Ulcerative Colitis and Flaxseed Oil
Ulcerative colitis is a disease of too much inflammation. The Mayo Clinic recommends several dangerous and expensive anti-inflammatory drugs. Based on its effect on inflamed gums (gingivitis), I suspect flaxseed oil would be very effective, much safer, more convenient, and much cheaper, assuming you get the right dose (about 2 tablespoons/day).
Flaxseed oil is not on the Mayo Clinic list. Nor is any other source of omega-3. In a store today I ran into a woman seeking herbal treatments for ulcerative colitis. She hadn’t heard of using flaxseed oil.
Does anyone reading this have direct experience about what happens when you take flaxseed oil for ulcerative colitis?
The Mayo Clinic website doesn’t say anything about using flaxseed oil (or other omega-3 sources) to treat gingivitis. (And the Mayo Clinic claims expertise on alternative medicine.) Nor does it say gingivitis is caused by too much inflammation. In two weeks, you can see for yourself they are wrong.
December 12th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
My mother had colitis, I’m not sure if it was ulcerative. They had her on a lot of drugs and it was quite bad for a couple years until she heard from someone about drinking juiced carrots, green tops are the best for some reason. You have to drink the real stuff, not processed. She drank it a couple times a day and it cleared up in about half a year. Now she only gets a rare bought if she eats too much spicy food or drinks red wine.
She hasn’t tried flax seed oil that I am aware of although I think she takes fish oil capsules for the omega 3. I will recommend flax oil to her.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
why don’t you share your research w/ the Mayo; perhaps they’ll conduct a mini study.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
I have ulcerative colitis but fortunately it has quieted down on its own for the last couple of years. My doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory and told me I’d have to take it the rest of my life but the pills made me sick so I quit taking them after just a couple of weeks.
I do take flaxseed oil now after reading your blog so perhaps it will help prevent a relapse.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Peter, thanks for the suggestion. I don’t think the Mayo Clinic does dental research. I do hope that an interested academic dentist will try to repeat the dental observations I’ve reported here, how flaxseed oil cures gingivitis.
I think about 1 in 1000 dentists would be interested and it’s not obvious to me how to find him or her.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:41 am
How about making the request here?
UC forum:
http://www.healingwell.com/community/?f=38
It appears to be quite active.
(In fact, if you jump up a level in the hierarchy, there are many forums where you could make a similar request. Perhaps flax doesn’t work for UC, but cures Chrohn’s…who knows?)
health forums:
http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?c=4
(This is just one site, too…I suspect there are many such forums on the net.)
December 13th, 2007 at 9:49 am
As I’ve posted before, I had gum surgery, now about 12 weeks ago. For the final assessment yesterday, my gum surgeon said, “Wow, I’m amazed! If I keep doing such great work, I’ll have to call myself God!” She laughed and was joking, but both her and her assistant were surprised at how well my gums were doing. And praised me highly for how hard I must be working to keep my gums in such great shape. I actually haven’t been working very hard, I must confess.
It’s only after I started doing the flax seed oil — an average of about 3 tablespoons a day — that I have been getting these kinds of responses.
I would love to see some research on this.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I imagine that the lady you met must have been newly diagnosed. I have had ulcerative colitis since 1996. Most of the people that I know with u.c. take omega-3, though perhaps more commonly as fish oil. All of my gastroenterologists have agreed that it can be a useful adjunct to other therapies. In fact, one of the drug companies is developping a supplement drink that combines omega-3’s with the soft fiber found in bananas, vitamin D and some other foods that are very beneficial to u.c., but hard to get in the right propotions. In general though, doctors seem reluctant to recommend diet-only solutions. I have a relatively mild case, but have had two bad flare ups. Consequently I take two of the drugs listed in addition to fish oil. I am hopeful that one day I will get off the other meds, but for now I just take a very low dose of the drugs thanks largely, based on my self-experimentation, to the omega-3s. The other therapy that doctors downplay for u.c. is nicotine. Even though I have never been a smoker, nicotine gum can stop an oncoming flareup with fewer side effects than steriods and without the knee-jerk doctor’s response of increasing the dosage of my other meds.
December 13th, 2007 at 11:10 am
i doubt that any practicing dentist would be interested; you’d have to contact a university. I’d also mention oil pulling, which i sense will also be effective (it has been for me).
