Side effects of coffee and caffeine in your intestines:

Coffee is highly acidic and it can stimulate the hypersecretion of gastric acids, irritating your whole intestinal track.  Caffeine also tends to speed up the process of gastric emptying, which may result in highly acidic stomach contents passing from the stomach into the small intestine too early, which may also lead to injury of the intestinal tissue.

Coffee decreases magnesium absorption

Magnesium is one of the most plentiful minerals in the body and plays an essential role in more than 300 cellular reactions.  Adequate magnesium is important for maintaining bowel regularity.  It is also a crucial mineral for the biochemical process involved in wound healing, making it vital to healing the irritated lining of the colon in ulcerative colitis.

Coffee elevates stress hormones

Caffeine in coffee elevates the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine.  These hormones are responsible for decreased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and a sense of “emergency alert”.  Blood is diverted from the digestive system which can cause indigestion.  The circulation to the brain and extremitites is decerased and the immune system is suppressed.  With today’s sedentary lifestyle, the continual state of increased stress resulting from caffeine consumption can affect health especially in those types of disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis that are sensitive to stress, particularly because neural control of the gastrointestinal tract is affected by stress and emotions.

Sorry coffee lovers.

Adding a natural remedy such as AloeElite to your ulcerative colitis treatment, can also be of great aid to shorten and reduce severity of flare ups and give you more remission time.  AloeElite is a super purified, potent and highly concentrated form of Aloe that can act as an anti-inflammatory to help reduce the swelling and irritation of your intestines, and help your body to heal your whole digestive track from the inside out.

Nicotine is a naturally occurring substance in tobacco that has a complex effect on many organs and systems in the body. Being highly addictive, many people who smoke cigarettes have difficulty quitting despite the serious health risks.  The benefits of nicotine on ulcerative colitis sufferers who currently smoke is unclear, however symptoms of the disease have actually deteriorated when the sufferer stops smoking.

Regardless, the long term and irreversible side effects and diseases caused by smoking such as lung disease, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and others are far outweigh any possible benefits for an ulcerative colitis sufferer.  In the event that your ulcerative colitis symptoms get worse when you quit smoking, seek for safer alternatives such as diet modification or natural remedies such as AloeElite that help with inflammation to reduce symptoms.  Make sure you notify your doctor that you want to quit smoking so he can modify your medications according to any symptomatic changes you might experience.

Do follow a well-balance diet

Avoid possible irritants
These involve but are not limited to:

• Milk products
• Saturated fats as found in animal products and dairy foods
• Inflammatory foods such as, caffeine, and refined sugars
• Corn products
• Intestinal irritants like cabbage, Brussels sprounts, kale, couliflower, and broccoli
• High-sugar fruits like watermelon, pineapple and grapes
• Eggs, peanuts and soy in moderation
• Foods containing gluten, which include foods produced from wheat, barley, triticale and oats

The above products will not affect and/or cause the same reaction on everyone.  These suggestions are based on individual reactions and outcomes.

Do drink plenty of water
Hydration, hydration, hydration!  Water not only nourishes every single cell in your body, it also flushes your intestines, soothes digestion, all contributing to avoid intestinal irritation.

Don’t drink any alcohol
especially if you are having a flare up. Alcohol can irritate the lining of the colon, and it can also interact with some ulcerative colitis medication.

Do take natural remedies for your ulcerative colitis
Natural remedies have had amazing results for ulcerative colitis sufferes!  Remedies such as AloeElite, an aloe based product can be combined with your present medication regimen.  Other ulcerative colitis friendly natural remedies are glutamine, slippery elm, fish oil, and cat’s claw.

The severity and extent of your disease when you become pregnant appears to influence the course of your disease during pregnancy.  Women who are currently in remission will remain in remission, and women with active disease are likely to have continued active disease during pregnancy.  Thus, if you are trying to conceive and you are currently active, it is recommended to wait until you are in your remission period.

- During the period of remission, prior to conceiving, it is recommended to take at least 400 mcg of folic acid, or an over the counter prenatal vitamin to reduce the risk of any spinal defects of the fetus.

- You should also stop smoking, consuming alcohol or any recreational drug.

- Women who take prescription or nonprescription medications should review these with a healthcare provider.  Natural remedies should also be discussed with your doctor, although natural products that help ulcerative colitis like AloeElite are considered safe to take prior and during pregnancy.  A quality AMP product (purified and concentrated aloe vera) such as AloeElite not only will help you decrease ulcerative colitis side effects, but pregnancy side effects as well.

- Caffeine intake should be avoided to prevent irritation of your digestive track, but if unavoidable, it should be limited to 250mg a day.

- Have a generalized physical with your primare care doctor.  Make sure you notify your doctor of your plans to conceive so the laboratory tests ordered can be specific to your case.

