Dr. Rona on Crohn's Disease

Dear Dr. Rona,
 
I have been fighting with Crohn’s Disease (CD) for 40 years now, with many ups and downs but also some great improvements during the past six years through herbal remedies, cleanses and treatments for the muscles and lymphatic system. However, I have not reached the desired level of health; there are still a number of digestive problems bugging me.
 
Through my research on the Internet I only recently learned that relatively new medical studies show that CD could be caused by a bacterial infection. I could not believe what I was reading. They say that a bacterium called Mycobacterium paratuberculosis causes CD! If you search on the Web you will find all the details. The findings of these studies have become a controversial topic, which I think was to be expected because this bacterium comes from milk and meat! Imagine what the dairy and meat industry would do if a great number of scientist would confirm the results of these studies.
 
Now, the pharma industry is in the process of developing a drug to fight this Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. The drug is called Myoconda and might be available in the U.S. soon. Myoconda is a combination of three antibiotics (for details please google Myoconda) which show quite a high rate of success in killing the bacteria and curing CD patients.
 
I think you can already guess my question/request: There are many CD patients out there, some of them suffering an awful lot and/or getting pumped with toxic chemicals which have numerous side effects. It would be in the interest of many of readers to have a detailed response on this topic. I am sure that you could give us some valuable input. My most important question is: Provided that CD is caused by mycobacteria, is there any natural remedy out there that could be used instead of the antibiotic combo in order to kill the bacteria? Another question would be: How could we prevent getting infected again (by drinking milk or eating meat)?
 
Thanks a lot for your attention. I would be happy to hear back from you.
 
- Rudi Haenlein

Dear Rudi,

Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) is thought by some to be linked to Crohn’s disease. For detailed information on this topic, see PARA (Paratuberculosis Awareness & Research Association).
 
The major problem, as your letter suggests, is the use of potentially toxic antibiotics for extended periods of time. One study quoted on the web site used antibiotics for 35 months to affect a cure!!  To date, no one has come up with a proven natural alternative to antibiotics for this condition. That does not mean that one couldn’t use a combination of a natural approach to disinfect the bowel, enhance digestion, repair leaky gut syndrome, improve elimination and re-inoculate it with friendly bacteria.  This natural alternative to antibiotics works well in most cases of H. pylori and may be equally effective for the mycobacterial infection.

Vitamin D is something anyone with Crohn’s disease should strongly consider. Deficiency has been shown to increase the risk for Crohn’s and other immune disorders.  New research suggests that Vitamin D is a powerful natural antibiotic. See www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2006-june-july.shtml

One of the many ways in which Vitamin D works is by activating macrophages, a type of white blood cell that has anti-mycobacterial activity.

At the top of everyone’s list for natural antibiotics is allicin from fresh-crushed garlic cloves. It has been shown to be active against mycobacteria like those causing tuberculosis.  Garlic pills simply will not work since the active ingredient, allicin, is lost in the processing of the pills.

An herbal-based remedy that may be effective against MAP is berberine, an antibiotic found naturally in herbs such as goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium), and barberry (Berberis vulgaris).  Wild mountain oil of oregano may be another effective natural antibiotic worth serious consideration. For more information on oil of oregano and other natural antibiotics, see See www.knowledgeofhealth.com/pdfs/TB_part4.pdf and “The Cure is in the Cupboard” by Dr. Cass Ingram.

- ZR
www.mydoctor.ca/drzoltanrona