Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Ending the Silence

"The first time I had a flare up, I seriously thought I was going to die. The pain was so bad, I couldn't stand up straight. I couldn't sleep. I was afraid to eat. And the symptoms were so embarrassing, I kept putting off going to the doctor. I was sure it was something terminal, like colon cancer. I was almost relieved to find out it was "just Crohn's" - but then I found out what Crohn's really is and how it could interfere with my life."

22-year old Karine, like many other women diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (or IBD), had never suffered from a major illness before in her life. She followed a healthy vegetarian diet, exercised regularly, and practiced yoga and meditation to cope with the stress of a busy college schedule. To find out she had such a serious intestinal ailment came as a complete surprise.

Over four million people worldwide suffer from IBD (which includes Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease), and more than 35,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The vast majority of these cases are Americans, and although the incidence of IBD is roughly equal between the sexes, women are the faster growing group. Although IBD strikes across races, genders, and classes, some groups are more likely to develop IBD than others. These include:

• People with a family history of IBD
  
  


• Caucasian people of Jewish descent
  
  


• People of higher socioeconomic classes
  
  


• People who live in cities
  
  


• People who live in developed countries.
  
  

Some scientists have tied the incidence of IBD to meat consumption (see The New Eating Right for a Bad Gut by James, Scala, Ph.D. ISBN 0-452-27976-3) and lack of Omega-3 oils in the diet. Smoking also seems to effect a person's risk of developing IBD. A person who smokes is more likely to develop Crohn's Disease, while less likely to get Ulcerative Colitis.