The FDA has warned for some time that the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for heartburn increases the risk of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. Now, a new review of 33 separate studies shows that prescription strength versions of the less potent heartburn drugs called H2 antagonists such as Pepcid, Tagamet, Zantac, and Axid, carry the [...]
A Swedish team of scientists led by Dr. Karl Mårild, recently reported a link between taking antibiotics and the development of celiac disease[i]. Note: You can download the entire article free. Celiac disease is an autoimmune reaction to gluten proteins contained in wheat, rye and barley. The disease process causes inflammation and villus atrophy (which [...]
A recent study determined that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), drugs used to treat chronic acid reflux, cause the constriction of blood vessels. The finding raises concern that long term use of PPI drugs such as omeprazole and lansoprazole will lead to high blood pressure and a weakened heart. The drugs set in motion a series [...]
A new study by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine published in the September 2013 issue of Nature proposes a mechanism for how disease–causing microbes such as Salmonella and C diff often thrive when people take antibiotics. Soon after someone takes antibiotics two things happen: The number of friendly gut bacteria is dramatically reduced and [...]
Leaving shortly to attend the Ancestral Health Symposium in Atlanta. Gotta love the caveman. I am presenting on Saturday - Did Cavemen Get Heartburn. A question I get all the time, ha ha. But really, there are lessons to be learned and I will talk about my theory of carbohydrates, gut microbes and GERD/ IBS. [...]
In a surprising move, the Food and Drug Administration has reversed course eliminating the heavy regulatory burden imposed in April of this year on US medical facilities that wanted to conduct fecal transplants (commonly referred to as FMT for fecal microbiota transplantation) for people sick with colitis caused by Clostridium difficile (C diff) that does [...]
A parasite called Cyclospora cayetanensis was determined to be the cause of a recent outbreak (June through July 2013) of debilitating intestinal infections that cause watery, and sometimes explosive, diarrhea along with other symptoms including weight loss, cramping, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, bloating, and flatulence. Almost 300 people have be diagnosed with the infection [...]
Our latest book, Fast Tract Digestion IBS is now available. I am proud to let you know that the book features a foreword by Dr. Mike Eades. Protein power was the first book I read on the compelling effects of carbohydrates on our metabolism. Without reading this book, I would have never experimented with carbohydrate restriction, [...]
I recommend that people with digestive health issues reduce, NOT increase, hard to digest fermentable carbohydrates to control symptoms of IBS, acid reflux and other digestive health issues related to general imbalance of gut microbes (dysbiosis) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). This approach is outlined in my two books, Fast Tract Digestion IBS and [...]
A friend sent me a great article called "Some of My Best Friends Are Germs" by Michael Pollan about the efforts by a team led by Rob Knight at the BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder working on something called the American Gut project. The team analyzes the hundreds of microbial species harbored by [...]
