Fiber myth + Sugar intolerance

Hello folks,

This is going to be a little long post. I will try to keep it short and would like to have your comments. Please avoid arguments.

Many here have read a book, Self Help Way To Treat Colitis and Other IBS Conditions (http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Colitis-Other-Conditions-Second/dp/0658012177). The author is a UC patient. I wanted to hear his take on condition and how he wants to treat it. Here are my comments and your thoughts are welcome.

I would break this book into 2 major points, he claims that fiber helps UC patients is a myth and fructose intolerance can aggravate your UC symptoms.

On many threads here at HealingWell, folks have consistently mentioned how fiber cleans up your colon and how that is helpful. Even I was a part of this bandwagon till I moved here and met my new GI. She didn't explicitly say that its not useful or harmful but she asked me to refrain from using fiber when in flare, as otherwise it will irritate already inflamed mucosa, very valid explanation. I bought it and since then don't use it when in flare. Even occasionally otherwise as my diet is otherwise fiber rich.
Some folks here have also mentioned the role of butyric acid as a healing component in UC. Butyric acid is a product of polysaccharides in fiber degradation by the intestinal flora. This was new argument to me (in relation to UC) and while reading I was wondering how it will ONLY produce butyric acid, there could be tons of other acids depending on the structure of the polysaccharide.
This is exactly the point this author looks into further. He doesn't mention butyric acid at all in the whole book but talks other (irritant) acids and aldehydes as a product/byproduct of fiber degradation. The argument is plausible. He insists that these irritant products aggravate UC condition instead of healing it. Not only that but it also decreases intestinal pH (as the products are acidic in nature). This resulting decrease in pH ends up in many substances (like minerals, bile etc) getting absorbed which otherwise are either excreted or are not supposed to be absorbed. Calcium and oxalates get absorbed in this fashion, putting extra load on the kidney which in turn leads to kidney stone (Last year, I went to ER twice for kidney stone and uro-consult did tell me that UC folks are more prone to kidney stone as a result of more absorption). Gall stone can also be a result of cholic acid uptake. This could also lead to stress on liver as it goes in vicious cycle of excretion, reabsorption of bile..
Take home message here is, fiber is not as good as we think. If we do have to buy this argument (honestly, sounds plausible to me) we could switch polysaccharide based fiber like psyllium to cellulose based fiber like cabbage which doesn't break down in our system (as we do not produce cellulase by ourselves) My GI did tell me that if want to eat any fibrous food, I should steam them first before eating, thus reducing the damage they may cause to the intestinal linings. I have no idea how synthetic fibers work will work out with this theory.

Second point of fructose intolerance. I had a little hard time buying this idea. The author has fructose intolerance and claims that many folks with IBS do have same problem, data presented. I don't have this problem so can't concur to it but he claims that as a result of unavailability of enzyme required to break down specific sugar, say fructose, lactose etc. these sugars go to the intestine undigested. Bacterial flora has enough capacity to break down these sugars. Actually these sugars act as substrate, which leads to above mentioned intestinal pH change issue. Even other sugars like Sorbitol, Xylitol are not digested and end up in the intestine. Hence, fructose could also be an issue that aggravates UC.

He offers a solution to this intestinal pH change problem. He suggests to eat Tums like antacids with food. I am not very clear how it is supposed to act but carbonate part could end up carbonic acid, decreasing pH even further. Antacids taken could neutralize stomach pH interfering with digestion (in the long run). Excess calcium taken daily may not be healthy for some individual. The author does not address these concerns. On the other hand, I think if we do have to buy this theory that calcium supplement will neutralize intestinal pH or excess of calcium will make oxalates and similar salts unavailable for absorption then IMO, we need a calcium supplement that specifically dispurses in intestine and not in the stomach (as it has no job to do there). I am yet to find such calcium supplement formulation.

The only serious shortcoming of this book is, author does not cite a single reference to support his theory or argument. That leaves you with 'Take it as it is or leave it' idea. So I thought, may be I could make a concise post and see what others have to say..

