What are colitis, Crohn's disease and ileitis?

Colitis, Crohn's disease and ileitis are inflammatory bowel illnesses characterized by distressful bowel function. "Itis" means inflammation. The symptoms of inflammatory bowel illness are a warning that the results of unhealthful lifestyle and dietary habits have reached the critical stage requiring that immediate changes be made. Inflammatory bowel illness is most common in societies, such as the West, where meat is a major part of the diet and stress from fast-paced modern lifestyles are prevalent. They way to overcome inflammatory bowel illness is to stop poisoning and enervating the body with harmful foods and other lifestyle stressors and to allow it to complete the healing process, and it will every time, and usually very quickly and permanently, as long as the dietary and lifestyle factors which cause enervation and toxemia are avoided.

1. Colitis is an inflammation of the colon. Local symptoms may include diarrhea, mucus formation, bleeding, constipation, abdominal cramps, spasms, colon disfigurement, flatulence, abdominal and rectal pain, fevers and stomach distress. Related non-local symptoms can be many, including weight loss, emotional distress, headaches, sleeping difficulties, general weakness and rapid aging. The use of anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic and immuno-suppressant medicines, while sometimes temporarily suppressing symptoms, always have effects which contribute further to the devitalization of the person's health. No drug has any healing intelligence - they are all toxic, enervating and suppress or shift around symptoms.

   Colitis may advance into ulcerative colitis which is characterized by inflammation and ulceration(s) of the colon. Symptoms can include all of those listed above plus painful ulcerations in the colon wall which can become cancerous.
   

2. Crohn's disease, or regional enteritis, is an inflammation of any portion of the alimentary canal. It usually affects the lower section of the small intestine - the ileum - giving rise to the name ileitis. Symptoms are typically similar to those for colitis.

What are the functions of the bowel?

The bowel, also referred to as the intestines or gut, consists of the small and large intestines (the latter is also known as the colon). Here are the basic functions of each:

Small Intestine
The small intestine is a muscular 21-foot long tube, of small diameter (about one inch, hence the name "small" intestine). This is where the digestive process takes place. Macronutrients are reduced down into sugars, amino acids and fatty acids, then absorbed, along with some micronutrients, and transported to the liver, then distributed to the cells through the blood and lymph. The pH in a healthy small intestine is alkaline.

More specifically, here is what happens during the digestive process.
From the stomach, the small intestine receives a semi-digested mixture of food and acidic enzymes; this mixture is called chyme. The small intestine also receives pancreatic juice enzyme from the pancreas and bile (a fat emulsifier) from the gall bladder. While being transported through the small intestine by segmentation movement, the digested fluid mass is absorbed through the striated border epithelium covering the villi (the intricate, microscopic finger-like folds which number in the millions).

The bacteria which live on living vegetable foods produce digestive enzymes which assist in the body's digestion of vegetable foods. Under various conditions of poor eating and incomplete digestion, however, bacterial decomposition of food occurs resulting in toxic by-products which can be responsible for irritation then inflammation of the intestinal wall, plus they may be absorbed into the blood stream causing a host of illness symptoms. When the wall of the small intestine is inflamed, the nerves and absorptive function of this organ becomes greatly impaired, and the act of eating is usually met with severe gastric distress.

Colon
The colon is a three to five foot long, thick muscular organ, normally with an inverted u-shape. The colon is much more than a muscular tube. It has an intricate network of nerves which connect with every other organ an neuro-muscular system in the body - - when the colon is sick or even impacted with hardened feces, disease symptoms typically manifest in other parts of the body.

The colon receives metabolic wastes from the small intestine. The colon also receives indigestible residue, including micronutrients, from the small intestine through the ileo-cecal valve. Muscular wave-like motion, peristalsis, moves the material forward as water and micronutrients are absorbed and stools are formed for elimination. A healthy colon has a slightly acid pH.

In the absence of fiber or sufficient moisture in the residue, the peristaltic motion may be inefficient to move the material along, and constipation and plaque buildup may result, leading to enervation and dysfunction of the colon. Fatigue and emotional upset also contribute to colon dysfunction. In times of irritation from a toxic overburden of wastes, the body may enact diarrhea, a massive elimination response. If there is not sufficient nerve energy to accomplish diarrhea, then wastes will accumulate causing the condition of auto-intoxication, and this may lead to inflammation. Undigested food passing into the colon can also be a source of irritation.

