Originally Posted by
Damn
Agree that diet and supplements are key (I also do kefir - goat's milk due to casein a1 sensitivity, L-glutamine, digestive enzymes w/ s.boulardii, etc.), but odd question...do you meditate? If not, take a look at the link in the thread on meditation. Here is an excerpt:
Genomic and Clinical Effects Associated with a RR MBI in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Kuo et al. (38) undertook an uncontrolled trial with a mixed sample of 19 patients with IBS and 29 patients with IBD. Both IBS and IBD are chronic diseases of the digestive system that are exacerbated with stress, though they have different underlying physiology and symptoms. Previous studies found that psychological interventions such as psychotherapy and stress management can reduce symptoms and improve quality of life in IBD (48) and even more so in IBS (49). In this study, researchers explored if a relaxation response-based mind–body intervention (RR-MBI) could affect quality of life, inflammatory markers, and gene expression in IBS and IBD patients. The RR-MBI consisted of nine weekly meetings of 1.5 h and daily home practice of 15–20 min. The meetings included a variety of practical skills that induce the RR (e.g., breath focus, imagery, mindful awareness, and yoga) and cognitive skills that help to cope with stress. The theoretical part included lectures about the physiology of stress and digestion and promotion of health behaviors. Participants completed a set of self-report measures of common symptoms to both IBS and IBD (pain symptoms and catastrophizing, state and trait anxiety) and a set of disease-specific self-report measures (quality of life, severity of symptoms). Inflammation was measured as rate of sedimentation of red blood cells (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ESR) and levels of CRP.
Immediately after RR-MBI and at a short-term follow-up 3 weeks later, both IBS and IBD patients showed greater quality of life and a significant reduction of symptoms of their condition and of anxiety. They reported improved coping with pain, but no change in how pain interferes with their functioning. Regarding biological measures, there was no change in ESR and CRP. In the IBD group, a total of 1059 genes had changed. These were related to improvements in inflammatory response, cell growth, proliferation, and oxidative stress-related pathways—kinases, inflammation, cell cycle, and proliferation. In the IBS group, 119 genes that are related to cell cycle regulation and DNA damage changed expression. Bioinformatics analysis of genes that changed expression (by using Interactive network analysis) found that NF-κB is a key molecule for both IBS and IBD.