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 TUCSON, Ariz. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- It's a pain so intense it can stop you in your tracks, force you to bed, and even to the operating room. Three million Americans have Crohn's disease. You can control it -- but there is no cure. Here is one young teen who's found peace with her disease without any drugs at all.
Life is full of ups and downs. Seventeen-year-old Allie Spitz knows how to deal with both. She says, "I never thought anything like this could even happen -- like I had no idea about it."
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Just two years ago, this five-foot stick of dynamite dropped to 85 pounds and was forced into the hospital. Allie's mother, Esther Battock, says, "You get scared that there's something seriously wrong with your child."
 Allie has Crohn's disease. After medications failed, her mom turned to alternative ways to help her child. "He just gave me these Chinese teas, and I drink them three times a day," Allie tells Ivanhoe.
Allie has also given up sugar, spicy foods and dairy. Stanford-trained psychiatrist Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D., has seen firsthand how diet affects Crohn's disease. To get better, he says people need to take a step back. "It involves eating the way people ate 40,000 years ago," says Dr. Mehl-Madrona, who is now at University of Arizona in Tucson.
Crohn's disease is an inflammation of the intestines that causes painful ulcers and bleeding. Dr. Mehl-Madrona says some people simply can't tolerate processed foods. "It can be like a runaway freight train where already you are sensitive and you eat foods that are particularly bad for you, and it gets worse."
 Key points of the specific diet include staying away from grains and dairy and choosing meat and vegetables instead. Dr. Mehl-Madrona says, "It's basically a hunter-gatherer diet."
He says 80 percent of the people he's put on special diets have improved. It's a change for Allie, but she's sticking to her diet, working out, and doing it all pain-free.
There are several different types of diets for Crohn's patients, and what works for one person may not work for another.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Arizona
(520) 722-9787
mehlmadrona@aol.com
http://www.healing-arts.org
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