Crohn’s disease is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Affective over 1 million Americans, Crohn’s disease is one of the main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and can impact any part of the gastrointestinal system, though it commonly targets the small and large intestines.
Symptoms of Crohn’s disease often include diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, weight loss, and fatigue. Crohn’s disease progresses over time, with symptoms alternating between flare-ups and periods of remission. The exact cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, but genetic and environmental factors like smoking and infections are believed to play key roles. Risk factors include being aged 20-29, smoking, high-fat diets, and a family history of the condition.
Diagnosis of Crohn’s disease involves a collection of family and medical history, physical examinations, lab tests, endoscopy, and imaging techniques. There are many options for treating Crohn’s disease, broadly classified into conventional and natural treatments.
Conventional treatments focus on medications, including anti-inflammatory medications and immunomodulators, and surgery in severe cases. Natural treatments prioritize diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes. Conventional treatment options are particularly effective in relieving symptoms, but they may come with risks like immune suppression and organ damage. Long-term medication opens patients to different health challenges, highlighting why natural treatment options are important in Crohn’s disease management.
This article goes into more detail on the different types, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of Crohn’s disease.
What Is Crohn’s Disease?
Crohn’s disease is a chronic, autoimmune condition that causes inflammation (swelling and irritation) in the digestive tract. Crohn’s disease is one of the main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other being ulcerative colitis.
Autoimmune disorders are conditions in which the body mistakes its own cells as foreign and attacks them, affecting around 50 million people in the United States. The classification of autoimmune conditions generally depends on the specific body cells that the immune system attacks. The immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract in Crohn’s disease, especially the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine.
There are more than 100 types of autoimmune conditions; however, most autoimmune disorder cases are due to 8 main types, of which Crohn’s disease is a part. Crohn’s disease is also a chronic disease, typically lasting the entire lifetime of the individual. More than 1 million people have Crohn’s disease in the United States, and worryingly, Crohn’s disease is becoming more common in the United States and the rest of the world.
What Are the Types of Crohn’s Disease?
There are five main types of Crohn’s disease, depending on the affected area of the gastrointestinal tract. The five main types of Crohn’s disease include ileocolitis, ileitis, gastroduodenal Crohn’s, jejunoileitis, and Crohn’s colitis.
Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the GI tract (gastrointestinal tract), which is the main distinction from ulcerative colitis, the other type of inflammatory bowel disease. Therefore, Crohn’s disease can affect anywhere from the mouth to the anus. However, the most common locations implicated are the small intestine (consisting of three parts – duodenum, jejunum, and ileum) and the large intestine.
More specifically, here are the five main types of Crohn’s disease:
- Ileocolitis: Affects the end of the small intestine (ileum) and a portion of the large intestine (colon). Ileocolitis is the most common type of Crohn’s disease.
- Ileitis: Affects only the end of the small intestine (ileum).
- Gastroduodenal Crohn’s Disease: Affects the stomach and the duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine.
- Jejunoileitis: Affects the jejunum, which is the middle part of the small intestine.
- Crohn’s colitis: Affects only the colon, and is also known as granulomatous colitis.
What Are the Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease?
The symptoms of Crohn’s disease are mainly diarrhea, stomach pain and cramps, and weight loss. Other symptoms like anemia, fever, fatigue, nausea, mouth sores, and skin and eye redness may also follow.
Crohn’s disease generally runs a progressive course, meaning it gets worse over time. Therefore, most people notice mild symptoms that gradually become more severe with time. The most typical Crohn’s disease symptoms are related to the gastrointestinal tract, and they include:
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Abdominal cramps
- Weight loss
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Rectal bleeding
- Mouth sores
- Anal infections
Crohn’s disease may also cause other symptoms that are not directly related to the gastrointestinal tract. They are listed below.
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Anemia
- Joint pain
- Redness in the skin and eyes
- Rashes
- Kidney stones
- Bile duct inflammation
- Growth delays in children
The exact symptoms a person experiences depend on the location of the gastrointestinal tract the immune system attacks, as well as the severity of the inflammation. Crohn’s disease is a progressive condition, so symptoms generally progress from mild to severe; however, severe Crohn’s disease symptoms may sometimes occur suddenly.