The much more serious disease is ulcerative colitis, especially since the drugs have a hi rate of AE’s. that’s where i think Mayo could be interested in seeing if omega-3 oil are useful, although probably w/use of a lower dose of an anti-inflammatory.
December 13th, 2007 at 11:38 am
“AE” = adverse effect?
December 15th, 2007 at 10:32 am
yes, AE = adverse effects
December 17th, 2007 at 12:21 am
[…] Ulcerative Colitis and Flaxseed Oil […]
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
For whatever it’s worth:
I’ve had Crohn’s since 1996. Before I sought treatment I had several very bad bouts of it, but it’s been under excellent control symptom-wise with Asacol for almost 10 years. I started with a low dose, but last year my gastroenterologist wasn’t happy with my test results and colonoscopy findings and doubled the dose, despite my symptoms being minimal. I’ll be getting new tests and another colonoscopy shortly, so I’ll know more then about how things are progressing.
I’ve been taking fish oil in the Dr. Sears Zone Omega Rx formulation, which is supposedly “ultra-refined” to remove impurities, for several years, 5 capsules a day (5000 mg fish oil containing 2000 mg EPA and 1000 DHA). As noted, it hasn’t seemed to have brought about any improvement in my Crohn’s. Dr. Sears himself recommends a significantly higher dosage for Crohn’s, but my gastroenterologist isn’t comfortable with my taking that much, so I’ve stayed with 5 capsules/day.
On the other hand, as it happens, I have a terrible dentist-phobia and have avoided for years getting my teeth professionally cleaned (I do brush regularly with an electric toothbrush but don’t floss). By all rights I should have serious gum disease by now, but my gums never bleed and I have no swelling or other gum symptoms, so I’m hopefully assuming I’m OK on that front.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
From my 7 year sever bout with UC, I’ve learned a couple of things (about myself, everyone might be different):
1. Stay away from steroids, they only cause other problems.
2. 3 pills 3x per day of Asacol is way too much, try one after every meal; better results.
3. Cut back on dairy.
4. No sugar or bread. Sorry, the complex sugars, wheat, and yeast will cause you gut to overreact.
5. And this is the biggest one! Buy a coffee grinder and whole seed flax seed to mix into your morning cereal (I use almond milk). Every morning grind about 2 table-spoons and poor the meal right into the cereal (low sugar granola works best).
Give it a try, but be patient it could take 3-6 months to clear up.
February 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I have also had UC since 1996. first few years were hellish with two very bad flare ups which required hospitalisation & heavy steroid / Imuran & salazopyren doses. not good. had fluctuating health for a few years with another severe flare up a few years back which had me on the brink of major surgery. Western meds are not the answer to Chrons or Colitis. I have put together a programme which now sees me in consistently good health with occasional digestive problems but overall a very normal life. came accross a book, ‘’Self healing Colitis & Crohns'’ by David klein. It basically promotes a whole food /vegan diet which cuts out foods that puts stress on your gut & causes fermentation. the book also deals with the problems caused on an emotional level. I do not follow the plan strictly but even following it generally leads to vastly increased condition of the gut. I grow my own wheatgrass which is a very powerful healer. I have a veg juice every morning, using a masticating juicer with no blades, always with some flax seed oil. To keep stress levels at bay I meditate, cycle, swim. all in all my life is back on track. I still have maintenance daily dosages of salazopyrn & Imuran but I hope to some day be able to stop taking them. Western medicine has no interest in prescribing a diet to fix these debilitating conditions but it does work & how! all it takes is disipline & motivation to be healthy again. Allan in Ireland
May 14th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Doing some research here.
I was diagnosed with U.C. in 2006 and have had three bouts with it thus far.
