Hi all,

I have zero symptoms at all, but just got my second colonoscopy (I'm 55, first one was 5 years ago) where they found irritation/ulceration throughout my colon. The first time they told me to stop taking ibuprofen (which I had been taking for years), so I stopped that. This time they took a biopsy in order to run tests, but the lab found nothing and since I am asymptomatic, they have now sent me on my merry way.

However, I'd like to take SOME action to promote the healing of my colon, and am looking for any suggestions for supplements that may help do that. I have a pretty good diet already, plenty of fiber, spinach/carrot juice, non-smoker, very active, no known family history of issues. I do not take fish oil because I hate the gas it gives me, btw. I wonder if I should do a macronutrient profile in case there is some food that is causing this? Thanks for any advice.

If biopsies did not find evidence of chronic irritation, then there is no diagnosis of UC. They seem to think you have ordinary colitis.

You could try some probiotics, and maybe oat bran to get butyrate fermentation that has been associated with mucosal healing.

But if you get any symptoms, I would get a 2nd opinion from another GI.

I should have mentioned that for years I drank 6 beers a day, but quit 3 months ago. The doc said he did not think that mattered much since my blood work was normal and i had been a non-drinker for two months when they did the colonosccopy. Regardless, I intend to do whatever I need to in order to promote healing now. One other thing - the doc asked me this twice: "are you SURE you're not taking any nsaids?" I told him I'm not but I guess my colon looks that way...

Butyrate nourishes the cells in the colon. Small amounts are found in butter. Much more butyrate is created when powdered psyllium seeds are broken down by 'good' bacteria in the colon. Psyllium husks can be purchased anywhere but it contains much less butyrate than the seeds.

I find that taking probiotics along with small amounts of psyllium seed really helps stabilize my colitis. If you try it then please start out slowly.

Take a good multivitamin. Some deficiencies can make UC worse. e.g. Zinc.

I had stool tests and they were normal, and the colonoscopies were just because I turned 50 then 55. Though I have no symptoms now, I've had periods of stomach upset (mostly gas, some gastritis) throughout the years and recall that my best period was when I was having oatmeal every day. Btw I've never taken a multivitamin that does not cause stomach upset. Reading all of the above, I'm going to order psyllium seeds and slowly work them into my routine.

Just a follow-up for anyone who is interested. The above thread was when I was eating more raw foods and trying to lose weight, consuming about 1800 calories per day (6'1", 185lb male) and about 40g of fiber.

I tried potato starch but it gave me gas. Then I tried plantain starch and it did not give me gas, but I lost interest after a week and a half. Then I decided to just eat what I like, switching back to my normal low fiber high-ish fat diet, more like 2200 calories. This was a change from about 40g of fiber per day down to 20g. Now after several weeks of that I feel way better, am now on about 2200 calories a day and have dropped the 10 pounds I was aiming at, and am back to 175lb again.

The moral of the story is that for me, lower fat and more raw foods results in intestinal pain, but increasing the calories a little and moving to a higher fat lower fiber makes me feel way better. I'm different than most people in that a steak with buttered bread has always been easier to digest than say, a big salad. Maybe my system gets irritated when there is not much fat or meat to digest.

I doubt the butyrate in butter is any good for the colon. It would get absorbed by the small intestine.