Crohn’s disease symptoms may “come and go,” meaning there may be periods where someone with the condition has no symptoms at all. The disease state where there are few or no symptoms is “remission,” while the state where symptoms are active is a “flare-up.” The cycling between remission and flare-ups can be a few weeks, months, and even years.
What Are the Causes of Crohn’s Disease?
The exact cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, although medical experts believe environmental factors, genetics, and an altered gut microbiota play a key role. Some of the environmental factors implicated include toxins from smoking, drugs, infections, and intestinal microorganisms.
Autoimmune conditions are generally without an exact cause, but a gene-environment interplay is frequently identified as a common factor in virtually all autoimmune conditions. The gene factor depends solely on the individual, and little can be done to change this. Some genes make an individual more susceptible to IBD and Crohn’s disease.
The other side of the coin is the environment. Toxins from smoking, drugs, bacterial or viral infections, intestinal microbes, and heavy metal pollutants are some environmental factors that can contribute to the development of Crohn’s disease. Alterations in the gut microbiota (the normal microorganisms in the gut) can also potentially cause Crohn’s disease.
What Are the Risk Factors of Crohn’s Disease?
The risk factors of Crohn’s disease include age, race, family members with the condition, and smoking. Crohn’s disease can develop in anyone, but these factors make it more likely for an individual to have the condition.
The risk factors of Crohn’s disease are in more detail below.
- Ages between 20 and 29
- Race, with white people having the highest risk, especially of Jewish descent
- Smoking cigarettes
- Family history of Crohn’s disease
- Medication use, especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like diclofenac and ibuprofen
- High-fat diet
Diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease
The diagnosis of Crohn’s disease typically starts with the collection of relevant family medical history. Other aspects of a Crohn’s disease diagnosis involve a healthcare provider’s physical examination of the patient, laboratory testing, imaging tests, and possibly endoscopy.
Here are the ways healthcare providers diagnose Crohn’s disease.
Family and Medical History
There is a genetic component to Crohn’s disease, and large-scale genome studies have identified more than 200 genes associated with IBD and over 71 Crohn’s disease-susceptibility loci (physical sites within a gene). Genes are passed down in family generations, implying that having family members with Crohn’s disease can indicate a higher risk of having the condition.
Therefore, healthcare providers typically start the diagnosis process for Crohn’s disease by collecting relevant family history. Health practitioners also collect patient’s medical history and other details about their symptoms, medication use, and lifestyle factors, such as cigarette smoking.
Physical Examination
Physical examination is a test where a health practitioner physically evaluates a patient’s body to check overall health or assess specific conditions. Healthcare providers often perform physical examination tests, especially on the abdomen, when diagnosing Crohn’s disease.
The physical examination tests for Crohn’s disease typically involve checking for abdominal bloating, listening to any abdominal sounds, and checking for tenderness in the abdomen. Healthcare providers may also perform full-body physical tests, especially for inflammation in body parts like the skin, oral cavity, joints, and eyes.
Physical examination can also help assess the severity of Crohn’s disease and detect complications early, in addition to diagnosing the disease.
Lab Testing
Lab tests are critical in diagnosing any health condition, including Crohn’s disease, as they reveal relevant information about the body system that healthcare providers cannot physically notice. The lab tests used to help diagnose Crohn’s disease typically use stool, blood, and urine samples.
Stool tests help rule out infections and detect inflammation. Blood tests are important for detecting anemia (decrease in red blood cells), inflammation, and liver disease. Urine tests can also help detect infections.
Endoscopy
An endoscopy is a medical procedure that health practitioners use to look into the body. Endoscopy tests use a long, thin tube called an endoscope that is passed through a body opening, like the mouth.
Endoscopy is the most accurate test for diagnosing Crohn’s disease and ruling out other health conditions. The symptoms of Crohn’s disease are nonspecific, which means they aren’t limited to just Crohn’s disease. Therefore, tests like endoscopy that can rule out other conditions with similar symptoms are important in reaching an accurate diagnosis.
