Inflammatory Bowel Disease has been on the up rise over the past two to three decades. Some studies suggest that the number of cases diagnosed in industrialized countries in the past thirty years has doubled. Two of the most common disorders are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. One of the common pre-cursors to these illnesses is a weakened immune system.
The immune system protects the body from infections, harmful bacteria, and even cancer cells. In IBD, the body mistakes food, bacteria, and other materials as a foreign substance, attacking it with white blood cells in the lining of the intestines, leading to chronic inflammation. This chronic inflammation causes the lining of the digestive tract to be more permeable to toxins, which enter directly into the bloodstream, causing toxic build up and inflammation to become systemic. (more…)
