Gastroenterology Posts

When it comes to bacteria you hear a lot about disease-causing germs, but some types—like probiotics—are thought to offer health benefits.

Given all of the recent hype around probiotics, you might be wondering: “Should I be eating more of them?” Unfortunately, probiotics are still being studied so the answer isn’t black and white—yet.

Read on to learn more about how probiotics are purported to enrich gut health and ways you can add this bacteria to add to your diet.

Get tips for cleaning up your diet

What is an endoscopy? In the most simple terms, an endoscopy is a test that helps your doctor learn more about what’s going on inside your body.

An upper endoscopy specifically is a highly-accurate, nonsurgical procedure used to investigate problems related to your digestive health that is used to identify the presence of polyps, cancerous tumors, ulcers, inflammation, and other damage to your stomach or digestive tract.

In some instances, the procedure is more effective for detecting abnormalities and problems in the upper digestive system than X-rays and other types of imaging.

Keep reading to learn more about what happens during an upper endoscopy and what the procedure can detect.

Regular screenings, like colonoscopies, are key in preventing many colorectal cancers. Screenings can find diseases in people who show no symptoms, and may not even think they are sick at all. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in both men and women, and having a colonoscopy is your best form of prevention.

Migraines, an irritable bowel, eczema, chronic fatigue, food allergies, joint pain, and uncomfortable digestive issues are all common signs that your body might be battling what some refer to as “leaky gut syndrome.”

When it comes to diagnosing conditions that affect gut health, leaky gut syndrome is a relatively new expression used by some in the medical community to explain stomach imbalances and problems caused by intestinal permeability (or intestinal hyperpermeability).

Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is the umbrella medical term used to describe the two most common digestive conditions—ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease—that affect more than 1.4 million Americans.