There are different types of endoscopy tests, and they depend on the parts of the body the test is targeting. Examples of endoscopy tests used for diagnosing Crohn’s disease include colonoscopy, enteroscopy, and upper GI endoscopy. Colonoscopy assesses the colon, ileum, and rectum. Enteroscopy checks the inside of the small intestine. An upper GI endoscopy assesses the mouth, esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth and stomach), stomach, and duodenum.
Imaging
Imaging tests reveal information about the different body organs and structural components. Health practitioners may order imaging tests like ultrasounds, computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and X-rays to assess the gastrointestinal tract and other body organs.
Conventional Treatment of Crohn’s Disease
The conventional treatment of Crohn’s disease is centered around medications and surgery. The primary aim of Crohn’s disease treatment is to reduce inflammation, induce remission (reduction or absence of symptoms), and maintain remission.
Choosing the exact treatment option depends on the severity of the disease, the patient’s health profile, and the risk of developing complications from Crohn’s disease. Mild to moderate symptoms are usually managed with medications. Health practitioners usually recommend anti-inflammatory medications (like NSAIDs, mesalamines, and corticosteroids), anti-diarrheal agents, and immunomodulators (like steroids, thiopurines, and methotrexate).
Healthcare providers may turn to surgical management for people with severe symptoms or developed complications. Some of the complications associated with Crohn’s disease include fistulas (unwanted connections between two body parts), severe bleeding, intestinal blocking, and life-threatening side effects from medications. Surgeries for Crohn’s disease usually involve removing a part of the digestive tract. However, surgeries have to be timed properly for the best effects.
Conventional treatment definitely has its advantages in treating the symptoms of Crohn’s disease and achieving remission. However, there are downsides to conventional treatment options that can potentially worsen the patient’s long-term health. Anti-inflammatory medications like corticosteroids and NSAIDs can weaken an individual’s immune system, increasing the risk of infections. NSAIDs can also cause problems to the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system.
Natural Treatment Options for Crohn’s Disease
The natural treatment options for Crohn’s disease revolve around the patient’s nutrition (diet and supplement), physical activity, and lifestyle changes. The main treatment goal in the treatment of Crohn’s disease is to induce remission (the absence or reduction of symptoms) and maintain this state for an extended period.
Here are some of the natural treatment options for Crohn’s disease.
Diet
Diet is an essential aspect of the natural treatment of health conditions, including Crohn’s disease. Diet involves all the foods and drinks a person takes. The primary aim of eating and drinking is to supply energy and nutrients to the body, but the wrong foods can affect the body adversely and make health conditions like Crohn’s disease worse. Likewise, the right foods can help in the management of Crohn’s disease and the improvement of symptoms.
Crohn’s disease is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, foods that can contribute to inflammation should be avoided when managing or trying to reduce the risk of developing Crohn’s disease. These pro-inflammatory foods include:
- red meat
- processed meat (bacon, sausages, hot dogs, ham, beef jerky),
- refined carbohydrates (white flour, white rice, pizza)
- ultra-processed foods (ice cream, sodas, cookies, candies)
Avoiding pro-inflammatory foods is not enough, people with Crohn’s disease should also incorporate anti-inflammatory foods in their diet. These foods assist the body in the fight against inflammation, which can potentially help in the management of Crohn’s disease. Examples of anti-inflammatory foods include:
- fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, herring)
- green leafy vegetables (kale, broccoli, spinach, mustard greens, Bok choy, Swiss chard)
- nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts)
- spices (garlic, ginger)
- fruits (tomatoes, berries, avocados, grapes)
- olive oil
A potential cause of Crohn’s disease is an alteration in the gut microbiota. Therefore, foods that can help regulate the gut microbiota can help manage Crohn’s disease, and the class of food indicated here is called probiotics. Foods and drinks that contain live beneficial bacteria and yeast fall under the probiotic class, and a 2021 study supports the use of probiotics in managing Crohn’s disease. Some examples of probiotics are:
- yogurt
- kefir
- miso
- kombucha
- pickled cucumber
- sauerkraut
Supplements
Supplements are dietary products that provide the body with the additional nutrients that a regular diet does not supply. Health conditions may generally affect how the body absorbs and utilizes nutrients, but this is even more pronounced in Crohn’s disease.
