Crohn's Disease
Do you know someone who experiences unexplained abdominal pain, persistent fatigue, or sudden weight loss that doctors struggle to explain? They might be living with Crohn’s disease.
But here’s what most people don’t understand. Crohn’s isn’t simply inflammation of the intestines
Allow me to explain.
Your digestive tract is lined with a sophisticated immune surveillance system that constantly distinguishes between nutrients you need and threats.
In Crohn’s disease, this surveillance system mistakes your gut’s own tissue for an invader.
The result? A chronic inflammatory response that can affect any part of your digestive tract, though it most commonly targets the end of your small intestine.
What makes Crohn’s particularly challenging is its pattern. The inflammation isn’t uniform. It creates patches of diseased tissue interspersed with healthy sections, like islands of warfare in an otherwise peaceful territory.
This patchy distribution causes the hallmark symptoms. Persistent diarrhea, cramping abdominal pain concentrated in the lower right abdomen, blood in your stool, and unexplained weight loss.
But the inflammation doesn’t stop at the intestinal lining. It penetrates deep into the bowel wall, sometimes creating fistulas.
Fistulas are abnormal connections between different parts of your intestine or between your intestine and other organs.
The immune system’s overreaction also explains why people with Crohn’s experience disproportionate fatigue.
Chronic inflammation is metabolically expensive. Your body diverts enormous resources to sustain an unnecessary battle, leaving less energy for everything else.
So what can you do?
The goal isn’t to eliminate your immune response, but to recalibrate it. Modern approaches include immuno suppresants. Medicine that slow down your immunity.
Some people find relief through nutrition. In particular cutting back on foods that trigger a reaction. Gluten in this case is a well accepted trigger. Eating slowly, and unprocessed food helps.
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