Colitis
Colitis is an inflammation of the colon or large intestine. There are two types of colitis: mucus and ulcerative. Mucous colitis is a common disorder of the large bowel, producing discomfort and irregular bowel habits. Chronic ulcerative colitis is a severe prolonged inflammation of the colon or large bowel in which ulcers form on the walls of the colon, resulting in the passing of blood stools with pus and mucous. Both forms of colitis are the results of prolonged irritation of the delicate membrane which lines the walls of the colon.

Normally, it is the function of the colon to store waste material until most of the fluids have been removed to enable well-formed soft stools, consisting of non-absorbable food materials to be passed. People who suffer from an irritable colon have irregular and erratic contractions which are specifically noticeable on the left side.

Symptoms
Chronic ulcerative colitis usually begins in the lower part of the bowels and spreads upwards. The first symptom of the trouble is an increased urgency to move the bowel, followed by cramping pains in the abdomen and bloody mucus in the stools. As the disease spreads upwards, the stools become watery and more frequent and are characterized by rectal straining.

All this loss of blood and fluid from the bowels results in weakness, fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and anemia.

The patient may develop a bloated feeling because the gas is not absorbed or expelled normally. Some patients suffer from constipation alternating with period of loose bowel movements. Still others may suffer from persistent diarrhea for years together. The patient is usually malnourished and may be severely underweight. They may suffer from frequent insomnia. Ulcerative colitis in its severe form may also lead to nutritional problems. The improper assimilation of the ingested foods due to inflammatory conditions may cause deficiency diseases. This may gradually result in nervous irritability, exhaustion, and depression. In very severe cases, the patient may even develop suicidal tendencies.

Causes
The main cause of colitis is chronic constipation and the use of purgatives. Constipation causes an accumulation of the hard fecal matter which is never properly evacuated. Purgatives used as a ‘cure’ only increase irritation. Often, colitis is caused by poorly digested roughage, especially of cereals and carbohydrates, which causes bowel irritation. The disease may also result from an allergic sensitivity to certain foods especially milk, wheat, and eggs. Often, the intake of antibiotics may upset the bacterial flora in the intestines and interfere with proper digestion.

Severe stress may produce ulcerative colitis. During any form of severe stress, an outpouring of adrenal hormones causes such destruction of body protein that at times parts of the walls lining the intestines are literally eaten away. Such stress also depletes the body of pantothenic acid. Experiments on animals have shown that they can develop ulcerative colitis when they are kept on diets deficient in pantothenic acid.

Treatment