The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Steven C Lin; Adam S Cheifetz

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2018 Jul;14(7):415-425.

Authors

Steven C Lin^{1

2}, Adam S Cheifetz^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Dr Lin is a clinical fellow in gastroenterology and hepatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
² Dr Cheifetz is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts and director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

PMID: 30166957
PMCID: PMC6111500

Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) includes products or medical practices that encompass herbal and dietary supplements, probiotics, traditional Chinese medicines, and a variety of mind-body techniques. The use of CAM in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing as patients seek ways beyond conventional therapy to treat their chronic illnesses. The literature behind CAM therapies and their application, efficacy, and safety is limited when compared to studies of conventional, allopathic therapies. Thus, gastroenterologists are often ill equipped to engage with their patients in informed and meaningful discussions about the role of CAM in IBD. The aims of this article are to provide a comprehensive summary and discussion of various CAM modalities and to appraise the evidence for their use.

Keywords: Complementary and alternative medicine; Crohn’s disease; acupuncture; cannabis; curcumin; exercise; herbal supplement; probiotics; ulcerative colitis.