Category: digestion

How to Heal a Leaky Gut with Diet

Our intestinal tract is the largest barrier between us and the environment. More than what we touch or breathe, what we eat is our largest exposure to the outside world. Normally, our entire gastro-intestinal tract is impervious to what is inside of it, allowing our body to pick and choose what comes in or out. But there…


Stress and the Digestive System

You don’t need a PhD in physiology to know that stress can be hard on the stomach. We’ve all done our own experiments on the subject, intentionally or not. Remember how you felt the last time you spoke in public? Those butterflies weren’t in your head. The impact of stress on the stomach goes far…


Location of Gray Hairs Corresponds to Health of Different Organs

Graying and white hairs are a concern for many people, but do you pay attention to the location of your gray hair? In fact, the position of your gray hair can indicate other things about your physical condition. To learn more about what your body might be trying to tell you when you spot gray…


Probiotics

From the bacterial point of view, the human intestine is the promised land. The gut is warm, moist, and full of good food. It’s also extremely crowded. A cubic centimeter of prime real estate in the colon can hold 100 billion bacteria — nearly 20 times the entire human population of earth. A few hundred…


Cancer-Causing NDMA in Medications (Zantac, Metformin) and Meat

In 2018, one of the bestselling blood pressure drugs, valsartan—sold as Diovan—was found to be contaminated by the “probably carcinogenic” nitrosamine known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). It’s believed that approximately 20 million people worldwide were prescribed the drug tainted with this contaminant whose cancer risk has been shown to exceed that of many known potent carcinogens,…


Gallbladders May Be Removed Too Often

Many patients with gallstones and abdominal pain don’t feel better after a procedure to remove their gallbladder, and a recent study suggests this surgery may not always be necessary. Treatment guidelines in many countries recommend that doctors perform a minimally invasive operation known as a laparoscopic cholecystectomy to remove the gallbladder when patients have abdominal…


How to Heal Your Gut Naturally

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a healthy mammal is home to a complex community of bacteria. This microbial community is often called “microbiota,” “gut flora,” or “beneficial bacteria.” These microbes have evolved with us to coexist in a mutually beneficial relationship. An Introduction to Gut Microbes We need beneficial gut microbes for proper B vitamin production, digestion, and assimilation. Some…


The Gallbladder Flush

When it comes to gallbladder health, many people are looking for a specific strategy to remove gallstones and clear the biliary tract. Clearing biliary sludge and gallstones is foundational for optimal health. What Are Gallstones? Gallstones are crystallized deposits of cholesterol and other bile constituents that are formed in the bile ducts and the gallbladder….


Low Sugar Diets Are Better for Your Gut

A study from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, found that mice fed diets high in sugar developed severe colitis by increasing harmful colon bacteria and decreasing healthful colon bacteria. The researchers fed mice various dietary sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose for seven days. The high-sugar diet damaged the gut’s protective mucus…


Why Worry Affects Your Digestion

Anyone who is a chronic worrier can tell you where they feel it in their bodies. Always in the stomach. If you have ever had a challenging presentation at work, a major paper due at school, or perhaps a root canal appointment, you know where those feelings of stress manifest—in the gut. And the more…