Eating Hawthorn Can Treat Colitis
I have suffered from allergic colitis for 30 years. I pass stool four to five times daily, sometimes up to ten or more times, with loose stools mixed with pus and blood. Even slight exposure to cold food, drinking cold water, or catching a chill causes dull abdominal pain and uncontrollable diarrhea. Neither traditional Chinese nor Western medicine has cured my condition.
Three years ago, I was diagnosed with hyperlipidemia. One day, while reading about hawthorn's ability to lower cholesterol, I bought 8 kilograms of hawthorn at once. I sliced and sun-dried them at home. Every day, I put about 30–40 grams of dried hawthorn slices into a thermos, poured boiling water over them, let it steep for about two hours, drank the liquid in one go, then chewed and swallowed the slices.
After maintaining this routine for half a year, my lipid levels dropped significantly. Unexpectedly, my chronic colitis—which had plagued me for over two decades—disappeared quietly. My bowel movements returned to 1–2 times per day. For the next two years, I continued this daily regimen without any recurrence of colitis.
Doctor’s Commentary: Traditional Chinese hawthorn promotes digestion, resolves stagnation, lowers lipids, dilates blood vessels, and enhances immunity. Research shows hawthorn contains lipase, which aids fat breakdown; it also contains various organic acids that boost protease activity. Decoctions of hawthorn inhibit multiple strains of dysentery bacilli, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Hawthorn also has astringent properties that help stop diarrhea. Therefore, hawthorn can serve as an auxiliary treatment for abdominal pain and diarrhea caused by allergic colitis.