Could IBS be an autoimmune condition?
Most people have never heard about a protein called vinculin, but a recent study of 165 IBS, 30 IBD and 26 healthy controls found that people with IBS have higher levels of (auto) antibodies to this protein than do healthy controls or people with inflammatory bowel disease. One possible outcome of this work is a [...]
What are the risks of Ibuprofen vs. naproxen ?
I've always used ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) in the past, but I'm reconsidering this based on the recent finding. High doses of naproxen (Aleve) are not associated with increased cardiovascular risk (good news), while other non-steroidal antiflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen and diclofenac caused an average of three extra major vascular events each year for every [...]
New Forum for Diet and Digestive Health
Due to popular demand, we have launched our Forum where you can ask or answer questions, start news posts etc. relating to the diet and digestive health.
Crohn’s disease, Cause, Symptoms and Diets
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects approximately 600,000 people in the US.[i],[ii] People who have Crohn’s suffer from a serious inflammation or irritation of their digestive tract which can lead to sores or ulcers forming. Crohn’s can attack anywhere along the entire digestive tract, but most commonly affects the end of the [...]
New study suggests a specific type of gut microbe may cause rheumatoid arthritis
Could one lowly bacterium, Prevotella copri, train the immune system to produce the type of human immune cell (Th17) responsible for inflammation and bone damage in arthritis? According to a new study, also reported on in Wired, the answer could be yes. Based on some provocative early studies in mice, a team lead by Dan [...]
Will Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Work for Crohn’s Disease?
Note: If you haven't read it, you may be interested in this comprehensive article on Crohn's Disease and Diet. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) involves the replacement of the entire population of dysfunctional gut bacteria (gut microbiome) with healthy bacteria from healthy donor stool. The technique has been incredibly successful (90-98%) and safe for treating C [...]
FODMAP Approach vs. Fast Tract Diet – Q & A
I recently received some interesting and direct questions from T-J on the differences between the Fast Tract Diet and the FODMAP approach. Here are the questions and answers. You might also be interested in my article on SIBO Diets. 2018 Update Mike Sweeney, RD (Registered Dietitian) in UK did an evaluation on the Fast Tract [...]
Bacteria-eating viruses kill C diff – An alternative to antibiotics?
Thanks to Bruce Miller, who posts on this site, for bringing this article, "Discovery of virus that 'eats' bacteria that causes C.diff could spell the end for hospital superbug", to my attention. Let's take a look at this research. Could treatment with viruses really "spell the end" for C. diff? Dr. Martha Clokie, at Leicester’s [...]
Why So Many People Take PPIs?
In Dr. Mike Eades' latest blog, GERD Treatment: Nutrition vs Drugs, he highlights a video presentation by a Dr. Johnson, an academic gastroenterologist from a medical school in Virginia who advises other doctors to ignore the risks of PPIs. Mike and I have been on the same page on both the risks of PPIs and the [...]
How do you know your food is safe?
Looking at the label is the first thing many people do to assess food safety. Most foods carry labels such as “sell by”, “use by”, or “best before”. Many people believe that food is not safe if consumed past these dates. A recent Time Magazine article by Alexandra Sifferlin cites a report from the Natural [...]