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Health Freaks. Cure for Crohns or is it all in the mind?

Did anyone in the UK see the Channel 4 programme "Health Freaks" the other night? The one that featured the lady who had "cured" her Crohn's by eating tree bark. Just wondered what you thought. There were certainly some inconsistencies but that could have been as a result of editing.

The bit that really got my hackles up was the 3rd doctor on the panel who said to the lady "You are clearly an empowered individual I think that is what has cured your disease". She actually used the C word - CURED. So this GP clearly thinks that you can CURE Crohn's by being empowered. On that basis a lot of the crohnies on this Forum should already be "cured" as a lot of their comments sound very "empowered". I just feel this is yet another hurdle for those who are trying to raise IBD awareness.

Rant over but a GP, especially one that writes for a national newspaper should know better.

Subsequently I did a bit more research and found a couple of things the programme didn't mention. The results are here - http://www.crohnoid.com/2013/11/cure-for-crohns.html
 
I didn't see it - I live in the US... But I've heard before that certain tree barks can help with inflammation. I get so desperate to feel better sometimes I could see myself eating some tree bark!!!!!
 

rygon

Moderator
There's quite a few things that can help with inflammation such as turmeric, ginger and peppermint, but to say that it's a cure is a little bit over stretched for the imagination.

i think the worst part is that she's doing this for the publicity and money and in no way thinking about other peoples pain and suffering. If it was a cure, she is wilfully holding it back, and if it isnt she's giving false hope to the people and families of IBD sufferers.

Was it a GP rather than a "doctor" in holistic medicines (or similar). Its just as bad saying that an amputee has not grown another limb back because they don't feeling empowered. I'm wondering if it was taken out of context using some very good editing?
 
I've re-watched the programme on 4od catch up just to make sure I didn't miss anything. They didn't mention that she had had major Crophn's surgery and secondly she said that she was cured because an endoscopy showed no sign of active inflammation. On that basis I'm "cured" as well but I prefer to be realistic and say "in remission".

The final thing that wasn't mentioned was the intention to sell the "cure" to a pharmaceutical company rather than pass the information on to fellow sufferers.

...and whilst I'm moaning - I don't like to see someone going round randomly attacking healthy trees with a carpentry saw. Nuff said
 
I didn't watch the program, but interesting. We don't get many UK programs here in North Carolina.
 
The tree bark the lady uses is called pau d' arco i have been using it for a while and it does help and as far as i know and have researched it has no interactions with meds or other herbs cause it's a tree bark i just did a short course of pred and was taking it at the same time and had way less side effects from the pred
 
I didn't see the programme - but I did catch the end credits which included a disclaimer to warn viewers not to eat tree bark! I did wonder what on earth it was about. :lol:

I'll go watch it on 4OD though. (I have a feeling I'll share your opinion on the GP using the "C" word...)
 
Well I watched the Crohn's segment of the programme - I don't think they presented it falsely. The doctor was wrong to use the word "cured", even though she was attributing it to being "empowered" rather than tree bark. The other doctors basically dismissed it altogether, saying that there was no evidence it was the tree bark that had helped and not something else. I noticed the programme was quick to jump in and state that eating tree bark could be dangerous.
 
I don't have an issue with the programme itself apart from missing out any reference to surgery, which can have a lot to do with getting into remission or reducing the overall effect of Crohn's (I know as I'm speaking from personal experience with that one). They also didn't question the woman's definition of "cured".

To give the main presenter credit she did start the sequence by saying that Crohn's is considered incurable but I felt that statement was then negated by the third doctor's cure comment. I know it's only a word but it has a specific meaning and she really should have known better.

I see from DustyKat that the story goes back a lot further than I had realised so I guess the woman who claims to be "cured" is out to get as much publicity as she can, whatever her motives might be.
 
There's quite a few things that can help with inflammation such as turmeric, ginger and peppermint, but to say that it's a cure is a little bit over stretched for the imagination.

i think the worst part is that she's doing this for the publicity and money and in no way thinking about other peoples pain and suffering. If it was a cure, she is wilfully holding it back, and if it isnt she's giving false hope to the people and families of IBD sufferers.

Was it a GP rather than a "doctor" in holistic medicines (or similar). Its just as bad saying that an amputee has not grown another limb back because they don't feeling empowered. I'm wondering if it was taken out of context using some very good editing?
I take a supplement with turmeric. It doesn't cure but does help.;)

2
 
i watched it as well and thought it was really a weak piece,but would it be worth investigating properly? as there are many natural fruits,herbs and spices that have some medicinal valuei,m not saying this lady is correct but you never know.good luck
 
I watched that! I found it a bit mean they wouldn't consider it or even look into it but there you go.
 
I have heard about the tree bark cure too. I don't know, I think what works for one wont work for everyone. That goes for any disease out there. I mean is it possible that this bark helped heal this lady... yes, I guess it is possible. Anything is possible. But to say that it is a cure for Crohn's disease is just not right. I however am Not surprised that the doctors would poo-poo it either. Most doctors will poo-poo any natural treatments, even if they are beneficial. Doctors push drugs, they do not like to see people benefiting from natural remedies. Well, not all doctors. My regular doctor is 100% for natural before drugs. She said there is a time and place for drugs, but sometimes holistic and western medicine can compliment each other. She is very opened minded though, which I like.

So can someone's crohn's be cured? I guess it is possible. I mean no doctor on this earth can tell a person what causes this disease or most other diseases out there. So we really don't know. I mean there have been people who have crohn's who were really sick and then they get better and never have an issue again. Is this remission, or is it cured? I mean who is to know.
 
If you really think about it, What is there a cure for? I mean look at cancer, people can take all the harsh chemo and radiation, and they may get better, but is it a real cure? I really don't think so. I mean they would have to get rid of the cause of what started the cancer in the first place to actually call it a cure. Even when people are cancer free after having had it, it still has a chance to come back( usually someplace else).

I kind of think most diseases just require different things or changes in order to keep them at bay or prevent one from getting them. Now the tricky part is that no one knows what these things or changes are. We are all so different. I mean for example, some do very well on biologic meds with their crohn's , but yet so get way worse and have no help from them. Then you have people who get well just with changing their diets and living different lifestyles. The bad thing is that everyone's cure, if there is one, is going to be different. Now to say cure, I hold that word loosely. I mean cure would mean it goes away and you can live your life any old way you want, the disease is gone! I kind of think that once a person achieves being well, they need to maintain it somehow. That is unless one day they find out what causes crohn's in each individual and eliminate it.....






From what I have heard, there is no cure for Crohn's. God can do it though.
 
I've been following this series and that blonde doctor comes across to me as totally arrogant and looks down upon the people who come in with their 'cures'. She attributes everything to a psychological factor and has been wrong about the ones that went to trial for that reason. It frustrates me to watch the programme because of her tbh.
 
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