Hemorrhoids are the main cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding and have a great impact on quality of life.
The father of medicine: Hippocrates (460-377 BC) mentioned hemorrhoids in the Hippocrates Anthology and proposed medical surgical treatment, the word Hemorrhoids comes from the Greek word “haimorrhoides”, which means: “haima” (blood or bleeding) and “rhoos” (flow).
About 50% of adults aged 50 or older have experienced hemorrhoidal symptoms in their lifetime
In empirical medicine, what are the health ingredients that are beneficial to hemorrhoids? See text analysis for details
What are hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids are one of the most common diseases known. Often described as “varicose veins of the anus and rectum,” it is characterized by enlarged, protruding blood vessels in and around the anus and lower rectum, most commonly bleeding during bowel movements, accounting for 71%, and almost always painless.
Classified according to the dentate line (where the skin of the canal joins the rectal mucosa), internal hemorrhoids originate above the dentate line, while external hemorrhoids originate below the dentate line.
Most people with hemorrhoids are relieved with diet, fiber supplementation, and medication, and improve with non-surgical and surgical treatment if necessary.
Non-surgical treatment of hemorrhoids is commonly used for grade 1 or 2 internal hemorrhoids, while grade 3 hemorrhoids are selectively treated with sclerotherapy, rubber band ligation, and infrared coagulation.
Alcohol, spicy foods, constipation, diarrhea, pregnancy, occupation, sedentary lifestyle, and other possible factors should be considered predisposing factors rather than causative factors.
What are the health foods that are beneficial for hemorrhoids?
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Flavonoid extract
Flavonoids are a class of natural substances with a variety of phenolic structures, mainly found in fruits, vegetables, grains, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea and wine.
Due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and anti-carcinogenic properties, flavonoids are currently considered an indispensable ingredient and are widely used in a variety of nutritional, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic manufacturing.
At present, the most commonly used clinical flavonoid extract formula is composed of 90% Diosmin and 10% Hesperdin, also known as micronized purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF), the registered trade name is mainly Daflon or Detralex, which is classified as a drug in some countries
Micronized flavonoid extract/MPFF improves the low solubility and poor absorption of traditional flavonoids, uses advanced technology to micronize molecules, further improves human utilization, and has been used in clinical treatment of lymphedema, chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, varicose ulcers, idiopathic circulating edema syndrome and other diseases.
A double-blind, multicenter, randomized study (7 days, 162 patients with uncomplicated acute hemorrhoids) showed that oral administration of micronized flavonoid extracts/MPFF helped reduce pain and bleeding. Note 1
*Conclusion: Flavonoid extracts may be of positive help in the treatment of hemorrhoids, but limited by the small sample size, more large studies are still needed for further confirmation
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Pycnogenol
Pycnogenol is a patented, standardized extract from the bark of coastal pine containing bioflavonoids, consisting mainly of 65% to 75% oligomeric proanthocyanidins and polyphenolic monomers, phenols or cinnamic acid and their glycosides.
Due to its potent antioxidant activity and good free radical scavenging properties, Pycnogenol is widely used for a variety of symptoms including: circulatory problems, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, liver toxicity, cancer, arthritis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, immune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.
A randomized controlled study (14 days, 84 people with acute external hemorrhoidal episodes) noted that Pycnogenol was significantly effective compared with control in relieving symptoms and signs of acute external hemorrhoids, including pain and bleeding. Note 2
*Conclusion: Oral pycnogenol may have a positive effect on improving hemorrhoidal symptoms, but limited by small sample sizes, more large trials are needed to support it
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Alpha lipoic acid
Alpha lipoic acid, a naturally occurring disulfide compound, is a cofactor for several mitochondrial enzyme complexes involved in energy production and a potent mitochondrial antioxidant that promotes anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic pathways through multiple mechanisms and positively affects nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation.
Foods of animal origin (red meat, liver, heart, and kidney) and plant sources (dark green leafy vegetables) contain trace amounts of lipoic acid
A randomized, open-label, single-center trial (12-week trial of 100 patients with grade II to III hemorrhoids) found that oral lipoic acid (200 mg per day) significantly reduced pain, pruritus, and bleeding. Note 3
In addition, the patient’s C-reactive protein value and mean white blood cell count also improved significantly.
*Conclusion: Oral lipoic acid may be of positive help for hemorrhoids, but limited by small sample sizes, more large trials are needed to support this