I am currently trying Turmeric and Fish Oil for the anti-inflammatory effects associated with these. I am not willing to start prescription drugs but I am becoming desperate to find a better treatment. I do believe that dairy and complex sugars do play a huge role in this disease. I will try the flax seed and report back. It is probably best to grind the seed yourself but can you just take the flax seed oil pills? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Brandi in Illinois
May 14th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Brandi, I believe drinking the oil is best. At least 2 tablespoons/day. I take 4 per day. If you take the pills you won’t get enough. You’d have to take about 25 pills to get the oil in 2 tablespoons.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I just bought a Flax Seed Oil Bottle from Whole Foods this evening. A little history, I’ve had U.C. since 1988 (20 years) Took the gambit of meds early on. Woke up to the fact that Western Meds don’t do much of anything. I started doing things naturally in the med to late nineties. I fell off the Horse a month ago, and am having a flare-up. Trying to rid the diarrhea, it’s been bad the last few weeks. I’m on Probiotics, going back to what I used to eat, good healthy stuff and now I bought the Flax Seed Oil. I usually put it in my Oatmeal.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Could you tell me how use use Flaxseed oil for gum disease and in what amounts.
Thank you.
April 25th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I’ve had U.C. for about 11 years now. Does anyone know if rhubarb is a bad thing to eat. I’ve been eating some every morning. My U.C. hasn’t let up for about 8 months now.
Also I had my gall bladder removed almost 2 years ago. About a year later I seem to have gotten worse. You never know if one thing is related to the other.
I ate lots of live foods through most of it. I can’t even to that anymore.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:17 am
It seems obvious that everyone’s similar IBD *symptoms* are caused by various intestinal imbalances that are different for every person. Each person simply needs to experiment to find what works for their case.
I have had UC for 8 months now; first flare that led to diagnosis, and now a second flare I’m getting over(lasted 3months!). On my first flare after diagnosis, I got REALLY sick after starting taking ASACOL (allergic), so I started Prednisone @30mg day instead and also started the SCD diet- and my flare cleared up to NORMAL stool in about 2 weeks (no use of Flax Oil, Probiotics, or anything else). I started to read up on supplements/etc for UC and then started taking ALOT of Garden of Life Probiotics/HSO’s according to that Makers Diet. I think these products really messed me up on my next flare by introducing too many & new bacteria strains to my system…
Had a 2nd flare 3 months later immediately (next day) after going off strict diet and eating potato & cake bites-only. This time I also had Candida/Eczema which I had to clear up with Candex and Coconut oil. Then I finally went to the Dr. who put me on 50mg Prednisone and that helped start clearing things up. This flare was bad and I found that I could not eat foods with any sugars in them, even fruit- all I was eating was nuts,seeds, and cheese since it minimized my D to 3-6/day. Until I finally stumbled on the fact that I may be intolerant to Lactose(Prednisone filler!) or Fructose like most IBD’ers, or have SIBO. I found another Dr. who could do tests, and I was tested positive for severe SIBO- which is why my flare was so bad and not easily clearing up with strict diet & Prednisone. Took antibiotics for 2 weeks to quell the SIBO and then I could eat normal SCD foods again. So now I say “Get tested for everything you can.” I had to research and request these extra tests that Dr.’s never seemed to mention.
Try different probiotics. Another of my Dr’s patients found that taking Florastor (S. Boulardii-yeast just like Ganeden Crohns/Colitis pills) keeps him normal with no meds. I tried it and found this made *me* worse- maybe because it’s a yeast and I probably have some lingering SIBO(too soon yet). I’ve found that Acidophilus (small Intestine bacteria) makes me worse. Tried Bifidum (large intestine bacteria) instead, and seem to be improving… 1-3 formed BM’s/day. This is in the form of Natren Healthy Trinity right now…but it is expensive…
Note that for a portion of this 3 month flare when I had D, I tried a Flax remedy that a friend from the Ukraine recommended:
Boil then simmer 2TBSP flaxseed/half liter water to extract oils. Pour everything into a thermos. Drink this thick solution 3x day before meals to coat your insides. It helped. Now that my stools are more normal I only continue to take 2TBSP day bottled flaxoil & 2tsp/day of Cod Liver Oil. +5 fish oil caps of EPA/DHA 300/200.
Taking DGL & Glutamine powder also helped get MY stool back in form.
Scrutinize your supplements: I definitely got better after finding that my Multivitamin, Calcium, & Amino Acid contained Calcium Carbonate filler (basically an antacid). I stopped taking these and things improved.
If you take Prednisone, take it with a Lactase pill to help neutralize the main ingredient in those pills– lactose filler!
April 6th, 2010 at 9:16 am
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