Conventional medicine has no good answers for the 3 million Americans suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).1
IBD is more than just a little tummy trouble. It’s an autoimmune illnesse that can be disabling. It causes diarrhea, stomach pain, weight loss, and overwhelming fatigue that can destroy your quality of life.
IBD also increases your risk for heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and kidney and liver disease.
Mainstream doctors typically prescribe steroid drugs like prednisone as the first-line treatment. But it often doesn’t work. And it can have terrible side effects.
Some patients end up having surgery to remove the damaged portion of their intestine. Even then, the illness may keep advancing.
Now, a new study shows there may be a natural solution.
Strawberries contain high concentrations of anti-inflammatory compounds called polyphenols. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst wondered if they were potent enough to ease IBD.2 3
To test their theory, they used lab mice with induced IBD. They fed one group a normal diet. The other group got the same diet, but with whole strawberry powder.
The animals getting strawberry powder had a “significant” reduction of IBD symptoms.
“Our results demonstrated that dietary whole strawberries reduced the disease activity index,” the authors wrote.
They went on to say that strawberry powder alleviated “damages on colonic tissues.”4
The researchers found more good news…
Strawberry powder caused increased healthy gut flora and reduced harmful gut bacteria. Both of these are linked to IBD improvement.
The study recently was presented at the American Chemical Society exposition in Boston. The researchers are now testing strawberries in human IBD patients. We’ll keep you updated on the results.5
How Strawberries Heal Your Gut
Researchers say that fresh or frozen strawberries will likely work better to ease inflammation than supplement powders. That’s because the actual fruit contains the full range of natural polyphenols, not just a few of them.
The equivalent amount of daily strawberries used in the study is three-quarters of a cup for humans. An easy way to incorporate them into your diet is to add them to smoothie.
One more thing…
Buy organic strawberries. Conventionally farmed strawberries carry one of the biggest pesticide loads of any fruit. If you can’t find organic berries, make sure you thoroughly wash them before eating.6
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References:
1 https://www.cdc.gov/ibd/data-statistics.htm
2 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322751.php
3 https://www.caringmedical.com/prolotherapy-news/strawberries-improve-pain-reduce-inflammation-obese-adults-knee-osteoarthritis/
4 https://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/a-handful-of-strawberries-per-day-could-keep-gut-inflammation-away/81256151
5 https://plan.core-apps.com/acsboston18/abstract/dc6b8b7c-001f-49b3-82c2-3feca7a7a39c
6 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/produce-side-pesticides-what-nutritionist-wants-you-know-about-ewg-ncna864156