The colon works symbiotically with bacteria (flora). There are two classifications of bacteria in the intestinal tract: healthful "friendly" bacteria (including lactobacillus bifidus and coli bacteria); and "unfriendly" coliform bacteria (including E. coli) which are actually misunderstood. "Unfriendly" bacteria, also erroneously referred to as pathogenic bacteria, are actually "friendly" bacteria which have mutated in the presence of toxic matter (cooked food) and serve the "friendly" function of eating (or cleaning up) the toxic matter.

"Unfriendly" bacteria are mistakenly blamed as the cause of illness, however, bacteria do NOT cause illness. Bacteria simply function to clean up wastes in the external and internal (bodily) environment. In the healthy colon of a person living on a 100% natural diet of fruits and vegetables, there may be a minimal amount of bacteria in the colon. In a standard American diet (SAD) eater's colon, there may be as many as 400 species of bacteria, and sixty percent of the wet weight of stools may be made up of bacteria. There are far more bacteria in a SAD eater's colon than the number of cells in our body. Some of the bacteria work symbiotically to maintain our health by manufacturing B vitamins and vitamin K, which is believed to help with blood clotting.

Robert Gray's "The Colon Health Handbook" (Rockridge Publishing Co., Oakland, California) reports that the ratio of "friendly" to "unfriendly" bacteria in a healthy colon should be at least 85:15. Also, it is reported that the typical colon bacteria ratio in our society is the reverse of the healthy ratio. From my studies and experiences I believe that we can create a pure and healthy colon and body whereby a minimal population of 100% "friendly" bacteria is maintained.

What causes bowel inflammation and ulcers?

The body enacts inflammation in response to an overload of toxins. The toxins cause inflammation. In all cases, inflammation is an intelligent detoxification action directed by the body. The body creates inflammation just as it creates fevers - inflammation is an escalated healing action in which harmful toxic matter and fluids are being broken down and neutralized at a "feverish pace" by enzymes, anti-bodies and white blood cells for elimination. We want inflammation to happen if we are overloaded with toxins; we want the body to clean up and eliminate any toxic matter. Medical people mistakenly believe that the body's inflammation response is an "auto-immune" phenomena - - this theory is incorrect and illogical; the body only works to heal itself and never creates any physiological process that would harm itself. Inflammation is a manifestation of healing; it is the "curing" process. The body enacts inflammation in colon for the purpose of breaking down and eliminating extremely poisonous matter on and in its tissues. If a person with an inflamed bowel discontinues the unhealthful factors (e.g., diet) which toxify the body, and gives him/herself the rest needed to support healing, the inflammation will complete its job and the bowel spontaneously heal. Note: this is not a theory - - it is a scientific physiological fact, which I and others have experienced. Texts on physiology teach us this. However, medical modus operandi does not abide by the laws of physiology and support the self-healing route. Medicine has no healing intelligence; the body has all of the healing intelligence we need to completely heal and stay well.

Ulcers are also enacted by the body, in order to eliminate extreme overloads of toxic waste matter. The body intelligently creates ulcers as an open outlet for the elimination of toxins when the toxic load is too great for the body to neutralize and eliminate by inflammation alone. Ulcerations are manifestations of healing; they are part of the "curing" process. If one discontinues the unhealthful factors which toxify the body, ulcers will spontaneously heal. This is not a theory - - it is a scientific physiological fact, which I and others have experienced.

What about the claim that bacteria cause ulcers?

That is an incorrect interpretation of the facts. Bacteria, or "germs", have no ability to cause a bodily function in another being. Bacteria are ubiquitous, and they have always existed in harmony with the human body. There are more bacteria present in a typical colon that there are cells in the whole body. Bacteria work symbiotically with the human organism. All bacteria do is eat, breed, respire, secrete enzymes and excrete wastes.

