# Cabbage juice for IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) \[new title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409 "2003-09-18T17:08:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@WildChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildChild)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/1 "2003-09-18T17:08:42Z")
Just wondering if anyone out there could help me. My husband has Ulcerative Colitis, and I generally spend alot of time online searching for new ideas on remedies and new research. I have not, however, been able to find an answer to one question that I have. I have had several people tall me that my husband should be drinking anywhere from 2-5 glasses of juiced cabbage a day because cabbage juice cures “ulcers”. The only proplem is that most people are talking about stomach ulcers. Seeing as these ulcers are in his intestines they are touchy to ruffage and things like that. Can anyone help me?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/2 "2003-09-18T17:13:20Z")
No help for you, I’m afraid (paging **Dr. Qadgop** ), but I just had to ask: Ibd? ---
**Author:** ![WildChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@WildChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildChild)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/3 "2003-09-18T17:15:08Z")
Inflammatory Bowel Disease ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/4 "2003-09-19T03:00:36Z")
As far as I know, cabbage neither cures gastric, duodenal, or colonic ulcers. Nor do I know any role it plays in the treatment of any inflammatory conditions. So unless one has a strong taste for cabbage juice, I’d not advise one make any special effort to drink a single drop. I’d advise a chat with one doc about what’s right for specific individuals. And I’d stick to reputable websites on the topic such as [NIH UC DATA](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ulcerativecolitis.html) to glean further information. And I’d be leery of **any** unsubstantiated claims of dietary treatments. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/5 "2003-09-19T03:48:03Z")
I once heard somewhere that ALL internal ulcers are actually the result of a localized bacterial infection…and a good dose of antibiotic will get rid of it. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/6 "2003-09-19T05:33:20Z")
I have edited the thread title to make it more descriptive. We appreciate descriptive thread titles so folks don’t have to open threads just to find out what they’re about. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/7 "2003-09-19T15:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > \*\*I once heard somewhere that ALL internal ulcers are actually the result of a localized bacterial infection…and a good dose of antibiotic will get rid of it. > > YMMV. \*\* If one has H. pylori infection in the stomach lining, it generally takes the combination of two antibiotics with a strong acid reducer for two weeks to eradicate the infection. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/8 "2003-09-19T15:48:43Z")
I don’t know if this will be applicable but I’ll throw it out there and you can decide for yourself. As a teenager and into my early 20s I had a duodenal ulcer. No medication (Tagamet, Zantac) or dietary supplement (aloe vera) seemed to do any good. A friend’s father told me about a Mexican drug that had cured him of a similar ailment. I started taking it and a month later was completely cured. Went from a bleeding ulcer that put me in the hospital twice and would leave me bedridden 3 or 4 days a month and in terrible, nauseous pain to perfect health. It’s been another 20 years now with nary a relapse. The drug’s name? Estomacurol. It’s got a lot of acid buffers as far as I can tell and also forms a temporary patch over the ulcerated area. The cost? About 2 or 3 bucks. Last time I was in Mexico about 4 years ago I looked in a pharmacy and they still had it. I’m absolutely convinced it saved my life. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/9 "2003-09-19T15:53:16Z")
I mentioned Zantac but it might have been something else as this was back in the late '70s. (Not important but didn’t want to leave an inaccuracy out there.) ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/10 "2003-09-19T15:57:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*If one has H. pylori infection in the stomach lining, it generally takes the combination of two antibiotics with a strong acid reducer for two weeks to eradicate the infection. \*\* This treatment did wonders for my mom’s husband – he’s had stomach problems all his life, and while his insides are still extremely touchy, this helped tremendously. It was more than worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Apoptosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Apoptosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apoptosis)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/11 "2003-09-19T16:14:28Z")
Hey **Enola Straight** , > [@](#): > > I once heard somewhere that ALL internal ulcers are actually the result of a localized bacterial infection…and a good dose of antibiotic will get rid of it. If this were the case, nobody in North America (well, Canada at least) would suffer from an ulcer. Whoever you “heard” that from had a misguided view of GI disease. -Apoptosis ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/12 "2003-09-19T17:13:10Z")
As someone “suffering” from ulcerative colitis, I’d have to say that the cabbage juice cure sounds worse than the disease. I’ll stick with Asacol[sup]TM[/sup], thanks. Well, actually its generic equivalent, now. Just found out that there is one finally. ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Amethyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/13 "2003-09-19T17:28:40Z")
The last I knew IBDs were idiopathic conditions (ie no one knows exactly what causes them) but they are believed to be autoimmune conditions (ie your immune system starts to ‘beat up’ on your body). I have Ulcerative Colitis but it’s been in remission for 6 years now (hurray!). I found great support on alt.support.crohns-colitis on the usenet. It’s great to be able to ‘whine’ a little when you feel like crap (pun intended). And it’s good to hear that other people suffer from the same, rather humilating ailments at times. There (at least used to be) some talk of alternative therapies but be warned, there are some ‘crackpots’ out there as well (the FAQ on this newsgroup mentioned at least one person to ignore) but for the most part, the group was useful. I am assuming your husband is going to a gastroentrologist and is on some form of drug therapy and perhaps dietary controls. This is important because sometimes the ulcers can perforate the bowel and this is serious. Dependng on the amount of blood loss, one can become anemic and might need iron. Also, since it is a systemic disease, other problems (like arthritis) can arise. I’m not trying to be alarmist and it can certainly be controlled - as I said I’ve been in remission for 6 years and the related conditions (like the arthritis) are also gone. Here is a link of web sites for IBDs (crohns and colitis): [http://www.diseases.nu/crohn\_disease.htm](http://www.diseases.nu/crohn_disease.htm) Here is the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of Canada: [http://www.ccfc.ca/en/index.html](http://www.ccfc.ca/en/index.html) Here is the US foundation [http://secure.ccfa.org/index.html](http://secure.ccfa.org/index.html) They have local chapters as well that meet. Good luck to him ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/14 "2003-09-19T18:39:25Z")
Just in case my earlier post wasn’t clear, H. Pylori causes ulcers in the stomach and duodenum, _not_ in the small or large bowel, in the mouth, on the rectum, on the generative organs, skin, corneas, finger/toenails, or on plaque either on teeth or arteries. So don’t be asking for triple therapy for any non-duodenal/gastric ulcers. Kudos to **amethyst** for providing excellent support links! ---
**Author:** ![WildChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@WildChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildChild)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cabbage-juice-for-ibd-inflammatory-bowel-disease-new-title/202409/15 "2003-09-23T17:21:38Z")
Thanks to everyone for your help. We appreciate knowing that not everyone out there is unsypathetic and stupid. Knowledgable advice is always welcome, and suggestions are almost always considered.