"Canada has among the highest rates of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in the world," says CCFC National President Victoria Prince. "Each November, we will celebrate the courage of more than 200,000 Canadian men, women and children living with these debilitating diseases and encourage Canadians to help make finding a cure for IBD a priority."
As part of our weekend reading we would like to raise awareness of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Chron's and Ulcerative Colitis.
Breaking the bathroom talk taboo is the key to successful treatment. Many who suffer from Chron's and IBD do so in silence because they are uncomfortable about discussing symptoms such as diarrhea and bleeding from the bowels. Often the discussion of these symptoms with their doctors is set aside by the patient out of embarrassement. Or worse, in the case of the patient's openness, doctors have been known to misdiagnose the symptoms as acid reflux or some other lesser ailments.This means that Chron's or IBD cases may go undiagnosed for many years. Early recognition of these symptoms can make a substantial difference in treatment.
Educating yourself as much as you can about the condition is critical in regaining control of your life and reducing the pain, discomfort, and symptoms of Chron's and IBD. An important book by one of Canada's highly respected experts in this field, at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr. Hillary Steinhart, provides a comprehensive overview and no-nonsense advice on living with these conditions.
On another note, while the medical establishment claims that Chron's and IBD are not yet curable, one well documented biochemist and cell biologist, who specialized in the study of the effect of food on the human body, believed that these ailments could be cured by adhering to what she defined and authored as, 'The Specific Carbohydrate Diet." Elaine Gottschall passed away four years ago but she is survived by her landmark book on diet, "Breaking The Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet."
