The last thing you want to do for ulcerative colitis

If you’re suffering from the pain of ulcerative colitis, I’ll bet that the last thing you want to do is pile on more health problems.

Yet that’s exactly what the FDA is asking you to risk.

Last week, it gave the OK for the arthritis drug Xeljanz to be used as a “new treatment” for this debilitating condition.

For an idea of what can come along with this med, take a look at some of its “most common” side effects: headaches, rashes, upper respiratory-tract infections, elevated cholesterol, shingles, and diarrhea.

That last one is just what someone with ulcerative colitis needs, right?

Those, however, are only the beginning. Once you enter the Xeljanz chamber of horrors, it appears that most any terrible disease can strike.

And think of how many other meds are being prescribed simply to treat the adverse reactions from Xeljanz. It’s almost as if Pfizer was giving a gift to its fellow drugmakers!

But why take chances with a drug like that when there are safe and effective treatments you can try? Not one of them is known to cause “serious infections” that can lead to “death.”

A prescription for disaster

Even before it was approved six years ago, there were concerns that led many financial advisors (who actually follow drugs more closely than most health professionals do) to believe that Xeljanz would not be given a green light by the FDA in the first place.

In the early trials, four patients died, one from respiratory failure and another from acute heart failure.

But as one stock analyst said, Big Pharma is “a market where risk is acceptable.”

And with its ad campaign, Pfizer’s “Mad Men” have tried to gloss over the horrific side effects of Xeljanz and distract you by focusing on the fact that you don’t need to take a shot (as you do with similar drugs), but simply swallow a pill. The commercial shows a family having a fun outing buying vinyl records that need a “needle,” but Xeljanz doesn’t!

But make no mistake: Shot or not, the risk here is extreme.

I’m talking about “invasive fungal infections,” “gastrointestinal perforations,” “tuberculosis,” liver damage, and “lymphoma and other malignancies” — all of which are potential side effects of Xeljanz.

The heart of the matter is that such extreme risk should never be acceptable — unless you’re talking about a last-ditch attempt to save someone’s life (and even then, I’d think twice).

There are, however, various safe and natural methods for treating ulcerative colitis and other similar ailments under the umbrella of IBD – the kind that HSI panel member Dr. Glenn Rothfeld has been using quite successfully for years.

His first approach is to start paying attention to the health of his patients’ beneficial gut bacteria. That means ditching junk and processed foods and replacing all those ready-to-eat wonders with the real deal – fruits, veggies, and plenty of fiber – as well as taking a high-quality probiotic daily.

Next, Dr. Rothfeld recommends foods that contain lots of vitamins A and E. For that, you’ll want to include spinach, asparagus, apricots, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocados, nuts, and wheat germ.

Having ulcerative colitis is certainly no walk in the park… and going for one of Big Pharma’s quick fixes can seem tempting. But remember: All those side effects are on the Xeljanz label for a good reason.

And when you take a good look at what comes along with this drug, you’ll see that there’s not a reason in the world for you to take it!

“Tofacitinib (Xeljanz) gets FDA nod for ulcerative colitis” Megan Brooks, May 30, 2018, Medscape, medscape.com