The Best Medicine For Crohn’s From The Fruit Market?

It’s sometimes as simple as feeding our natural immune system with the right stuff. You see, we were all born with all the ammunition we need in most cases to control diseases like Crohn’s naturally, if we have a healthy immune system. We can help our immune system to do its work through smart eating practices, exercise, adequate sleep and use of natural health enhancing supplements. Medical doctors will somewhat agree with these ideas too, but their main emphasis continues to be on controlling only the symptoms of Crohn’s through the use of prescription drugs and not on a holistic medicine approach to the disease. Holistic natural supplements are not just limited to controlling Crohn’s disease itself, but in strengthening our bodies immune system, and its ability to fight off other compromising diseases as well, thereby helping us achieve better overall health. Doctors unfortunately still cave to the pressure the prescription drug industries place on them to push their products. Seldom, if ever, does a physician ever recommend a natural remedy for Crohn’s, over a prescription drug. Also, just witness the constant bombardment of advertisements the big drug companies give us on TV, Radio and in print about how great their products are.

But, just how great are these products that the big drug companies are pushing anyway? Though prescription drugs can eliminate the symptoms caused by Crohn’s, they do not cure nor prevent the disease, and are not very good for our overall health. Prescription drugs tend to cause other health problems apart from the disease they are used to treat. Doctors are even forced to prescribe additional drugs for patients just to counteract the harmful side effects of the original drug prescribed, which raises the question, can the treatment in some cases be worse than the Crohn’s condition itself?

Two of the most heavily promoted prescription drugs on the market are Humira and Remicade. Both are heralded as being effective in controlling the symptoms of Crohn’s, but the question we should all ask ourselves is…what do they really do, and what are the costs? And I don’t mean money wise, but what are the costs as far as the side effects to our bodies and general overall health? Both are considered to be severely compromising to our body’s immune system.

– One popularly advertised prescription drug that is used effectively to treat the symptoms of Crohns’s is Humira. Here is a list of precautions to taking this drug the manufacturer has published: Humira is a TNF blocker “Serious infections have happened to people taking HUMIRA, These serious infections include tuberculosis (TB) and infections caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that have spread through the body. Some people have died from these infections”. In addition to this…other Humira possible side effects are a heightened risk of Cancer including lymphoma, and the skin cancers, Basal Cell and Squamous Cell cancer.

– One other heavily prescribed drug for treating Crohn’s is Remicade. Remicade like Humira is also good at alleviating the symptoms experienced with Crohn’s disease, but this drug also, weakens the immune system, leaving a patient defenseless against a host of deadly external infections including lethal fungal infections and tuberculosis. Other side effects from Remicade use are fever, flu like symptoms, and severe joint pain. Both drugs are administered by injections and in the case of Remicade require 2-3 hour long visits to the doctor and mandatory repeat treatments.

So, what is the health promoting alternative to helping us fight Crohn’s without the dangerous side effects from drugs. One alternative is the antioxidant rich bioflavonoid called OPC-3. Bioflavonoids are found in fruits, vegetables, herbs and even pine bark.. According to studies from the National Cancer Institute on aging, natural remedies like OPC-3 can actually prevent us from becoming sick in the first place, by enabling our immune system to do the job it was intended to when we were born…protect us from disease. Studies from the National Cancer Institute on Aging, John Hopkins University and the American Heart Association found that antioxidants isolated from fruits and vegetables and natural herbs function within our body’s cellular and tissue systems, offering hundreds of protective nutrients that protect us from “free radicals” which enter and destroy our bodies. In some instances, the damage “free radicals” cause can even be reversed by the use of antioxidants.

There are many supplements containing antioxidants available that can effectively strengthen our immune system but not one can claim to be as powerful as the bioflavonoid OPC-3. OPC-3 is 50 times more powerful as Vitamin E and 20 times more powerful than Vitamin C. Actually OPC-3 used together with Vitamin C makes vitamin C a more potent and effective ally. OPC-3 consists specifically of red wine/grape seed extract and pine bark.

But, does OPC3 have any known side effects? Great question! After over three decades of safe use in Europe, the great news is that no reports of side effects have been made. As the discussion for natural health or an alternative to pharmaceuticals, has grown in the US, more and more people are looking to nutraceuticals like OPC3 as the solution to answering their preventative health needs. As an antioxidant, it aids your immune system and its ability to fight off the free radical damage caused by everyday living yet OPC-3 is a very safe alternative with no known side effects being reported. So, since OPC-3 is shown that it can beneficial to treating Crohn’s disease, as well as improving our overall health without damaging side effects to our bodies, it might be worth looking into.