Only eating warm foods has really helped me.

yes when I am flaring really bad, warm always helps..cold seems to stimulate things..

I like hot water but prefer to add some cloves or lemongrass to flavour it, I guess it is what you are used to.

Saying that if it is good for me and stops me being sick I'll go for anything when I'm desperate!

I haven't touched a drink or cigarette since my first hospitalisation so the effects from this UC can't all be bad!

;-)

I've known it's true that icy water will stimulate your bowels!
I prefer my water cool, not cold, too. You can drink more, faster!

A naturapath told me that drinking cold water makes your body have to use all it's energy to bring it up to 98.6 to go on with the digestion. This leaves little energy left to properly digest the food. He said it makes a big difference with IBS - couldn't comment on IBD. Still, seems like the right thing to do.
I'm ALWAYS cold so for decades I drink hot water with lemon rather than ice water and I still managed to come down with UC; again, while my dear big brother drinks ice cold beers and is fine!!

Yah. I used to live in Taiwan for some 10 years. So I'm used to not drinking cold liquids. I used to eat a lot of steamed fish, veggies, rice, and soups in Taiwan. I loved the food. There was very little if any sugar added to it. I don't eat at Chinese restaurants in the US. The food is sugary and the meat isn't organic and therefore contains antibiotics.

I crave for sweet beverages such as decaf coffee and Chai. So I will drink at least one tall glass of water before drinking a cup of something that has sugar added to it. The extra water helps reduce the amount of sugar I consume, and I enjoy the decaf coffee and Chai more because I don't end up gulping it down.

When I first was diagnosed with UC, my mom recommended I try Chinese herbs. My mom has Hepetitis C. She got it from a blood transfusion when she gave birth to me. The Hepatitis C became active again when she got the flu several years ago. She wasn't a candidate for certain medication due to her age. So she went to San Francisco to be treated with herbs. The California Pacific Medical Center has done a lot of research into alternative treatments, including Chinese herbs. The herbal treatments put my mom back into remission.

Here are their alternative treatment recommendations for UC: http://www.cpmc.org/health/healthinfo/?A=C&type=info&hwid=hn-1282001§ion=hn-1282001-also-indexed

Which can be summarized as:

Nutritional Supplements:
Fish oil
Butyrate by enema (not oral)
DHEA
Probiotics
Folic Acid

Herbs:
Aloe Juice
Boswellia
Curcumin
Psyllium
Wheat grass juice

Watch what you eat:
Limit sugars
Avoid fast food
Avoid excessive animal fats and margarine
Avoid alcohol and take a daily folic acid supplement to reduce the risk of colon cancer
Risks of smoking outweigh benefits

You will need to read the article for details.

I never did get a chance to try Chinese herbs. I was in desperate condition when I was first diagnosed; so I tried fecal transplantation instead. It worked; I went into remission immediately. If there wasn't fecal transplantation (which puts lost bacteria strains back into the colon), probiotics (which puts good bacteria strains back into the colon), turmeric (which is the most effective anti-inflammatory property in nature), and boswella (which is another strong anti-inflammatory), then I would have looked into taking Chinese herbs.

However, I do think my liver has issues. It can't digest fructose. I read that tetracycline is the worst antibiotic for the liver, then erythromycin. I took both of these for years. I plan to pay more attention to my liver this year and try to research ways to heal the damage done to it from taking antibiotics. I might end up using Chinese herbs. I don't know yet. The CPMC also gives a list of herbs to that can be damaging to the liver. As I said, they've done a lot of research.

Fecal transplantation is a relatively new procedure that was developed in Australia. There are a few doctors outside of Australia who will do the procedure. You can also do it in the privacy of your own home.

Fecal transplantation puts bacteria back into the colon. There is abundant evidence that an imbalance between luminal bacteria and the inflammatory and immune response plays a central role in the development of IBD. And once you get UC, you have it for life, not unless you get your colon taken out.

Fecal transplantation basically involves taking poo (only a very small amount is needed), mixing it with the same amount of water, and putting it up the butt. The possible side effects are probably similar to side effects that can occur when sharing germs with someone else. Usually patients are given poo from someone they are close to, someone who they are already sharing germs with. I used poo from my granddaughter. I decided to use her poo, because she had never been on antibiotics before. However, there is evidence that suggests that poo from an adult is more mature and thus has more strains of bacteria. Plus, you can get the poo tested beforehand.

For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_bacteriotherapy