Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease

It has been seen in some recent studies that patients who have been suffering from ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease were able to reduce their inflammation through Omega 3 fatty acids.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are inflammatory diseases that generally occur in the intestine area and can be controlled with recommended diet. Such diet also applies to irritable bowel syndrome. In Bologna and Turin, Italy a medical study was conducted, where for a period of one year doctors administered thirty-nine Crohn's disease patients with fish oil capsules three times a day. These patients were already in remission for eight months. Another group of thirty-nine patients, who were having similar remission, were given capsules that contained neutral oils. The fish oil capsules were formulated in such a manner that fishy odor was reduced and the assimilation of Omega 3 DHA and EPA was improved.

It was important to reduce the fishy odor for the study because until the study was over, the physicians and their patients were not be certain about which of the patients had been given fish oils and which ones were not. After ingesting 2.7 grams of DHA and EPA for a year (the Omega 3 oils healing elements) on a regular basis, twenty-three out of the total number of patients who received fish oils were still in a state of remission. The study brought out the result which showed that only eleven out of the total thirty-nine patients of the other group stayed in remission.

Ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory diseases have been reduced greatly with the help of Omega 3 oil because it works like an anti-inflammatory medicine. The diseases such as Crohn's disease occur in the large intestine sporadically causing inflammation. It can be extremely painful and individuals who are going through this disease are the best source to tell you about the excruciating pain.

Whether it is ulcerative colitis or any other inflammatory disease, bowel tissues contain abnormally high levels of prostaglandins that cause severe inflammation from Omega 6 ARA. The hormone like substance called prostaglandin helps to regulate other activities within the body that have inflammatory responses. In patients who stayed in remission by taking fish oil, red blood cell levels of ARA had dramatically decreased. But, the Omega 3 DHA and EPA levels had increased significantly.

In ulcerative colitis and crohn's disease the bowel tissues show unwanted high levels of ARA that produce prostaglandins. Some other studies with fish oil supplements showed that there have been substantial decrease in rectal bleeding and patients who lost weight started to gain weight.