In the human body bacteria provide the dual beneficial functions of 1) consuming converting some nutrients into useful vitamins, and 2) cleaning up wastes. Bacteria always play a useful role in the body. They do not "infect" us. In the presence of dead non-nutritive matter, such as spent human cells and dead cooked food matter in the bowel, the bacteria will mutate and consume the morbid matter. This phenomena was discovered by French biologist Antoine Bechamp in the latter 19th Century. Unfortunately, Louis Pasteur's work mislead our society into believing that bacteria cause disease. Again, bacteria do not cause disease, and if you read Douglas Hume's "Bechamp or Pasteur?" (Essence of Health, Westville, South Africa), you will learn that Pasteur himself admitted toward the end of his career that his germ theory was wrong.

Bacteria (or flora) work symbiotically in the colon. Bacteria in the intestinal tract are commonly classified in two ways: "friendly" bacteria (including lactobacillus bifidus and coli bacteria); and "unfriendly" coliform bacteria (including E. coli) which are actually misunderstood.

"Unfriendly" bacteria are actually "friendly" bacteria which have mutated in the presence of toxic matter and serve the "friendly" function of eating (or cleaning up for elimination) the toxic matter. "Unfriendly" bacteria are mistakenly blamed as the cause of disease, however, bacteria do NOT cause disease. Bacteria simply function to clean up wastes in the external and internal (bodily) environment.

Note: by drinking chlorinated city water, in addition to enervating the body, beneficial bacteria in the gut are killed, and that contributes to impaired colon health.

What is disease?

Disease, or "dis-ease", is what we feel when the body is in the process of detoxifying and healing itself. Disease is the body's intelligent response to abnormal or threatening influences. Disease is not something which invades our bodies from outside, nor is it something to be cured or stopped. In a manner of speaking, disease symptoms are a manifestation that the body is "curing" itself.

In 1926, in his book "Toxemia Explained" (Living Nutrition Health Education Center Publications, Sebastopol, California), John H. Tilden, M. D., wrote:"All so-called diseases are merely crises of toxemia and evolve from just one cause - toxemia." Dr. Tilden further wrote:

"It should be known to all discerning physicians that the earliest stage of organic disease is purely functional, evanescent and never autogenated so far as the affected organ is concerned, but is invariably due to an extraneous irritation (or stimulation, if you please) augmented by toxemia. When the irritation is not continuous and toxin is eliminated as fast as developed to the toleration point, normal functioning is resumed between the intervals of irritation and toxin excess.

For example: a simple coryza (running at the nose - cold in the head), gastritis or colonitis. At first these colds, catarrhs or inflammations are periodic and functional; but as exciting cause or causes (local irritation and toxemia) becomes more intense and continuous, the mucous membranes of these organs take on organic changes which are given various names such as irritation, inflammation, ulceration and cancer. The pathology (organic change) may be studied until doomsday without throwing any light on the cause; for from the first irritation to the extreme ending - cachexia - which may be given the blanket term tuberculosis, syphilis or cancer, the whole pathological panorama is one of continuous evolution of intensifying effects."

The "seven stages of disease" nominated by Dr. Tilden are: 1) enervation; 2) toxemia, or toxicosis: 3) irritation; 4) inflammation; 5) ulceration; 6) induration: and 7) cancer. Note: even colon cancer has been overcome by making wholistic dietary and lifestyle changes.

By stopping disease symptoms with medicines, a person suffers further toxification and enervation. Disease symptoms may subside with medicines because: 1) the medicine may be so enervating that the body is no long able to continue with the detoxification process, or 2) the medicine may be so toxic that the body may shift its detoxification efforts to other areas of the body (resulting in new disease symptoms commonly called "side effects").

If a person with inflammatory bowel disease replaces the unhealthful dietary and lifestyle factors which lead to disease with healthful ones, the body will heal itself and ease will be restored.

Can medicines heal or manage one's illness?

Medicines are foreign and unnatural to human physiology and have no healing intelligence. Medicines are always toxic to the body and enervating. Their prolonged use leads to worsened physical and mental health. The body always senses medicines as harmful poisons. If the body has sufficient nerve energy it will attempt to break down, neutralize and eliminate medicines. In directing its energies to neutralize and eliminate medicines, disease symptoms may subside or shift to another part of the body. Thus, medicines suppress symptoms. A decrease or absence of symptoms does not indicate health; we cannot be healthy and avoid further disease symptoms (such as colitis flare-ups) if our body harbors toxic food and drug matter.

