> Lee’s research team “stumbled” on the discovery after investigating a “gene desert”, a stretch of DNA on chromosome 21 that does not code for proteins, which has previously been linked to IBD and other autoimmune diseases. Writing in Nature, they describe how they found a section of DNA that behaves like a volume control for nearby genes. This “enhancer” was seen only in immune cells called macrophages where it boosted a gene called ETS2 and ramped up the risk of IBD.
As parents we make plenty of real mistakes; blaming ourselves for unavoidable stuff isn't worth adding to the pile.
Happiness does not come from beating yourself up, but can come embracing and making the best of a situation.
No use whatsoever to blame oneself for something like this.
From a layman's point of view, IBD is a single disease. However, in reality, it's an umbrella term for a disease with a common set of symptoms and histological changes that can have a variety of underlying etiologies. Some people are more genetically susceptible, with family histories; others with no family history can undergo changes in gut microbiota composition, genome methylation, among other environmental factors that influence development and progression of the disease.
There are a bevy of peer-reviewed studies that show links between better diets/exercise and an increase in SCFA-producing microbiome components, which are known to suppress inflammatory cytokines and improve innate immune mucosal defense systems and free radical scavenging, promoting gut healing. On the flip side, plenty of people with poor diets and a lack of fiber are at a far higher risk of developing IBD or some other autoimmune disease (like SLE or RA), even certain cancers. It's why one of the most common strategies to address mild IBD and IBS cases is to begin an elimination diet and see which foods are triggers for inflammation.
You are correct that for many, diet isn't the reason why people have IBD. But it does play a huge role in symptom burden and the overall severity and prognosis of the condition. This isn't even considering the effect of environmental contaminants (such as PFOA and BPA) on IBD development, which has been well-known for over a decade now.
Ignoring science for a bit, just from the perspective of common sense, the idea of what you put in your body not affecting you is absurd and ridiculous. It's an idea pushed by gastroenterologists who don't want to risk upset patients who would rather not change their entire diet and lifestyle to mitigate their disease, for a small portion of whom the changes will not work anyways due to an underlying genetic component to the disease. Still, there's nothing to lose and everything to gain from adopting a healthier lifestyle.
IBS is a common set of symptoms. IBD is short for inflammatory bowel disease, and it's an umbrella term for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC).
If this was the case, and IBD was a purely genetic illness with no environmental component, then it would be literally impossible to study it. In labs we force mice to ingest dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) which produces persistent colitis by degrading the gut mucosa. It's impossible to really tell without sequencing someone's entire genome whether their IBD comes from genetic factors or environmental factors.
Both IBD and IBS respond to changes in diet, as both diseases involve degradation of the gut mucosa. Obviously IBD is marked with inflammation as well, while IBS is marked only by dysbiosis and abdominal discomfort.
Also watch for lactose intolerance, it's easily controlled but can cause discomfort when eating (I'm not saying your son has exclusively this, but rather in addition to).
There's been a lot of really encouraging progress in the 15+ years since my diagnosis, but there are still a lot of unknowns. I got very little support in the dietary side of things other than the infamous elimination diet approach. It took a while for me to dial it in, but I did and am very rarely sick these days, now that I've discovered my own food sensitivities.
As much as you may want to solve this problem for him, it will take an immense amount of maturity on his part to want to discover and understand his limitations and to create and stick to a sustainable lifestyle.
That appears to overwhelmingly not be the case, at least in the United States.