The inflammation that arises from Crohn’s disease may affect the ability of the body to efficiently absorb nutrients from diet, leading to malnutrition and deficiencies of vitamins like vitamin B12. Crohn’s disease symptoms may also lead to a reduced appetite, limiting the amount of nutrients the patient consumes. Supplements may also help bolster the immune system and help in the fight against inflammation.
Therefore, health practitioners may rely on supplements in the management of Crohn’s disease to replenish some of the affected nutrients in the body. Some of the supplements that are typically recommended include:
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and B9 (folic acid)
- Vitamins A, C, E, and D
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Selenium
- Iron
Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes are essential in the management of Crohn’s disease as certain lifestyle factors can contribute to the development and worsening of the condition. These lifestyle factors include smoking, drinking alcohol, medication abuse, and living in areas with high air pollution.
Therefore, the obvious lifestyle changes to make include:
- stopping smoking
- limiting alcohol intake
- adhering strictly to prescribed medication
- avoiding air pollutants
- eating healthy
Other important lifestyle factors like physical activity and limiting stress can also help in the fight against inflammation. Ensure you speak to your healthcare provider before making drastic changes to your lifestyle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis?
The primary difference between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is where inflammation occurs. Inflammation in Crohn’s disease can occur anywhere in the digestive tract (from the mouth to the anus), while inflammation in ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon (large intestine). Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are both chronic conditions and are collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).
Do You Need Surgery for Crohn’s Disease?
No, you will not need surgery for Crohn’s disease unless other treatment options (natural and conventional) fail, complications start to develop, or there’s a risk of other health conditions like cancer. Common complications of Crohn’s disease that may necessitate surgery include fistulas (ulcers that cause unwanted connections between different body parts), severe bleeding, and intestinal obstructions. Up to 80% of people with Crohn’s disease will need surgery at one point in their lifetime, according to estimates.
Can You Prevent Crohn’s Disease?
No, you cannot prevent Crohn’s disease. However, you can reduce your risk of developing the condition through natural remedies like dietary changes, physical activity, and lifestyle changes (like quitting smoking and reducing stress). You can contact your healthcare provider for an assessment of your risk factors, which makes it easier to develop a plan to reduce your risk.
Is Crohn’s Disease Curable?
No, Crohn’s disease is not a curable condition. However, there are treatment options that can help properly manage the condition, inducing and maintaining long-term remission (a state where the condition is inactive and has few or no symptoms). Those treatment options include natural options like dietary changes, physical activity, and stress reduction strategies, as well as conventional options like medications and even surgery.
Can Crohn’s Disease Go Away on Its Own?
No, Crohn’s disease usually doesn’t go away on its own. In fact, Crohn’s disease may worsen and result in several life-threatening conditions if left untreated. Therefore, immediate contact with a health practitioner is necessary immediately you notice symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Note that a state called remission, marked by the absence or reduction of symptoms, may occur, even without treatment.
However, remission is not a sign that the condition has gone away, and symptoms may return (known as flare-ups). Do not hesitate to contact your healthcare provider for a treatment plan if you have a diagnosis of Crohn’s or suspect that you may have the condition.
Conclusion
Crohn’s disease is a chronic autoimmune condition affecting over 1 million people in the United States. Similar to other autoimmune conditions, Crohn’s disease is believed to be caused by an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. The management of Crohn’s disease in conventional medicine revolves around medication and surgery.
While medications are effective in reducing inflammation in the short term, the safety concerns associated with their long-term use are potentially concerning. Therefore, natural treatment options like diet, supplements, and the right lifestyle changes should be considered in the management of Crohn’s disease.
Remember, Crohn’s disease is incurable so do not take the natural treatment options listed in this article as a cure for the condition. Also, speak to your healthcare provider before making drastic changes to your nutrition and lifestyle.
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