Medicines cannot manage illness and keep us healthy. Medicines always interfere with the body's ability to heal itself. If a person with inflammatory bowel illness is taking medicines and is under a doctor's care, he or she is advised to also seek the services of a wholistic health education professional or doctor, like myself.

Note: I am a state certified Nutrition Educator. I educate and advise people in matters of nutrition and health. I do not advise people in medical areas. I do not diagnose. I do not advise on medicine use or any medical procedures. I can work in concert with medical practitioners. I advise the reader and my clients to take full responsibility for their health and their actions, to educate themselves and to obtain wholistic health guidance when necessary.

What is the difference between remission and overcoming illness?

Remission is a medical term often used with regard inflammatory bowel disease, describing the subsidence of one's disease symptoms. Different medical, lifestyle and emotional factors can result in the subsidence.

It is misleading to imply that a person cannot overcome inflammatory bowel disease, and that any and all improvement in one's health is only remission. When we remove the cause of illness and live healthfully were become healthy, period. For example, in 1984 I permanently overcame chronic ulcerative colitis. A year after I overcame the illness, my brother, a pre-med student, told a medical doctor of my recovery. The doctor said, "He is only in remission." I've been illness-free for 20 years now - I guess I'll be in for one heck of a long remission!

By discontinuing the factors which lead to illness and by living healthfully, in harmony with our biological mandates, virtually everyone can overcome illness and create everlasting health.

What is the best approach to healing inflammatory bowel illness?

People with inflammatory bowel illness should care for themselves in a wholistic manner. Quick fixes never lead to health. Treatment of the symptoms of illness can have a life-ruining effect. Surgical removal of the colon is often considered by the medical establishment to be a standard treatment for chronic cases of colitis and ulcerative colitis.

Only in the past decade is it apparent that some medical doctors have begun to recognize that specific dietary and lifestyle changes can lead to an improvement in inflammatory bowel illness. It is notable that three medical doctors have referred patients with inflammatory bowel illness to me.

It is always prudent for persons with inflammatory bowel illness, even in advanced cases, to get opinions from wholistically trained and experienced health practitioners before submitting to drug therapy and surgery. Most if not all colon surgeries are unnecessary - they body will spontaneously and completely heal itself of even advanced illnesses when the conditions of illness are replaced with the conditions of health.

The best approach to healing is: 1. get a proper education in the physiology of self-healing and natural nutrition; 2. get proper professional health coaching; 3. take complete rest and extra sleep; 4. make a gradual transition to a simple vegan diet with fresh fruits and fresh juices (no raw vegetables or nuts when there is inflammation), eating foods in proper combinations for optimal digestion as described in the Vegan Diet Healing Plan in Self Healing Colitis & Crohns; 5. relax and practice emotional awareness and release; and 6. adopt a healthful lifestyle.

Why is this information not known by medical doctors?

They don't look for it, or they believe that self-healing is a fraud. M.D.s are typically trained only in pharmacological, radiological and surgical therapies (technological approaches to biological problems), they know little about nutrition, and they assume that the body cannot heal itself. That is sad considering that natural healing therapies have been around for a long long time (in fact, the ancient yogis and Essenes knew it all, practicing healthful eating and self-purification using water thousand of years ago!). It is encouraging that some medical schools are now offering "alternative medicine" courses and training, some M. D.s are interested in the naturopathic, and "nature cure" approaches, and three M. D.s have referred patients with inflammatory bowel illness to me.

Between November, 2000 and March, 2001, four M.D.s with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's purchased a copy of Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's and consulted me for healing their illness. Testimonies will be added when they come in . One of the M.D.s has stated his intention to help me bring this information to light. The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation has ignored my several attempts to teach this information. Apparently, they only respect the words of M.D.s and registered dieticians which use the medical model, which does not and cannot work. Sadly, their ignore-ance of the truth is perpetuating much suffering in the world.

What dietary recommendations do I recommend for self-healing?

