A recent large study to assess the associations of dietary fiber and liquid intake to constipation concluded: "The findings support clinical recommendations to treat constipation with increased liquid, but not fiber or exercise." To read the study, click here. This conclusion is no surprise based on the The Dark Side of Fiber blog series on [...]
Here is an interesting discovery. Scientists have found a way to transform fiber into resistant starch.The benefits mean more food grown in less prime croplands, but the starch produced is amylose, the resistant starch. Read more about resistant starch. If you have read either book in the Fast Tract Digestion book series, you know my thoughts [...]
Guts with Michael Mosley just aired on PBS April 17, 2013. Hopefully,it will air again, if you haven't seen it. In this fascinating documentary, Michael volunteers to undergo a number of invasive tests and also has his entire digestive tract viewed live all day in a museum setting with a capsule or submarine camera. They [...]
This is an interesting study about gut bacteria, intestinal gas and obesity - but I don't exactly agree with conclusions. The authors conclude that people become obese because they have higher amounts of hydrogen and methane (if we could only stop the hydrogen and methane!). But to me the opposite seems more likely. People struggling with [...]
The Fast Tract Digestion IBS ebook is now available on Amazon (Update: The print book is also available through the Digestive Health Institute)! What Really Causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and How Best To Treat It? If you suffer from IBS, you are not alone. IBS affects up to 50 million people in the US. The small intestinal bacterial [...]
What's Causing Obesity I Can't Believe It's not Butter, a new article by Laura Schoenfeld, a public health nutritionist on the state of affairs in nutritional science and policy making, is well worth reading. The problem in one word, is complacency. Laura talks about mainstream nutritionists perpetuating the status quo, even in light of new [...]
Last June, Boston sports fans were shocked by sudden news of the right handed pitcher, Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox being hospitalized for five days at Mass General Hospital. Clay suffered from inflammation of the esophagus (esophagitis) that was severe enough to cause significant bleeding requiring two and half days in intensive care and [...]
Most of us adults still remember the fun of trick or treating; Cheap or homemade costumes, kicking through the fall leaves, and especially, eating all those sweets. A delicious sugar high complete with hyperactivity, call it what you want, but we sure loved it. We were too young to appreciate our parents providing advice and [...]
Why do so many people with cystic fibrosis suffer from heartburn? Approximately eighty percent of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer with chronic heartburn compared to twenty percent in the general population.[i] Up until now, no one has been able to figure out exactly why. What is the connection between cystic fibrosis and heartburn? Fast [...]
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is linked to bacteria in our gut The antibiotic rifaximin (brand name Xifaxin) was recently approved by the FDA for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBSd). You many wonder why doctors would recommend an antibiotic for IBS. The idea that antibiotics may be helpful for IBS is based largely on the work of [...]
