Experts recommend preventing inflammatory bowel disease, in order to strengthen the germs, by following a healthy diet

Madrid, May 19. (Europe Press) –

Nutritionist at the Valencia Digestive Institute (IVADI) in La Salud, Dr. Lucia Redondo, confirms that one way to try to prevent IBD is to strengthen the gut flora.

To do this, he recommends “cutting out ultra-processed foods and incorporating fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut or kombucha into our diet, increasing the intake of antioxidants found in red fruits, spices, or 100% pure cocoa and leaving digestive comfort.” For 12 hours every day. “.

There are some foods, in addition to this, that can cause intestinal inflammation due to intolerance, for example, sulfur products found in red meat, eggs, dairy products, some vegetables … Intolerance to fermented compounds, called FODMAPS, can also appear. It is a group of short chain carbohydrates and polyols that are fermented by the bacteria that live in our gut. The reason it causes symptoms in some people such as gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of diseases that generate chronic inflammation, mainly intestinal, for which there is currently no curative treatment. According to the Spanish Society of Gastroenterology (SEPD), it is estimated that one in every 450 people in Spain suffers from inflammatory bowel disease: 58% of these patients have ulcerative colitis, while 42% have Crohn’s disease.

“Inflammatory bowel diseases are autoimmune diseases, that is, our bodies perceive bacteria in the digestive system as something to fight and attack,” explains Dr. Xavier Cortés, Director of the Valencia Digestive Institute at La Salud Hospital. It has been proven that in order to suffer from inflammatory bowel disease there must be a genetic predisposition, although the final stimulus that causes one of the twins to be affected, for example, with this disease and the other is not. “

Although he asserts that the lifestyle, pollution, tobacco, current diet and protection of children with extreme hygiene during the first three years of life causes “the defense system to become ridiculous. By leaving it inactive and inactive. When it comes into contact with the bacteria at a young age, it does …” It matures in an unnatural way during childhood and in adulthood it comes to attack our bodies. “

Symptoms and treatment

Symptoms of these diseases are very limited and the prognosis is sometimes delayed due to the presence of many patients without symptoms. Generally speaking, the symptoms of ulcerative colitis (colitis) are bloody diarrhea, chronic diarrhea with urgency, and a feeling of not ending up every time you go to the bathroom.

In Crohn’s disease, the diagnosis is more complicated because only 25% of patients develop symptoms such as abdominal pain, weight loss, or diarrhea. Specifically, the disease in Spain has direct and indirect costs in excess of 1,000 million euros per year, according to a 2014 study by the consulting firm EY. 46.5% of the expenses are related to absenteeism and inability to work.

Although there is no definitive cure, there are many very effective treatments for IBD. “The ultimate goal is that people who suffer from these diseases can lead a completely normal life and live the same life you were living in before their diagnosis,” Curtis explains.