A solo strawberry.

One Food Protects Against Inflammatory Bowel Disease 

In All Health Watch, Diet and Nutrition, General Health

 

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is more than just a little tummy trouble.  

It’s an autoimmune illness 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. 

The two main types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Conventional medicine has no good answers for the 3 million Americans suffering from these conditions.i 

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 damaged portions of their intestine. Even then, the illness may keep advancing. 

Simple Diet Fix for IBD 

Researchers have found what they believe is 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.ii iii 

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. 

Those 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.”iv 

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.

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.vi 

Editor’s Note: Unlike much of the mainstream media, we don’t accept advertising from Big Pharma. That’s why you can count on us for unbiased medical information. Our only motivation is your good health.  

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