Best of luck, and enjoy the whole experience of achieving ultimate relieve in order to welcome your baby.

- After you brush your teeth in the morning, take a balanced multivitamin.  Remember, due to the poor absorbtion experienced with the constant bowel movements, it doesn’t hurt to have extra nutrition insurance.  Also, taking a daily dose of a pure aloe A.M.P. supplement such as AloeElite can help heal the intestinal lining and improve ulcerative colitis symptoms.

- Keep quick snacks in your room: pretzels, low-fat popcorn, high-fiber crackers, unsweetenend breakfast cereal.  It turns out a lot cheaper to get your snacks at the grosery store instead of the vending machines at school.

- Grab a piece of fruit every time you leave the dining hall, and cary it with you for a quick snack on the go.

- Remember to eat three meals a day.  It may seem like you can function on caffeine alone, but your brain and body will fail you when you needed the most if you routinely skip meals.  It is also not a good combination to be mixing the stress from college with daily caffeine intakes as this can increase your chances of getting a flare up.

1. Control your alcohol intake.  Some people find that alcohol can contribute to symptoms such as diarrhea or gas.

2. If holiday stress is getting to you, take some time out for your self if you need.  Some quiet time to relax is important.

3. If you happen to be traveling for the holidays, be sure to prepare yourself and your companions in the way that is best for you.  Have all your medication with you, all important medical documents, and your doctor’s information.

4. Get refills for your medication ahead of time.  During the holidays, your doctor may be traveling or unavailable, and the only person you will be able to get a hold of is the answering service, or an on-call physician who might not be familiar with your case.

5. If you happen to order natural remedies online such as AloeElite for your ulcerative colitis,  you may want to allow an additional 3-5 days due to possible holiday shipping delays.

2.  Glutamine.  This amino acid is involved in the healthy turnover of cells that line the digestive track.  Glutamine is also found as part of the AloeElite product, which is added for increased absorption of aloe, vitamins, and other nutrients.

3.  Slippery Elm is a traditional remedy for bowel disorders.  It’s high in mucilage, a substance that helps calm the intestines and reduce inflammation.

4.  Fish Oil.  It seems the Omega 3 fatty acids, particularly EPA, have an anti-inflammatory effect throughout the body and are able to heal the inner lining of the inflamed intestines.  Although it is not proven to prevent intestinal inflammation, it definitely helps reducing existing inflammation.

5.  Cat’s Claw has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, and has been used for years with great healing results.

1. For a sore bottom during an ulcerative colitis flare up using a doughnut pillow can work wonders in relieving pressure. Sitz baths with Epsom salt is a great comfort measure but if hot water happens to irritate more than relieve, a cold compress might be best.

2. During a flare up avoid any caffeine or alcohol intake, and all spicy foods and raw vegetables from your diet. Your colon and intestines will be extremely irritated at this point, therefore eating small, easy to digest meals can reduce the side effects during the flare up. Eat soft bland foods, like hot cereal, gelatins, brown rice, steamed vegetables. Drink beverages and broths, for example, unsweetened natural fruit juices and vegetable juices. Avoid dried fruits, instead, substitute them with fresh fruit like avocados, bananas, cooked apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, seedless grapes, tomatoes and soft melons. Fresh fruits to avoid include berries, figs, plums, rhubarb, coconut and crabapples.

3. Exercise lightly, such as a short walk. This will help your digestive system regulate again. Exercise also reduces stress, which can also make flare ups worse. Avoid any strenous activities, just take it easy and stop if you get tired or if you feel any pain. Your body needs every little bit of energy you can save in order to heal properly from this flare up.

4. If you happen to be traveling during a flare up, there are several measures you need to keep in mind. Make sure you take all your medication with you, and have a medical folder with a list of your medication, your gastroenterologist information, in case of emergency contacts, all allergies to medication or shellfish, and a medical report from your gastroenterologist describing all the specifics to your condition. It is always best to be prepared.

5. If you are taking a natural antiinflamatory supplement such as AloeElite, they may recommend to double the dose during flare ups.

2. Stress affects the body in many ways, most important decreasing your resistance to inflammation.  Find the best way to manage stress in your life.  Some patients find it helpful to meditate, others like physical activities, and for others, talking about their feelings works best.

3. Although there is no evidence that any particular food causes ulcerative colitis, certain foods can make symptoms worse for every individual.  Keeping a symptoms diary can help you identify which foods aggravate your symptoms.

4. After each bowel movement, thoroughly clean the skin around the rectum to prevent skin breakdown and irritation.

5. Seek for alternative ulcerative colitis therapy.  To prevent unwanted side effects from the traditional drug treatments and surgeries sometimes required, try natural methods instead.  Although not a cure, natural remedies such as AloeElite, aid in relieving the symptoms for a more healthy functioning level.