I work with each individual to develop a personalized eating plan which harmonizes with his or her needs. I provide nutrition and healing education, healthful eating guidelines and a dietary transition plan which suits the client's taste preferences and results in optimum digestion and efficient healing. And together we monitor the progress and make adjustments as required until the healing is complete.

As for food recommendations, the basic approach is to get off the SAD and onto a natural vegan diet of soft foods eaten in proper combinations, as described in Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's. It is imperative to cease eating cooked, fatty, high-protein foods: meat (including chicken and fish), dairy, roasted nuts, beans and related products such as tofu. These are toxic and in most cases carcinogenic. They putrefy in the bowel causing acid-waste poisoning, or toxicosis, then inflammation.

Colitis may be considered "meat eater's disease." Here is what cooked red meat has going against it: it has no fiber; it is low in water; it is constipating and sticks to the walls of the colon, building up a layer of hardened plaque; it is mucus forming; its heated fats are carcinogenic; it takes six or more hours to digest, robbing precious digestive and nerve energy which is needed for healing and it just plain does not digest completely, so it putrefies (or rots) in the colon, producing such highly poisonous gases and compounds as hydrogen sulfide, ammonias, histamine, tyramine, putrescine, indoles, skatoles,purines, and cadaverine (take a closer look at that one!) which all irritate and poison the colon and ruin our health.

I want to emphasize here that 1) unless an inflammatory bowel illness sufferer learns HOW to eat correctly (instead of eating haphazardly), he or she may never overcome their illness; 2) virtually everyone who discovers the natural diet regimen proclaims that it is the most delicious, energizing, simple and satisfying way to eat; and 3) most can overcome their symptoms within a week and go on to create everlasting wellness if they are determined to be well.

Raw fruits and vegetables are our natural foods and they are most nutritious and healthful. Raw vegetables should NOT be eaten when bowel inflamation is present. When juiced they are highly beneficial for healing. Fruit sugars are naturally stimulating and they assist the body in cleaning out the toxic matter that poisons bowel tissues. It is imperative that all people learn: 1) how to eat natural foods correctly (correct food combining); 2) that haphazard eating always leads to gastric distress and illness (poor food combining); 3) when people eat fruit and later have diarrhea, that is a cleansing response, and it is erroneous to conclude that fruit eating is not healthful; and 4) that it is essential to go through a natural cleansing of the bowels, and with that loose stools and diarrhea may occur, but will subside when the colon is clean. Diarrhea is natural health-restoring action. One cannot become healthy if he or she harbors filth in the colon - we must detoxify!

A new education in healthful eating for all inflammatory bowel illness sufferers is essential. Within 24 hours of learning how to eat correctly and changing from the SAD diet to a more natural one with plenty of raw fruits, I overcame the worst gastric distress (a stomach that exploded like a volcano every time I ate, abdominal pains, ten or more spasmodic bowel movements per day, and foul bowel odors) and was marveling at my smooth digestion, increasingly soothed stomach, and odor-free and problem-free colon health. My colon inflammation and ulcerations healed up completely within four weeks, and I was jumping for joy as I was rejuvenating and reclaiming my life.

How is it possible to get all the protein I need if I don’t eat meat?

Natural Hygiene educator Dr. T. C. Fry answered this question well. He wrote: "Our protein needs, like our carbohydrate, vitamin, mineral, and fat needs, are provided by plants and their fruits. There is no need to turn to the animal world to obtain the essential amino acids. In fact, this is a primary reason why there is so much disease and early death."

A complete protein is usually defined as a single or combined protein source, containing all eight of the essential amino acids. Meat, for example, is said to be a complete protein. So are eggs, dairy products, soybeans and many nuts. It has been suggested by some individuals and groups that a complete protein (or a combination of proteins that will provide certain proportionate amounts of the eight essential amino acids) be eaten at every meal to make sure that we obtain all of the essential amino acids.

This idea of a "complete protein" has been so heavily advertised by special interest groups, such as the meat and dairy industries, that the average person believes he must eat meat (or at least milk and eggs if a "vegetarian") or at the very least prepare protein combinations such as grains and beans, or take protein supplements in order to get enough high-quality protein. All of these beliefs are false and, in fact, may lead to increased toxicity in the body.

