com) Capsules of frankincense, peppermint, and DigestZen mixed in various ratios seem to have the best effect. Mixing the oils in 1:1:1 seems to work well. Externally, rubbing cassia over the painful area seems to relax the bowel. However, this should be done after showering as hot water will increase the heat of the cassia making it painful on the skin.

Chelsea - Thank you for that great information Kathy! I LOVE the scientific stuff about this very subject and totally agree with Dr. Hill that candida is the root of most chronic health problems. If anyone feels like reading my long saga, I would greatly appreciate some help as the autoimmune thing is a big part of my life and I am feeling very frustrated!

I have faced Autoimmune disorders for years now- IBS at age 17, 16 years ago, Hypothyroid diagnosed 2 years ago and just a lot of chronically inflamed intestines, no energy, wondering about chronic fatigue, etc. At my husbands last check up the doctor was concerned about Lupus. We have yet to have him tested but we know there is either a celiac story or some other autoimmune something going on. About 1 year ago I had gone through some diet changes-added green smoothies & eliminated almost all refined foods. I also did a pretty invasive cleanse at which point I came to realize I had made it to the root of all my health issues and that was Candida overgrowth! Laura Jacobs put me on the VERY strict diet for a 6-8 week goal of annihilation. As long as I stayed within basically the 1st 2 week part of the diet with NO carbohydrates except green apples & sweet potatoes, I felt amazing, lost weight, bloating & inflammation was gone. As I added things back in, almost everything made me react! Almost every grain but rice, quinoa, and millet-which I hate-hurt so bad! Most veggies were fine but other than the green apples and berries, fruit continued to hurt me. It was great to find, but extremely frustrating because I can't live on 7 food items for the rest of my life! I have become pregnant in the last couple months- a feat by itself for me-that's another one of my issues, and am just eating whatever looks good and will stay down. I am in terrible pain and have very clear signs that the candida is back in full force and I am a little concerned because my urine is cloudy-everyday! I even have new exzema patches! I desperately want to do the candida cleanse but with my history of miscarraige, I am nervous. I know nothing could ultimately be better for a baby but could it hurt at this stage in the game? I am almost 13 weeks. Any thoughts, sorry about how desperate I may sound. I appreciate everyone so much!

Pat - There was a previous reply for Crohn's. A lady stated that she had had Crohn's for over 20 years and that now she uses a capsule of 2 drops Digest Zen and 2 drops frankincense and fills the rest of the capsule with Virgin Coconut Oil taken on a daily basis. VCO is excellent for Crohn's and when synergistically combined with Digest Zen and frankincense it does wonders.

Also using cassia, DigestZen, and peppermint externally helps with the pain.

These oils also work well with Crohn's, they are; ginger and marjoram. A peppermint tea (4 cups water, 2 tbsp agave, 1 drop peppermint) also helps and could be drunk daily. I would also take the LLW and even take the Candida blend as an alternative.

[other search terms chrones, chron's, crohn's]

Protocols folks recommend for children

Diet and Nutritional complements to essential oils

What Science & Research are saying

From PubMed February 2006 Feb

A combination of peppermint oil and caraway oil attenuates the post-inflammatory visceral hyperalgesia in a rat model.

Adam B, Liebregts T, Best J, Bechmann L, Lackner C, Neumann J, Koehler S, Holtmann G. Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and General Medicine, University of Adelaide, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Visceral hyperalgesia plays a pivotal role in manifestation of symptoms in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. In clinical studies combined treatment of peppermint- and caraway oil significantly reduced symptoms. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize the effects of peppermint- and caraway oil, individually and in combination, on visceral nociception in a rat model of post-inflammatory visceral hyperalgesia.

CONCLUSIONS: These data show that combined treatment with peppermint- and caraway oil modulates post-inflammatory visceral hyperalgesia synergistically. The exact mechanisms have to be further investigated.

Candida, Inflammation & Auto-Immune Illnesses

Kathy - This summary is based on Dr. Bruce Semon's book An Extraordinary Power to Heal (2003). This summary gives general explanations about how yeast can cause so-called autoimmune illnesses and chronic disease. For detailed explanations, including an extensive chapter on how the immune system is supposed to work--and how yeast prevent it from working correctly--we recommend that you read An Extraordinary Power to Heal.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Numbness in the hands, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Ulcerative colitis: What do these have in common? They all respond to dietary intervention and anti-yeast treatment.

