Chris was 90 pounds and bed ridden from debilitating digestive upset. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease/ulcerative colitis. He struggled for years and his doctor told him to keep taking the medication (even though it was causing him liver damage), to plan on getting a liver transplant someday in the future, and to start eating coconut cookies.

Chris laughed when his doctor said he should be eating coconut cookies (he actually thought his doctor was joking), but quickly realized that the room full of interns were not laughing and it was not a joke! At that moment, Chris realized he had to take his health into his own hands. Today Chris is off of all of his medications, and is a successful engineer. He’s able to workout, travel and live a totally normal life because he radically changed his diet!

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) can be treated, but there is no cure. UC and Crohn’s are separate diseases, but they both involve chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.

People with IBD may have long periods of good health known as remission and periods of active symptoms known as relapses or flares. Symptoms vary among people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, but most experience abdominal pain and cramping, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weight loss and fatigue.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are not usually fatal, and on average, people with IBD have similar life spans as people without either condition.

Both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are immune-mediated diseases, meaning the body’s immune response does not work as it should. Some doctors consider these to be autoimmune diseases.

To find out how to heal your gut lining, joint the 5 Day Keto Challenge.

Mary