Articles on digestive health: reflux, bloating, bowel habits, food intolerance and what endoscopy involves. Blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss or trouble swallowing always need a medical check.
Liver disease is treated according to its cause and stage. Early fatty liver is managed mainly with gradual weight loss, alcohol avoidance and control…
Most people can begin sipping water within an hour or two of an ERCP, once sedation has worn off and swallowing feels normal, then…
Crohn's disease usually needs surgery when a complication cannot be managed with medicines alone: a scarred narrowing (stricture) that blocks the bowel, a fistula…
Polyphenols are natural plant compounds found in coffee, tea, berries, cocoa, olive oil, herbs, nuts and legumes. Most of them are not absorbed in…
GERD testing before treatment usually starts with a history and physical exam; many people begin acid-suppressing therapy without any test. Doctors typically order an…
Lactose intolerance is usually long term when it comes from the normal, genetically programmed decline in the lactase enzyme after early childhood; that form…
Digestive enzyme supplements help a specific group of people: those with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (from chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis or pancreatic surgery), who need…
Silent reflux, known clinically as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), happens when stomach contents travel up past the esophagus and irritate the throat and voice box,…
A PEG tube usually needs replacing when it blocks and cannot be cleared by flushing, when the material cracks, kinks or discolors, when a…
A hepatitis B viral load test measures how much hepatitis B virus DNA is circulating in a set volume of blood, usually reported in…
Recovery after a GI bleed usually unfolds over weeks rather than days. The lining heals first, then the blood count and iron stores follow,…
Probiotics benefits are strain-specific and condition-specific, not general. The strongest evidence, from randomized trials, supports certain strains such as Saccharomyces boulardii and Lacticaseibacillus (formerly…
You need an escort after colonoscopy or endoscopy sedation because the medicines used slow reaction time, blur judgment and cloud memory for hours after…
A fatty liver diet is a Mediterranean-style eating pattern built around vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, nuts and olive oil, with sugary drinks, refined…
Recovery after Barrett's ablation usually means a sore throat and chest discomfort for a few days, a diet that moves from cool liquids to…
Akkermansia muciniphila is a mucus-dwelling gut bacterium that is less abundant in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. In mice it improves metabolism;…
With a peptic ulcer, doctors usually review every pain reliever and blood thinner you take. NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen strip the stomach's…
The strongest evidence for improving gut health points to everyday habits rather than products: eating more fiber from a wide variety of plants, adding…
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