Why might chronic diseases ranging from psoriasis to ulcerative colitis to arthritis respond to dietary intervention and anti-yeast treatment? These diseases are all marked by the body appearing to attack itself. They are called "auto-immune" diseases.

I have always considered the idea of the body attacking itself as a strange idea. Why should the body do that? In 40 years of research, the biomedical research community has been unable to come up with any answer. Maybe the concept is wrong.

Maybe the body is not attacking itself primarily. Maybe the primary target is not the body but the yeast Candida albicans. To understand how such terrible diseases can occur, we need to look at the interactions of Candida albicans and the immune system.

Yeast are normal residents of the intestinal tract. After antibiotics, yeast grow to fill in the space left by dead bacteria and the yeast continue to grow at this higher level. The body still must contain the yeast so that the yeast does not invade the rest of the body. If Candida invades the body, the result is often death.

The best way to look at the immune system is to understand that the immune system has both defensive and offensive weapons. The main defensive weapon is inflammation. Inflammation is like putting up a wall, a hot wall, which makes it difficult for invading foreign microorganisms to get through. Inflammation will occur anytime the immune system contacts a foreign invader. But as you know the inflammation is painful. Along with the inflammation, should come the offensive weapons which kill the foreign invader. The problem is that Candida has many tricks to evade the offensive weapons of the body's immune system.

Candida is a very difficult organism for the body's immune system to clear. Why?

Yeast have a capsule on the outside which prevents the first line (phagocytic) white blood cells of the body from engulfing the yeast and killing it. So the body must rely on the other parts of the immune system.

Candida has other tricks to evade the body's immune system. One of these tricks is to change its outside. The immune system recognizes the outside receptors of the invading organism and then sends out signals to start an immune response. Some of the immune responders then look for cells with those receptors. Candida albicans can change the receptors which it is displaying, making it difficult for the body's immune cells to react appropriately. In essence, Candida albicans is a moving target, which changes its form.

The most important thing to know about Candida is that Candida albicans can make factors which suppress the immune response to itself. These factors can be found in the circulation of people with significant Candida infections. When these factors are purified and placed in cultures of immune cells, these immune cells do not develop the responses to Candida which they are supposed to develop. In other words, Candida can make factors, which prevent the body from reacting to and killing the Candida. These factors prevent the total eradication of Candida from the body.

The Candida can suppress the offensive weapons of the body's immune system. But the inflammation will still be generated because when the immune system detects a foreign invader, there will always be inflammation. The problem is that the foreign invader, the Candida, is not going away, because the immune system's offensive weapons are suppressed. The inflammation will remain and inflammation is painful.

In the intestinal tract, there is Candida, which tries to invade the intestinal wall, and the immune system responds with inflammation. The problem is that the Candida suppresses the immune system's offensive weapons, so the Candida stays and the inflammation is prolonged. This prolonged inflammation is called ulcerative colitis if it occurs in the large intestine and it is called Crohn's disease if it occurs in the small intestine. These disorders are prolonged inflammation resulting from the immune system's inability to clear Candida.

In ulcerative colitis, there is painful inflammation of the intestine rather than regulated containment. As the body fights the yeast in the intestine, some of the cells fighting the yeast circulate and come into contact with yeast on the skin and start an inflammation there, leading to eczema and psoriasis .

Candida causes autoimmune problems such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis in this way. Candida puts out receptors on its cell surface which are actually human receptors for connective tissue and the immune system. If the body attacks the Candida in the intestinal tract, the body's immune system will attack anything which looks like the Candida. Because of the connective tissue receptors on Candida, the body's immune system may attack other cells in the body which have these receptors.

Many tissues such as the joints have connective tissue and as the body attacks the Candida, the body will also attack these cells. The result is painful joints or other inflamed tissues.

Candida also has receptors which are similar to those in the brain. When these cells are attacked, the result is multiple sclerosis.