Why I Think Ulcerative Colitis is Not a Preventable Disease

Ulcerative colitis is a very uncomfortable autoimmune disease that affects the lining of the digestive tract. This condition causes the lining of the rectum and colon to bleed or ooze pus. It causes frequent uncontrollable diarrhea. One major concern for anyone with ulcerative colitis is the possibility of getting colon cancer.

Currently, the cause of ulcerative colitis is unknown. Personally, I do not think that I could have done anything to prevent having ulcerative colitis. I have always led a relatively healthy lifestyle. I eat a sensible diet. I exercise. I do not smoke. I have never done any drugs.

Research suggests that ulcerative colitis may be a genetic or inherited condition. If this turns out to be the only way to develop ulcerative colitis, I guess the only way that I could have prevented having this condition would be to have a different set of parents.

I do know that certain things such as stress and certain foods can cause an ulcerative colitis flare up. I am from Southern Louisiana. I grew up eating a lot of Cajun food. Most of this food was very spicy.

I guess I could attribute my ulcerative colitis to the cayenne pepper and other peppers and spices that Cajun food contains. I am not sure how likely this is because, it seems to me, that almost every person who enjoys Cajun food would develop ulcerative colitis.

Another reason why I think this is unlikely is that some of the people I know who have ulcerative colitis have never enjoyed very spicy foods. Most of them have always eaten what I consider to be a bland diet.

If spicy food was the cause of ulcerative colitis, a lot of other cultures would be severely affected by the condition. Think about it. Mexican food is pretty spicy. Even some Chinese and Thai food is spicy.

I have to say that I think that ulcerative colitis is a condition that just happens. Sure, some of the symptoms can be controlled through making changes to your diet. But, I think that the actual disease cannot be prevented. This is especially true if the research proves that ulcerative colitis is genetic.

Maybe in the future, researchers will develop a test that will assess the possibility of ulcerative colitis in individuals. Maybe they could even develop a vaccine that will prevent the person's body from attacking the digestive tract. I think that is the only way that ulcerative colitis will ever be a preventable disease.

For now, the only thing that people with ulcerative colitis can do is try to prevent flare ups by eating a sensible diet, exercising and praying.