Crohn’s Disease
Minimize Consumption of Dairy
Crohn’s disease is a chronic debilitating inflammatory disease of the bowel with an increasing incidence in modern societies. Accumulating evidence has implicated a bacterium that is transmitted via pasteurized cow’s milk in the etiology of this tragic disease. It was discovered that a bacterium called Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) found in dairy products survives the heat of pasteurization and causes inflammatory bowel disease in a variety of animals, including monkeys and chimpanzees. In the last few years, this same bacterium has been detected in a large percentage of humans who have Crohn’s disease. To quote the most recent of these referenced medical journal articles, “The rate of detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in individuals with Crohn’s disease is highly significant and implicates this chronic enteric pathogen in disease causation.”
An unexpected finding from all this research on Crohn’s disease was the revelation that patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome may also be affected with MAP from dairy product consumption. The problems caused by the MAP bug, transmitted from dairy products, may be a severe public health issue, as millions of people suffer with these unfortunate diseases.
– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; page 59
Minimize Use of Antibiotics
The association between pediatric antibiotic use and the later occurrence of Crohn’s disease has been found in retrospective studies that ask questions to patients with Crohn’s about their prior use of antibiotics. These studies utilizing questionnaires are not conclusive because they are susceptible to recall bias. Recall bias means the answers may be colored by exaggeration or are given just to please the investigator. However, recent prospective studies that followed a large group of children over time and collected data on their use of antibiotics and later on the incidence of diseases have confirmed the findings of the earlier retrospective analysis; so lately more solid research is confirming this relationship.
Researchers have been hunting for clues because the incidence of Crohn’s disease has increased significantly over the last few decades. There is increasingly persuasive evidence that the gut microflora are intimately involved in the development of Crohn’s and even other autoimmune illnesses. In a review of 587 patients with Crohn’s compared to 1,460 controls, researchers analyzed a computerized medical research database in England and reported a strong increased risk for prior antibiotic users. Those with the disease had twice as many antibiotic prescriptions in their past.
Young children, because of their developing immune systems and rapidly dividing cells, are more sensitive to toxic side effects of drugs and antibiotics.
When Stephanie Rogers, a typical 7 year old girl, because my patient, her parents handed me a printout from the local pharmacy documenting the filling of 67 rounds of antibiotics at the cost of $1,643.80 by the ripe age of seven. Once the pediatric group started prescribing antibiotics for minor complaints of fever and cough, it escalated to ear infections, sinus infections, and finally visits to the ear specialist by the age of four. She received fifteen separate prescriptions of antibiotics when she was five years old. The first year she was my patient, the entire family changed their diet style. Stephanie went along for the ride and did fine. I did use an antibiotic once for her that next winter, when she had a persistent high fever and a red painful eardrum; however, that was the last time an antibiotic prescription was necessary. Luckily, Stephanie has been free of antibiotics ever since.
– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; pages 55 – 58
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The information contained throughout this blog / website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician / physician.