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 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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