I have the book. What I got from it was that 1) Fiber is good and beneficial. 2) Fiber is not why some cultures dont get UC or get UC in small numbers. He points out those same high fiber diets always turn out to also be low sugar. So he removes the credit given to high fiber and applies it to the low sugar aspect of the same diet.

So far it has been like reading a book about my own healing. The less bad processed junk going in the deeper the level of healing. I can eat loads of normal sugar but not corn syrup and not fructose. I agree also that if your getting gas thats the first sign to change the fuel being dumped into the pie hole.

Fiber is my savior :0.

I would advise against taking Tums more than few times a week. The reason anyone takes them is usually because of a stomach irritant, but they don't realize how easily these disorders can be fixed by dietary changes. Consuming Tums with every meal is like taking Prednisone for a long period of time, its masking the issue, not treating it. Remember the practice of proper food combining? A healthy digestive system requires that foods is ingested according to its pH. So for example, its best to consume proteins with non-starchy vegetables, but not anything starch. Commonly, we consume meals with a protein, carb and vegetable, and this causes the digestive process to be extra slow because you're system is working to create an environment that is suited to digest both differences in pH (alkaline and acidic foods together), so this is not good.

Another great way to balance the pH of your system, is consuming Aloe Vera. I didnt start taking this supplement for my chrons/colitis, I started taking it a while back because I was getting acid-indegestion or reflux. When the pH is out of balance, your body allows an environment for bacteria overgrowth, which can weaken the immune system and create other disorders. Tums may be full of calcium, but they also have additives, artificial sweeteners and color dyes.

As for fiber, I agree its definitely beneficial, but if you're in a flare I wouldn't recommend it. I was seeing an alternative doc prior to my diagnosis who unfortunately gave me fiber supplements that sped up the process of making my Chrons worse. Fiber brushes up against the intestinal lining and continues to damage tissue when its already torn.

Post Edited (stereofidelic89) : 2/15/2012 1:51:32 PM (GMT-7)

Everyone is different, like I stated in my case, fibre did not do me any worse while in a horrible flare, it in fact helped my crohn's colitis (CD affecting the colon, not both CD and UC) and I had a lot of faith in my GI's recommendation for starting fibre supplements during a horrid flare since he's the lead researcher for IBD I figure he knows what he's talking about and he was right in directing me to start on fibre supplements when I was in a terrible flare....it improved things for me enough to be able to start getting out of the house again....to me, that speaks volumes.

To each their own of course.

Glad I ended up thinking for myself and starting taking the spoonfuls of fiber. Only thing that keeps things more regular and bulked up. Everyone should give it a go and see if it helps.

Stereo, are you drinking plenty of water daily? It's really important especially with increased fibre in ones diet. Fibre aids with D and/or C but you have to respect fibre and that means drinking plenty of water daily to help the fibre help you.

Hi all,

I have been following the diet outlined in this book and the only thing I can say is so far so good. I feel excellent, I do take calcium carbonate supplement, along with bee propolis (not in the book) and have switched to sorbitol free toothpaste.

It took me around 1 month to get out of flare up lasting around 9 months.

I do not take any medications and feel fine since October 2011 (5 months now).

I have described this on my website - feel free to browse there if you want. I guess the diet is very important, but feel that it would not work without calcium carbonate, propolis and removal of sorbitol from my toothpaste.

pb4 said...
Stereo, are you drinking plenty of water daily? It's really important especially with increased fibre in ones diet. Fibre aids with D and/or C but you have to respect fibre and that means drinking plenty of water daily to help the fibre help you.

I should have asked long, long ago, but what is D & C?

For the past few years my immune system must have been way off, because I must have been drinking 16 glasses of water a day!! Now that i'm no longer thirsty I have to remind myself!

aguywithuc,

I am not sure if the humic acid is helping my uc or not because I started taking so many different supplements during my flare up that it is impossible to tell what worked and what did not. But I learned about it here and others had felt it was helpful. It is supposed to help balance your PH, and I believe that when your PH does get out of whack - when you are acidic, you are susceptible to a flare up. I believe that. I think flare ups come when we are in a weakened state, for whatever reason - sick, acidic, dehydrated - and things that might be fine for us otherwise will trigger a flare when the conditions are right.