Question
I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease two years ago. I recently heard that more harmful bacteria are found in a person with Crohn's than those without this disease. If this is true, is there anything I can do to change the bacteria in my system?
Answer
Thank you very much for this question. The intestinal bacteria can play an important role in the development and progression of Crohn's disease.
The intestinal microbial community performs a range of useful functions: helping to digest food, educating the immune system, and repressing the growth of harmful microorganisms.
Diet, medications and smoking are among many factors which interfere with intestinal bacteria. There are multiple studies trying to find out how those factors change and affect intestinal bacteria, but no definite conclusion has been made.
The success of probiotics in the management of inflammatory bowel disease has potential.
Probiotics are viable microorganisms with beneficial therapeutics activities. Selected probiotic species, alone or in combination, can prevent recurrent intestinal inflammation and help with healing. Probiotics are not replacing traditional treatment for Crohn's disease, but can be used in combination with it.
Please consider trying probiotics, such as VSL 3 or Align, and please contact the physician taking care of your Crohn's disease when you decide to start probiotics.