Every now and then, my descending colon (and more rarely, the whole stinkin’ large intestine) decides that something ain’t quite right.

It could be a lack of the “good” bacteria, or too much of the “bad” bacteria. It could have been that raw liver I ate in any of the many yakiniku joints in the greater Kansai area of Japan (although my wife and her family also ate the same liver when I tried it, and they aren’t sick… so…) or it could be an overreaction of my immune system.

Or it could be the good Lord trying to get my attention about not walking in the flesh — ya know, that natural state that most people tend to be in at any given moment, Christians included. Even though we are made into a new creation, and have been risen up spiritually with Christ. (Colossians 3:3-4)

Regardless of the cause, I suffer periodic bouts with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), a condition I’ve had since my teen years, with major flare ups every five or six years. As I slug down an extra tall semi-sour yogurt laden with “good” bacteria, I the distinctive twinges of pain and cramps in my lower left gut that tell me “it’s that time again!”

Hopefully, I’ll be smart about this, and catch it early and get the necessary medicines (UC is not curable, but the symptoms can be treated to bring it into some kind of remission) before I get to the “doubled over in pain and explosive, bloody diarrhea (cha-cha-cha) and otherwise spending more time on the pot than off” stage.

So I decided to take a look around the net for info on what is good to eat and what is good to avoid, and found this: (you may need to click it to make it legible)…

Yikes! Who knew diseases were a commodity now?

Meanwhile, I’ll probably have to rein in my diet, refraining from the usual foods and drinks that cut right through the protective mucosa (the quadruple shots of Espresso, any alcoholic beverages except for red wine, and small indigestible seedy things like sesame seeds as well as excessive amounts of roughage).