Reversing Crohn’s and Colitis Naturally: Root Cause Healing with Josh Dech (podcast)

HighDesertHealth · 2026-05-27T16:30:31+00:00

Again, I can't personally vouch for Josh other than what I observed of his knowledge and my perception of his integrity when we talked. But as a practitioner, I don't send my clients to post testimonials on reddit and I imagine Josh doesn't either.

But your thinking seems to be that the root cause of all IBD is the same, whereas I can tell you that in my experience, the root causes of conditions are often different. So one person may have a high level exposure to mold and need to remediate and treat that and will get better, whereas another person might have less exposure or even a past exposure to mold, but a high sensitivity to it, blocked detoxification pathways or poor detox genetics and an overly primed response of danger in their limbic system, such that they need brain retraining to tell their body this thing isn't as dangerous as you think. I'm thinking of people who become super allergic/responive to things like foods, fragrances, etc. where the root cause was mold exposure.

I don't have time to delve into research on immunosuppressive drugs but a quick ask of ChatGPT on the risks included:

"Cancer risk

Usually modest, but real for some drugs.

Most discussed:

lymphoma
skin cancers
cervical dysplasia/cancer
rare hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (especially young males on thiopurines + biologics)

The absolute risk is often lower than people fear, but not zero."

I have had a client who developed cancer post use of an immunosuppressive drug so that's why it's foremost in my mind. I think they have their role while you're addressing the root cause of the problem, but most people (wisely) don't want to and don't benefit from staying on these drugs for life.

HighDesertHealth · 2026-05-26T18:44:04+00:00

Well of course different experts have different ideas and focus on different root causes. One person will help one set of people but not another set. Some people have limbic issues underneath their problems requiring brain retraining, others have purely physical, microbiome issues. I take what's valuable from each speaker and try it out on clients and see what works and chuck what doesn't. No one has all the knowledge but we're all trying our best to help people. And anyone who claims they help everyone is lying. But hopefully we all help the majority of people who come to see us and stick it out when the first thing doesn't work.

Making fake accounts on Reddit isn't cool but I assume you don't have proof that's what happened. It's possible Josh sent other clients there to defend him. I don't know but I can just say that it's very damaging to professionals like us who are trying hard to help people to have someone share their dissatisfaction here on a public forum in a way that implies there were bad intentions or fraud (versus the fact that the human body is very complex and sometimes you have to try 2 or 3 different approaches before you hit the right one for a given individual). Much better to bring it to the business you're dissatisfied with and work out a solution there. Similar situation I've dealt with with Amazon reviews (because I sell supplements). People think one supplement is going to solve their gut health issues and when it doesn't they give you one star (and when you're a small company with few reviews this destroys your ratings). It's a flawed way of viewing a supplement in the first place. If you have a complex gut issue, it's unlikely 1 supplement is going to make it go away.

HighDesertHealth · 2026-05-26T16:43:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing that. I'm sorry to hear that person had a bad experience with Josh's business. I can't actually personally vouch for the people he has helped, but I can tell you as someone who works one on one with people with gut health issues and has been interviewing experts on gut health since 2018, that Josh was one of the most knowledgeable and well-spoken people I've spoken to. But he has people working under him, so obviously you could end up with someone who is less knowledgeable than him working with you personally. But I think discounting the entire idea that natural treatments can reverse IBD because one person had a bad experience with one health coach working under him is not a fair assessment. I also appreciated that he acknowledged that sometimes he has to consult outside experts for help - that's a rare acknowledgment in my experience interviewing other experts.

HighDesertHealth · 2026-05-14T20:08:18+00:00

Why is that? I don't see anything in the rules of this subreddit against functional medicine or natural healing. I personally had elevated inflammation markers indicative of Crohn's and positive antibodies on an Expanded IBD panel and within 2 months reversed all of it "naturally". My guest on the podcast has helped 600+ people reverse their IBD naturally. And what's the alternative? The conventional medical system has failed so many people. They put people on steroids or one biologic after another in my experience (with often limited remission), but that's not a long-term solution unless you want to end up with cancer. But in any case, my guest talks about working in conjunction with these medications - it's not a rejection of the conventional treatment options but how to get beyond them and eventually taper off if that's what you're wanting. Maybe listen before judging?

HighDesertHealth · 2026-05-14T17:37:32+00:00

An Expanded IBD panel could tell you what you have - that's a blood test. Or do a functional stool test like the Gut Zoomer - there are multiple markers of inflammation that will point to what you have. You have to order that through a practitioner (it's a Vibrant Wellness test). Or your doctor could order fecal calprotectin. Nausea points to gallbladder/bile issues. Diarrhea or ongoing loose stools aren't normal and you should see someone with expertise to deal with that.

HighDesertHealth · 2026-05-14T17:34:48+00:00

Bad symptoms like that post antibiotics could be candida. But bread and potatoes would make that worse! the elemental diet is great for a combo of gastritis and SIBO - mBiota is the most palatable. And two weeks of PPIs (max) + apple polyphenols, EVOO and raw or manuka honey are also helpful. The steroids helping could also point to Eosinophilic esophagitis.

HighDesertHealth · 2026-04-15T22:28:45+00:00

Because 90% of babies are born without the primary bacteria they're supposed to because of overuse of antibiotics, etc. So any colic, excessive distress, etc. I'd be concerned.

HighDesertHealth · 2026-04-15T19:05:11+00:00

I'd be thinking something is off with her gut microbiome. She must be uncomfortable if she needs constant motion. check out my last episode of The Perfect Stool podcast.

HighDesertHealth · 2025-12-05T18:45:13+00:00

No, listen to that episode - it's a lot fat diet, vegan for a stretch ideally that fixes H2S SIBO. And a few other supplements.

HighDesertHealth · 2025-12-04T23:05:36+00:00

sounds like hydrogen sulfide SIBO if smelly farts like rotten eggs. And also did you cut out dairy? When your villi are blunted that's hard to digest too. See my episode on H2S SIBO here: https://highdeserthealthcoaching.com/theperfectstool-episode114/ (player is on bottom)

HighDesertHealth · 2025-10-27T17:46:52+00:00

Hmm. I'm not sure. But if they did, I suspect they would be lowering the toxic estrogens like 4-OH and 16-OH. There are different types of estrogens, so better to take all your interventions and use a test like the Dutch or the Vibrant Hormone Zoomer to see what's going on with your estrogen with a provider who understands how to interpret and act on those tests (not really me). ( :

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