This is an important concept in understanding protein needs. It is not necessary for all eight of the essential amino acids to be present in one food or even within one meal in order to obtain our full protein needs. The body has its own amino acid pool to draw from, to supply what may be missing from dietary sources. They may be withdrawn from those already in circulation, or the necessary amino acids may be released by the liver or other cells into the circulatory system. The amino acid pool thus acts as the supplier of the essential amino acids missing from incomplete proteins. The proof of this is that those who complete lengthy fasts show not a protein deficiency, but a restored protein balance.

Only the carnivorous animals in nature eat "complete proteins." Most of the vegetarian animals eat grass, tubers, fruits, grains, etc., usually of limited variety. Yet they never exhibit signs of protein deficiency. In fact, protein poisoning from eating high-protein foods is far more common among Western man than protein deficiency.

The "complete protein" idea also falls apart if we realize that the amino acids in many of the so-called complete protein foods cannot even be fully used by the body. For example, humans usually only consume the muscle meat of the animal, which is particularly low in some of the essential amino acids. The soybean has an anti-enzyme factor which blocks or inhibits the assimilation of some of its essential amino acids. Proteins which have been cooked or heated (such as meat, fish, eggs and most dairy products) may lose up to 5O% or more of their essential amino acids due to the formation of enzyme-resistant linkages. So we can see that many of the so-called ''complete proteins''.cannot be absorbed by the body.

• FRUITS: bananas, tomatoes, dates
• NUTS: almonds, coconuts, filberts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans [NOTE: THESE MUST BE AVOIDED WHEN THERE IS IBD INFLAMMATION]
• VEGETABLES: alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, seaweeds, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbages, corn, okra, squashes [NOTE: WHOLE RAW VEGETABLES MUST BE AVOIDED WHEN THERE IS IBD INFLAMMATION]

A varied diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts seeds and sprouts can furnish us with all the essential and nonessential amino acids, along with all the other nutrients we need, including antioxidants. These are the most wholesome foods suitable for the human diet, and the ones most effectively and efficiently used in the body.

What is Food Combining?

Food combining is the practice of eating foods in combinations which are compatible with our digestive chemistry or enzyme secretions. Food combining greatly helps almost everyone overcome colitis, Crohn’s, irritable bowel and gastritis. Eat proper combinations and the food has the best chance of being completely acted upon by our digestive juices, furnishing its full nutritional potential, and keeping us clean inside and free of toxins and gas. Eat poor food combinations and the proteins will putrefy, the starches and sugars will ferment, and we become toxic, gassy, distressed, acidic, inflamed, malnourished and sick. Cooked high-protein foods inevitably putrefy in the gut because we simply cannot digestive such a heavy toxic load. Putrid matter in the bowels causes irritation, acid waste poisoning, inflammation and disease. The quickest way to alleviate gastric distress and promote healing is to follow food combining and cease eating cooked meat, dairy, beans and associated products, nuts and seeds.

Fruit must digest quickly and must be eaten alone (not combined with other foods). fruit cannot digest in a stomach filled with cooked food or fatty high protein foods. (Citrus fruit and citrus juices should generally be avoided as they cause too rapid detox.)

Starchy foods (bread, pasta, rice, white potatoes) are not recommended for several reasons, the main one being we do not secrete enough enzymes to digest starches very well, thus they ferment in the gut causing gas and mucus. Starchy foods do not combine (or digest) with high-protein foods (meat, dairy, soy, nuts, seeds -- eating these foods when inflammation is present is disastrous). When we eat these foods together, the starches ferment and the proteins putrefy, causing toxic, gassy and foul bowels. This is because starches require alkaline digestive juice secretions (ptyalin, secreted in the mouth) and proteins require acid digestive juices in the stomach--when the alkaline and acidic juices mix in the stomach they cancel out and the food can only digest incompetely at best, resulting in gastric distress. When the incompletely digested starches and high-protein foods hang around in our warm gut for hours and even days, fermentive bacteria decompose the digesta causing toxic, irritating chemicals to evolve which cause pain, distress, inflammation and toxemia. This is the major cause of colitis and Crohn’s disease. The good news is the body knows how to clean itself out and self-heal, provided that we give it a simple, non-toxic, digestable harmonious diet and get off medications. When we eat properly and are not stressed, our bowels and entire body becomes clean, our feces are not offensive, our elimination is quick without straining, and we barely notice that we have a digestive system and colon!

