Irritable bowel disease (IBD) has swept the nation in the last few years.  Millions of Americans are suffering from horrible digestion which is taking a toll on both their social life, as well as their overall health.

Irritable bowel disease, or IBD, is a fairly new disease that was once considered a rarity a few centuries ago.  Unfortunately, due to the standard American diet (SAD) and poor lifestyle choices, this disease has flourished amongst the general population.

Luckily, there are various lifestyle changes that can be made in order to combat this disease and reverse symptoms naturally.  In combination with lifestyle changes, there are various herbs such as Reishi mushroom which can help expedite the recovery process. However, before we discuss the appropriate lifestyle changes needed to reverse this disease naturally, let’s first go over some basics.

What is IBD?

Irritable bowel disease is the common name given by all medical professionals to any disorder that is caused by the digestive system and/or bowels.  The following is a list of disorders that can fall under the category of IBD:

• Ulcerative Colitis
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Leaky Gut
• Crohn’s
• Bloating
• Abdominal Pain

If you suffer from anyone of these symptoms, there is a good chance that you have IBD.  Also, although occasional diarrhea and constipation shouldn’t warrant any concern, when these conditions become chronic there is a good chance that the body is suffering from irritable bowel disease.

What Causes IBD?

There are numerous factors that allow IBD to flourish in some individuals.  These factors can be both environmental and related to the individuals overall diet.  Typically, diet is the main reason that individuals suffer from IBD.  When the correct diet is being followed, IBD caused by environmental factors is rare.

With that being said, those following a standard American diet are more at risk for developing IBD.  This is because the SAD is full of inflammatory foods that cause digestive distress in the body.  For example, if you consume a lot of grains you naturally increase your intake of Phytic Acid. Research has shown that phytic acid found in grains cause severe intestinal inflammation and intestinal permeability which can contribute to several IBD symptoms (1)(2).

Furthermore, the SAD is also full of processed foods which contain dangerous dietary emulsifiers.  In fact, it has been proven that dietary emulsifiers contribute to intestinal inflammation and play a role in the development of diabetes and obesity (3).

Not to mention the SAD has an overabundance of omega 6 fatty acids and lacks in the anti-inflammatory omega 3’s.  Anthropological records demonstrate that that our ancestors consumed a 1:1 ratio of omega3 to omega 6.  However, it’s been estimated that the general population now consumes 1:20 (omega3/omega6) or even higher.  This unbalanced ratio has been shown to contribute to the sudden rise in celiac disease, intestinal permeability, and inflammation (4).

Consequently, it’s imperative that you if you suffer from IBD that you change your diet immediately.  Continuing to follow the same inflammatory diet and hoping your symptoms will go away is complete madness.

Medication for IBD

Those who refuse to change their diet and opt for drugs to solve their problems will be extremely disappointed with the long term results.  Not only are IBD drugs dangerous, they do not fix the root problem.

Unfortunately, as soon as the individual stops taking these drugs, symptoms of IBD will return full force; sometimes even worse than before.  This is because many pharmaceutical drugs can alter the gut microbiome in a negative way by reducing the number of good bacteria significantly.

Also, taking medication for IBD causes the individual to become dependent on not only the drug, but the drug companies as well.  Taking medication for the rest of your life is no way to live in our opinion.

The Best Diet for IBD

As mentioned before, following the standard American diet is disastrous for anyone dealing with IBD.  Removing all inflammatory food is an absolute must if you wish to recovery from this disease.  Below is list of the top foods that contribute to inflammation in the body and that should be removed from the diet immediately.

• Processed foods
• All Grains
• Vegetable Oils (corn, safflower, canola, grape seed, sunflower)
• Sugar
• Non-Organic Animal Foods
• Dairy
• Nuts and Seeds

Once these foods have been removed from the diet, the incorporation of gut healing foods is highly advisable.  The best foods for healing intestinal permeability and correcting the gut microbiome are high quality animal foods.  These foods should be staples for anyone dealing with IBD.  These animal foods provide the necessary amino acids needed to combat IBD (5).  Also, consuming enough dark green leafy vegetables is extremely important as vegetables contain prebiotics which feed the good gut bacteria (6).  Below is small sample of foods that are extremely nourishing to the gut.

• Grass-Fed Beef
• Grass- Fed Organs (1xweek)
• Pastured Eggs
• Bone Broths
• Raw Honey
• Wild Caught Fish
• Squashes
• Cooked Green Vegetables
• Yucca Root
• Seasonal Fruit

From this small list you can begin to construct your very own gut healing diet.  Also, for those can’t do without bread in their diet, homemade sourdough with no added sugars or emulsifiers can be highly beneficial.  The fermentation process reduces phytic acid significantly which causes sourdough to be less harsh on the intestines (7). 

Be sure to use ancient grain such as rye, einkorn, spelt, barley, oats, and amaranth since these grains have not been hybridized and contain significantly less gluten and phytic acid than modern day wheat.

Reishi Mushroom for IBD

Once a correct diet has been put in place, medicinal herbs such as Reishi mushroom can be introduced into the diet.  Reishi contains a whole host of beneficial properties which can help combat IBD naturally.

In particular, Reishi mushroom contains long chain sugars called Polysaccharides. There is numerous amounts of research showing that increasing an individual’s overall intake of polysaccharides significantly reduces the symptoms associated with IBD (8)(9).

Furthermore, Reishi has potent antifungal properties which can help combat small intestinal bacteria overgrowth and candida.  Research has shown that those suffering from IBD almost always have an overgrowth of candida in the gut which could be the cause of IBD in the first place (10).

Luckily, Reishi has been shown to effectively inhibit the formation of candida biofilms in the body and has powerful anti-candida activity in the body (11).

Personally, we like Host Defense Reishi due to its overall quality and potency. It is by far one of the best Reishi mushroom products on the market.

Great Resource for IBD suffers

Those looking to expedite their healing processes should consider visiting the Weston A. Price Foundation.  This website is godsend for anyone dealing with health issues.  It contains thousands of free articles and information pertaining to traditional diets and foods that promote gut health.

The information on this website has been compiled through the years of studying traditional cultures and the foods in which they eat.  It was well noted that many of these traditional cultures were completely free of the degenerative disease of the west and exhibited amazing health.  However, it was shown that when these people moved away from their traditional diets and adopted a more westernized diet, the same health problems began to arise as those seen in the west.