What is an elemental diet for people with gastrointestinal problem?

Answer 1

What Is An Elemental Diet? An elemental diet is - in a perfect world - a liquid diet consisting of completely pre-digested nutrients that include a combination of: protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. It is highly beneficial to also add an ample amount of Essential Fatty Acids such as, flax oil or coconut oil. An elemental diet (also known as an enteral diet) is often prescribed for people who suffer from autoimmune disorders such as Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitis, AIDS and severe cases of Cancer. Elemental diets are also used for pre and post-surgery patients who are not able to eat solid foods or who are malnourished. Recent clinical trials involving children with active Crohn's disease in England and Italy have demonstrated that "elemental diet therapy is as effective as steroids in inducing remission in people who suffer from gastrointestinal disorders whilst avoiding steroid side effects". As a result of these clinical trials, it is now beginning to be understood that an elemental diet can be used as an alternative to using steroids like prednisone, which can have undesirable side effects. Following an elemental diet is a difficult undertaking requiring a lot of self-discipline. If you're going to undertake something as difficult and restrictive as an elemental diet, then you might as well fully commit to it and use the period to facilitate a complete overhaul and root-level healing of your body and immune system. Many of the elemental diet formulas are primarily used in hospitals. Unfortunately, they are poorly formulated. Often times they taste bad, are loaded with artificial flavors and sweeteners, large amounts of sugar (in relation to maltodextrin) and high levels of low quality oils - which can actually result in painful intestinal spasming. To date, the highest quality and most tolerable, liquid diet drink is a powdered formula made by Imix Naturals called Absorb Plus. It has been specifically designed for people who need a completely pre-digested diet. Although it can also be used for either losing weight while maintaining muscle mass or gaining weight by building solid muscle mass, not fat. Absorb Plus can also be used in conjunction with "The IBD Remission Diet" - a very specific natural diet and supplementation plan devised to induce disease remission. The protocol is designed to completely heal the GI tract, starving off the bad bacteria in your intestine and replacing them with good bacteria, and restoring health and balance from the cellular level on up throughout the immune system. Although this elemental treatment is specifically formulated to address inflammatory bowel conditions like Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis and Diverticulitis, people can likely find other health conditions will also be resolved as the program facilitates extensive whole-body healing. Typically, an elemental diet alone will not benefit people with Ulcerative Colitis or IBS, however as the elemental is only ONE component of The IBD Remission Diet, thousands with colitis or severe IBS have also used it as a tool to induce remission. This is most likely the result of the pathogens being cleared from the gastrointestinal tract and replaced with good bacteria, the supplements which heal the mucosal lining and intestinal wall, the whole-body detox provided by the elemental diet and the myriad of bodily functions assisted by the targeted amino acid blend and other herbal supplements prescribed.