Ulcerative Colitis & Ayurveda

A case study from practitioner Michaela Augustin:

David, 27 came to me with the following symptoms: Loose stool, up to 10 bowel movements a day; the stools were mixed with blood. Within a year he lost 4 stone. His extremities where cold und the colour of his skin was pale. This all started after a stressful incident.

His tongue was red (a sign of pitta) with a white coat on the tongue (a sign of ama). His pulse was weak and unsteady (a sign of vata). He is a vegetarian living mostly of vegetables, rice and lots of tofu and soya.

His constitution is Pitta/Vata

Treatment: I prescribed him an anti pitta diet for two weeks, cutting out especially the fermented soya and tofu products, yoghurt and sour fruits (all of these are considered to be hot foods in Ayurveda).

He had to remove the ama (yellowish layer at the back of the tongue) in the morning with a tongue scraper and got medicated Ghee with antipitta herbs (1part Neem, 1p.Manjishta, 1p. Liquorice, 2p. Kurcuma, 1p. Pearlpowder, !p. Rosepowder, 1p Cumin, 1p. Coriander) twice daily. I asked him to drink peppermint tea or warm rose water instead of ice-cold water.

This change of diet brought more or less instant results. He was now going to the toilet only once a day and he put on weight. Thinking that he was doing really well, he started eating things he had before, like fries and tofu with the consequence that the symptoms came back so severely, that he had to go to hospital where he received cortisone injections. When I saw him for his next appointment, he had put on lots of weight, his body was puffed up, his pulse heavy and weak and his tongue showed ama again.

Treatment: This time I did put him on a diet for 3 months, which consisted of rice and mungbeans. Initially he ate rice soup, which became thicker over time. Then he had the rice with vegetables and anti-pitta spices (cardamom, cumin, coriander). This was necessary to balance his weak agni and to heal his intestines.

I gave him also Manjishta and Ashwaganda powder to drink in warm water, as well as Rosewater mixed with warm water three times a day. I asked him to take three dates (soaked over night) at pitta time (1-3pm). Within a month he got better and we started to adjust the diet, for example by introducing porridge in the morning.

To regulate his agni I taught him Pranayama (Sitali).

He lost 10 kg since stopping the cortisone injections, has good energy and his sleep is sound refreshing, and he is now slowly introducing different foods.

Here is his testimonial:

"After a serious ulcerative colitis flare up, I was prescribed steroids which I was taking a for a few months. I seriously wanted to get off these as they were having side effects and it is well known they damage the body. I once again took Micha's help, that was at the beginning of December and after just 8 weeks the symptoms had almost completely gone. I went to the hospital in January and after a scan the doctor confirmed that there was no inflammation present. I would recommend Micha to everyone who wants to overcome this horrible disease. It is possible with Ayurveda, I'm living proof!
David, Manchester"