Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Essential Guide to Controlling Crohn's Disease, Colitis and Other IBDs Paperback – October 1, 2011

It seems that when ever you have a health problem the quick fix of throwing drugs at it is the option you are only given. It is true that drugs do have a role to play in helping us with disease but a there is often a price to pay in terms of side effects and damage to other structures within the body. It is also often the case that they are only alleviating the symptoms and not dealing with the cause. Prof John Hunter has looked at what seems to be the process going on in Crohn's and UC and worked out a way to deal with that problem by diet rather than a lifetime of heavy duty steroids and immunosuppressants. However he also covers those very drugs that are used so you understand that option and also the other joint, eye, and hearing issues which my gatroenterologist seems feel is outside her area of expertise.

Dr. Hunter does a great job in explaining IBD in fairly common English rather than strictly medical terms. He also makes a believable case for various bacteria as a major contributing factor in IBD, and that the impact of those bacteria are influenced by diet. I plan to put his diet recommendations to the test, since he claims that many of his own patients have seen big improvements in their IBD.

The author practices in the U.K., where I believe dietary treatment of Crohn's is more common than in the U.S. Appreciated the sections on elemental diet and returning to food (specifics on implementing an exclusion diet). Good amount of discussion on theories about bad bacteria in the gut and what could fuel it or starve it. Also thought that the explanations of why things work were pitched just right for me (scientific concepts communicated in layperson's terms). He profiles the differences in treatment, diagnosis, etc. in Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis throughout. I would have liked some cites to the research studies noted, since some of his views differ from other books I have read. In general this was very helpul.

This book turned me on to VSL 3 for my UC, and for that I am very grateful because I've tried it and it works so far. It's very educational about IBD in general, and helpful as being balanced between the allopathic medicine and the complementary medical viewpoints, both of which interest me and I'm trying to use advice from both so long as they don't conflict. In that way, this has been the best book I've found on IBD.

Dr. Hunter has the answer to Crohn's and American doctors should adopt his methods as best as they can in the U.S. health system. I wonder if he does not have more reviews here because it is a challenge to follow his protocol. When our daughter was diagnosed with Crohn's, we did not realize that the U.S. is NOT at the forefront of this disease. Our first GI doctor told us that no one knows the cause or the cure, but there is medicine. That doctor put her on prednisone, told us diet didn't matter and prescribed Immuran as the drug of choice. When she had a severe reaction to Immuran, we switched doctors. By this time, we were beginning to learn more and had heard of treating with elementary formula. Our new doctor endorsed this protocol. So we started her on formula and began a prednisone wean. Then, influenced by this book, we fed her broths and started an elimination diet to re-introduce foods. In the UK, Dr. Hunter has a nutritionist counsel each patient for several months during this period. We played it safe and stuck with a limited diet supplemented by continued formula (which provides both extra nutrients and calories). Our daughter now feels well, weighs in the 75th percentile, height in the 90th, and has has been free of her Crohn's symptoms (fever, diarrhea, weight loss) for more than a year. Since we want to decrease the formula, we are re-reading this book and trying to more closely follow his advice. Over the past year and a half, we have become much more educated and so we have returned to Dr. Hunter. Diet does matter because bacterial balance is key. The medications simply complicate the situation in the GI and spin the disease out of control. Formula plus diet calms the system and restores normal functions. Sure, it's hard to follow a diet, especially for a kid. But we see this time as an investment in her health and instruction on how to manage her condition for life.p.s. This book has 5 stars on Amazon.uk. Here is link so you can read 23 reviews from Brits:http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0091935083/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_helpful?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescendingAnd here is the paper published by Dr. Hunter's hospital, which developed this protocol...published in 1993. Yes, that is 20 years ago. Pls share with your doc so the U.S. can catch up![...]

I haven't had time to read all of it yet, but so far, so good.