Health
ADEWUNMI Enoch, a Public Health Physician and CEO of Quinta Health, has advised people to reduce excessive protein and sugary foods to avoid Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD).
Enoch gave the advice on Wednesday in Ilorin at a news conference on the occasion of the World IBD Day, usually held on
May 19 each year.
He explained that the World IBD Day 2021 with the theme: “Break the Silence”, is celebrated annually to raise awareness of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are both forms of inflammatory bowel disease. While Crohn’s disease commonly affects the colon and the last part of the small intestine (ileum), ulcerative colitis affects only the colon.
According to him, IBD represents a group of intestinal disorders that cause prolonged inflammation of the digestive tract.
He said that excessive protein, such as animal protein and sugary diets could be associated with the disease and urged people to be moderate in their diet.
The expert warned against overeating, alcohol consumption and recommended eating lots of fruits to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
He stated that the day was celebrated to unite people worldwide in their fight against Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, known as inflammatory bowel diseases.
“Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are two major chronic digestive illnesses that afflict five million individuals globally.
“Inflammation anywhere along the digestive tract interferes with this normal process. The disease is a group of condition caused by inflammation to the colon, large or small intestine,” he said.
Enoch added that symptoms of the disease include diarrhea, bleeding ulcers, which may cause blood to show up in the stool, stomach pain, cramping, and bloating due to bowel obstruction, weight loss and anemia, among others.
“The major symptoms of Crones diseases are problem with defecation, where the stool look like porridge,” he said.
He noted that the disease also caused fever, fistula in the stomach or anus, which might cause leakage.
The Public health physician noted that the disease was prevalent among the white Caucasian than Africans, however, adding that it did not mean there were black people who don’t have the disease.
“There is no known cause of the disease, however there are risk factors, including genetic or environmental factors.
“There is also no cure for the disease except management of the condition which might include surgical intervention.
“Complication of the disease includes that the patients can have hole in the bowel, this can present sepsis, malnutrition with resulting weight loss, colorectal cancer and fistulas,” he said.
The expert emphasised that though the disease was not so common and did not present public health emergency in the country, urged people to seek medical help, when they experienced symptoms of IBD.
NAN
– May 19, 2021 @ 15:59 GMT
Tags: sugar — Expert World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day: Avoid excessive protein
