Spasmodic colopathy, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis or functional colopathy are all synonyms for disturbances in colon function.

Functional colopathy is widespread. Affecting around 15-20% of the population, it is characterized by three main symptoms, associated or alternating: abdominal pain, abdominal bloating (poor colon fermentation) and transit disorders (poor intestinal motility, constipation, diarrhea or alternation of the two). It is often accompanied by a proliferation of klebsiella and enterococci (undesirable bacteria), while the number of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (beneficial bacteria) decreases.

Normally, the colon elaborates fecal matter and gas from non-digestible food residues, and then its peristalsis transports the waste to the anus, where it is eliminated.

In the case of colitis or colopathy, the colon contracts spasmodically and excessively, but ineffectively without advancing fecal matter towards the anus. This dysfunction leads to the onset of colicky abdominal pain. These pains can continually change location in the abdomen, and are often relieved by the emission of intestinal gas or stool. In general, constipation is the predominant complaint, but diarrhea or alternation of the two can also occur. In addition to pain, other discomforts may be experienced, such as the feeling of being very bloated, or the sensation that the intestine has not been completely emptied, even after a bowel movement.

The origin of the problem is poorly defined. Stress factors are often incriminated; however, it seems that anxiety is more a trigger for attacks than the actual cause of colopathy.

The colopath is often tired, sometimes even anxious or depressed, prey to a variety of discomforts: tachycardia, palpitations, sweating, nausea, high digestive symptoms, extra digestive symptoms, urinary symptoms, genital symptoms in women, and joint symptoms.

This condition is benign, but despairing for both patient and doctor, as it is still considered virtually incurable.

Some people will tell you that certain foods, such as raw vegetables or poorly tolerated fruit, are responsible for these disorders. This is not a food allergy or intolerance mechanism at all. The disease is not due to aggression of the colonic mucosa by a poorly tolerated food. In fact, these are merely the triggering or revealing agents of a permanent, latent inflammation of the colonic wall. The cause of the inflammation lies deeper, and it is this deeper cause that must be unmasked and fought against if colitis is to be cured.

Nor is the disease solely psychological in origin. Asthenia, minor signs of anxiety or depression, and various ailments are the consequence of pain, colonic swelling and ionic losses, which are significant in diarrheic forms.

Once again, it seems that the origin of this pathology lies in an attack on the mucous membrane of the small intestine by the modern diet and the development of certain dangerous bacteria that it encourages. This leads to hyperpermeability of the small intestine, with bacterial and dietary macromolecules passing into the bloodstream. Cells then transport them from the blood to the colonic lumen, expelling the waste through the colonic wall. This forms a permanent infiltrate, leading to chronic inflammation of the colonic wall. The primary involvement is in the small intestine, and the colon is only affected secondarily. The danger does not come from the colonic lumen, but from the blood, where the dangerous molecules and the white blood cells that carry them arrive.

A healthy colon should normally have twice as many anaerobic bacteria as aerobic bacteria, but this balance is very often upset by poor diet and/or antibiotics, factors which increase the development of aerobic bacteria. This imbalance in intestinal flora is by no means the cause of this pathology, but is more likely to be one of its consequences.

I can confirm that a well-chosen diet will almost certainly cure this condition.

The original type of diet recommended by Dr. Seignalet, with its emphasis on raw rather than cooked products, in contrast to conventional medical practice, has produced highly encouraging results. This type of diet has been tried out on 220 patients with primary functional colopathy, and 215 achieved complete remission within a month. All clinical signs gradually disappear, including pain, bloating and transit disorders, as well as fatigue, minor mental disorders and malaise. Patients tolerate raw vegetables and fruit remarkably well after the first few days. In some patients, intermittent diarrhea may persist. This is no longer colitis, but a painless cleansing process that must be respected. Under no circumstances should drugs be administered to slow down digestive transit; on the contrary, the flow should be allowed to continue, purging the body of its waste products. These are remissions, not cures. Even the isolated resumption of a large enough quantity of wheat or milk is punished within 24 hours by a small flare-up. The diet must be maintained for life.

Quelques informations supplémentaires au sujet du régime ancestral:

• First of all, make sure that IBS symptoms (spasmodic colopathy) are not due to a reaction or intolerance to common foods: milk, sorbitol, wheat, corn, coffee. Foods with a high sorbitol content include: peaches, pears, plums, prunes, apple juice, sugar-free chewing gum, "diet" jams and chocolate.
• If you have good reason to believe that your intestinal problems may be related to a particular type of food, eliminate it from your diet for three weeks. If your condition improves, repeat a tolerance test a little later to confirm that it is indeed a case of "allergy": temporarily reinstate the offending food in your daily menu to check whether it causes inflammation again.
• Some people find it a good idea to alternate proteins and carbohydrates at mealtime.
• Meadowsweet and chamomile flower infusions can help.