Wonder Treatments - Too Good To Be True?

Recently I got an email from a family member with a recommendation from a trusted friend for a wonder cure to his Crohns Disease.

He recommended Quina Compound, which cost him £800 gbp for a four week course!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinchona

Looks interesting with a lot of medicinal history, but if this plant is so amazing then surely it would have had its properties proven scientifically. The amount he was charged also raises my suspicions.

Being open to alternative medicines I went to a Chinese doctor years back. From the description of Quina on Wikipedia, I believe I was prescribed something similar.

Basically I was given a bag of bark and other pieces to boil in water, strain and then drink. I must say, it was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted, and I did not see any notable benefit. The accompanying acupuncture was a lot nicer and I actually found it quite relaxing. That was until they wheeled out the electrocution device and wired it up to pins in the my nipples. Needless to say, I knocked that on the head and saved the £50 gbp for something else.


I have also noticed a lot of spam comments over the years on this blog with random links to professional looking sites setting everything from Yoga swings to Aloe extracts.



Saying all this, I realise I am contracting myself as I recommend the intolerance York Test, which has a flashy website and costs a lot.

The basic message is beware. By all means try different remedies, each person is different, just beware of costly scams (especially if you cannot afford it).

Coming off of Azathioprine

It has been a long while since I have posted anything. Which is good news, as I have been rather well.

I have recently stopped talking Azathioprine, which is a big milestone in my journey with Crohns.

Something to celebrate after 14 years of taking the medication daily!

The last time I came off the medication it did not take me long to be back into remission. This time I feel a lot healthier and have learn my lessons from last time.

Life style choice is the biggest factor. Last time I was young and would be out most weekends smoking and drinking. Now that I am a married man and parent I find it a lot easier to remain healthy - with the odd blow out now and again.

I also think stress plays a part.. So I try to remain chilled and not get stressy about minor things.

So my top tips for staying healthy are

• Stop smoking
• Drink sensibly
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Try not to get stressed

Fingers crossed.. and I will not have a lot to blog about in the coming years.. But I will post anything I think might be useful.

Five steps to combat Crohns

Outlined are the steps I have most founds useful coping with my Crohns Disease.

1. Stop Smoking
2. Stay away from yeast (or whatever you may be intolerant to)
   
3. Eat Well
4. Exercise
5. Listen to your body and rest up when required
   

I went out this weekend and broke rule number one. First time in a long while I had smoked. The next day I really suffered and it served as a good reminder.

Not smoking is most certainly the biggest factor in my recovery. I will not be going back to that habit, and I urge anyone with Crohns to stay away from the smokes.

Yeast intolerance migth only apply to me, but thought it worth mentioning. A lot of people with Crohns seem to suffer some form of intolerance. Try to monitor what causes to feel bad. Perhaps do an intollerance test.

I would recommend an exclusion diet to find out the route cause of your Crohns if you follow these steps you still do not feel well.

Stay Well!

Super Juice

A good friend of mine has recently launched a super juice ingredient called Gojiflax. He thinks it will help people with bad Crohns and would love for people to give him some feed back.

I haven't tried any myself yet, but it looks promising and I think this kind of thing could really help settle down a bad bout.

Let me know if anyone tries it or has any other tips for Chrohns combat.

Baking Business

As mentioned in the previous post, I have found certain yeast products to be okay. Namely those without fast acting Yeast.

Check out this interesting Guardian article and comments on the subject.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been baking my own bread with dried yeast and find that this is okay. Although it is proving to be a messy job and my baking skills need a little refinement.

The plan is to get a bread maker in the not to distance future. No mess, a good loaf, and timed to freshly bake bread for me and the mrs in the mornings. Quality! Hopefully it won't end up as another gadget stuff under the cupboard.

Update

Apologies for not keeping this blog as up to date as I should..

The reason excuse is that I have simply been quite well.. Which is great news!

I still get the odd bad day. As mentioned in previous posts I have come to find that yeast and smoking really effects my condition. Staying off the smokes helps the most and trying not to consume to much yeast keeps me tip top.

Juice diet is out the window.. Although the juicer is still kool and will continue to use it sporadically.

Recently I have notices certain yeast products are worse for me. I think this is because they contain high levels of fast acting yeast. Certain breads and real ales seem to be okay for me.


Hence I have recently staying baking my own bread and continue to buy Paul Ranklin's great yeast free goods.

I will endeavor to do better with the updates in 2010 (perhaps that should be my belated resolution).