Learn HOW to eat and HOW to put it into a safe and sure healing plan by studying Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s. By employing proper diet with proper food combining, digestive distress diminishes and becomes a thing of the past, the bowels become clean, pain goes away. elimination becomes easy and quick, and health blossoms.

Where did this diet come from?

The Vegan Diet is not a diet invented by Dr. David Klein or any person. It is human’s natural biological diet, the diet your body was designed to operate best on, in perfect health. Every creature/being on the Earth has a natural biological diet which is most healthful for the creature/being, providing all of the nutrients needed for superior, disease-free health and longevity. Natural Hygienists have been teaching how to eat our natural biological diet for over 100 years. The book Fit For Life by Marilyn and Harvey Diamond popularized the Natural Hygiene lifestyle and dietary approach to health, and that book sold over 20 million copies. At least 100 books on Natural Hygiene teaching correct nutrition have been written over the last 140 years. Dr. Herbert M. Shelton wrote most of them – over 40 – and his books on nutrition stand as the best ones ever written on the subject. See his books at http://www.livingnutrition.com/bookstore.html. Dr. Shelton’s books and counseling have literally saved millions of lives and influenced many doctors to adopt the Hygienic approach to diet and self healing. Dr. David Klein’s teachings, including the Vegan Diet Healing Plan, are all based upon physiology and biology as taught by Natural Hygiene, and supported by over 100 years of healing results. Other approaches do not work well or at all because they are inaccurate, i.e., not based upon physiology and human’s biological needs. David refined the Hygienic diet for IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) cases, and the successes of over 1,000 clients and innumerable successes of several dozen Natural Hygiene doctors prove that the Natural Hygiene diet is the correct one for humans – it gives healing results every time and enables everyone to build superior health.

Does the Vegan Diet work for irritable bowel disease, proctitis and hemorrhoids?

Yes. Any inflammatory disease is healed via the Vegan Diet Healing Plan and Natural Hygiene self-healing program. The body is designed to heal, and the Vegan Diet supports healing like no other diet man ever devised. Specific eating guidelines for healing are provided in Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's.

How can people live on such a simple diet? Don’t they miss meat?

Everyone thrives on this natural diet because that is Nature’s design. It is the most nutritious diet, is complete in every regard, includes a nearly endless variety of delicious food choices, and supports healing and vitality like no other. When humans (or any creatures) eat their natural biological diet after cleaning out they feel completely satisfied and do not crave unnatural foods. Vegan foods satisfy our nutritional needs best and promote true health and healing, free of unnatural food cravings which lead to disease. Many high achievers throughout history have thrived on vegan diets, including many world class and professional athletes and some body builders who the author personally knows.

It’s usually pleasantly shocking to find out that after a few days of giving up meat you don’t miss it one bit, and you are amazed to discover that meat was dragging you down. Meat causes colitis, Crohn’s disease and a host of other diseases. No rational person would knowingly want to continue to eat something that poisons their colon, makes them sick and destroys their life. No one heals up eating meat, and after one feels better there is no thought of going back to the cause of disease and suffering.

How can people overcome their resistance to changing their diet?

Through a new education in healthful eating, by replacing erroneous beliefs with true ones, by enlisting the services of an experienced and supportive health coach, and by taking new action in food choices. Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's gives the education, healing plan and support needed for overcoming IBD and creating superb health. And Dr. David Klein offers expert counseling and support to make the process work for the diligent client.

How can people overcome that?

By opening up, educating themselves in how to self-heal, committing to making healthful life-long lifestyle changes, and getting the right guidance and support. Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's is the teaching tool which was designed to help you get your health back so you can once again enjoy life.

Who can overcome inflammatory bowel illness?

Everyone! Dr. David Klein has counseled the parents of children as well as teenagers, young adults and senior citizens by phone and with some e-mail follow-up in over 20 countries. Self Healing Colitis & Crohn's and Dr. David Klein’s counseling teach the proven, simple way to regain health and stay disease-free and drug-free for life!