Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome – Diet Treatment

“Juvenile” in Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome does not refer to children. Rather, it pertains to the “young” nature of the polyps themselves, which are mostly found in adults. Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome is a rare genetic disease that increases proliferation of the lining of the colon, causing “polyps.”

There are several possible genes that can be affected, and about 50% of them are found in multiple family members. The other half may be new mutations. Since it is caused by several different genes, there is no specific treatment for all cases. The recommendation is to have a periodic colonoscopy, and to have the “suspicious” polyps removed. Those who have hundreds of polyps are often recommended to have colectomy – surgical removal of the colon.

I think these are extreme treatments. There is a simple way to lower the polyps, and significantly decrease the possibility of colon cancer. This can be done by reducing inflammation in the colon. Keep in mind that one single program is not going to work for all cases. But no matter the cause, the following is the best possibility of avoiding the complications of Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome.

The Role of Lectins 

Lectins are a sort of “immune system” of plants. The lectins are proteins in food that bind to carbohydrates, forming glycoproteins.

One effect they have is to decrease the proliferation of the epithelial lining of the bowels, or permeability in the gut. In a normal person, this can cause “leaky gut,” or spaces between the cells that can let toxins get into the blood or leak out, causing widespread inflammation throughout the body. However, if you have polyposis, lectins may decrease the production of polyps.

The Role of Inflammation

Normal colon epithelial lining can produce polyps when there is inflammation in the colon. If someone has a genetic pre-disposition to polyps, this may increase the number of polyps dramatically. It is therefore essential to lower inflammation as much as possible. This is normally done by the bacteria in the colon.

Certain bacteria can either increase or decreases inflammation based on food. The best way to lower inflammation is to make more butyrate or short-chain fatty acids out of fiber-rich foods. A good quality probiotic may also be helpful.

Dietary Help for Familial Polyposis

The simplest diet is to have a low protein, low fat, and high fiber diet. The more the fiber, the better. Fiber supplements can be used, but it is best to have whole foods because they will have different types of fiber. The fiber supplements also have no lectins. Therefore, the diet should consist of:

• Vegetables
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Lentils
• Nuts/seeds
• Mushrooms

Avoid:

• Meat
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Oil/fat/lard/butter
• White flour, or rice
• Sugar

There should be no high-fat, high-protein, or processed foods.

Ideally, the daily diet should have over 40 grams of fiber. If small amounts of food are eaten, have more raw vegetables, beans, and lentils to keep the fiber high.

The other important part of the diet is to find out if there are any reactions to foods, and then to avoid them. The elimination diet is one of the best ways to find food sensitivities. There are many resources for elimination diets. Here are two ways to go about the elimination diet:

1. Eliminate specific foods for at least 2 weeks and then eat them back into your diet to see if there is a reaction.
2. Do a “cleanse” with herbal teas (chamomile, Licorice, ginger) for two weeks without any food. Then add in certain types of foods one day at a time.

The other possibility is to test for antibodies against foods. Then remove just those foods following the elimination diet.

Time Off to Repair the Colon

Give the colon a rest by fasting periodically. Three days per month is adequate to keep the inflammation down and allow the normal lining of the bowels to regenerate. There are many ways to do this.

1. Fast 3 days in a row once a month. Break the fast in the morning.   –OR—
2. Fast one day per week for 24 hours. Break the fast at breakfast. So, for example, you might eat breakfast on Saturday, and not eat until breakfast on Sunday.  –OR—
3. Do daily “intermittent fasting” by eating breakfast and lunch, then skip dinner. You would usually have an 8-hour window of eating, ideally between 7:00am and 3:00pm. Be sure to go to bed hungry, with an empty stomach, because that allows the anabolic metabolism to repair the gastrointestinal system at night.

Any of the three you choose will work well.

Supplements For Your Colon

Besides fiber, which is, by far, the most important nutrient for the colon, there are a few other things to keep everything functioning well.

1. Selenium – 200 mcg per day
2. Iodine – 1mg per week.
3. Vitamin D3 – 10,000 IU per day
4. Probiotics with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium with more than 10 billion per dose. Use it every day for two weeks, the take it once per week.

Just keeping these principles should be sufficient to give the best chance of avoiding surgery and cancer.