Three easy ways to fight against extra weight

Let’s face it! Obesity is a problem nowadays and, as unpleasant it is for me to say it, I deal with the same problem: I am overweight and I’m always searching for a weight loss method. Although we all know that exercising and a healthy diet is the perfect thing for a healthy, supple abdomen, it is always good to have a few quick alternatives at hand, right?

While stumbling the internet in the search for diet recipes (yes, it’s that time of the year when I MUST lose weight) I found a website offering some diet pills that seem to be really interesting. I have never tried such things so if you know anything about them, it would be great to hear.

Because from what I see, they look quite promising. For example this Xenical pill I first found – it’s a pill that helps your digestive system to filter fats faster, therefore forcing our organism to start burning that extra fat we all have round the belly. This does not appear to be one of the dangerous “faster metabolism”, so I found it really interesting.

So I kept digging through the website and found that there are more pills there – all seeming to have the same use: helping people like me lose weight fast and without problems. Reductil for example is another of their products, this time one that does not help eliminate fat faster, but gives you an overall satiety level, therefore reducing the amount of food you eat. Acomplia was another product they offered.

So now I wonder if I should start an order or go back to my exercising… pills are faster and more effective, though. Tough…

Breakthrough in treatment for E. coli toxin

Polymer binds E. coli toxin preventing kidney damage

A University of Alberta researcher has found a possible treatment for the E.coli strain that killed seven people in Walkerton, Ontario, in 2000 and has just been linked to more than 200 illnesses in North Bay, Ontario.

David Bundle, chemistry professor and director of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science, has developed a polymeric drug that binds a naturally-occurring protein in the body with the E.coli toxin, preventing it from affecting the kidneys. The effect of E.coli 0157.H7 on the kidneys can be life-threatening.

New Finding gor Crohn's Disease and Colitis

The tonsils and lymphoid tissues in the intestinal tract that help protect the body from external pathogens are the home base of a rare immune cell newly identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers indicate that the immune cells could have a therapeutic role in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

"These cells have an anti-inflammatory effect," says the article's lead author Marina Cella, M.D., research associate professor of pathology and immunology. "In the gut, we have beneficial bacteria, and it's important that the body does not recognize them as something detrimental and start an inflammatory reaction, which could ultimately promote tissue damage and inflammatory or autoimmune diseases such as IBD. The cells we've discovered are important for keeping such harmful inflammatory processes in check."

The cells are a type of natural killer (NK) cells, which are white blood cells classically known to eliminate tumor cells and cells infected by viruses. Because of their killer tendencies, NK cells are carefully controlled and don't act until they receive the right signal.

Some of the signals that activate the newly discovered cells are the same signals that turn on a different immune cell with strong inflammatory properties that can promote cell death and tissue damage if chronically active. But the anti-inflammatory cells, termed NK-22 cells, that the Washington University researchers discovered have the opposite effect — they promote cell proliferation and wound healing.

"That finding suggests that these cells play a role in maintaining a balance in the immune system between inflammatory processes and anti-inflammatory processes," says coauthor Jason Mills, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and immunology and of developmental biology. "They make sure that factors that turn up inflammation can be counteracted by the coordinated activation of anti-inflammatory effects."

Alternative energy and exercise

Alternative energy is all the rage in major media headlines, but for the human brain, this is old news. According to a study by researchers from Denmark and The Netherlands published in the October 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal, the brain, just like muscles, works harder during strenuous exercise and is fueled by lactate, rather than glucose. Not only does this finding help explain why the brain is able to work properly when the body's demands for fuel and oxygen are highest, but it goes a step further to show that the brain actually shifts into a higher gear in terms of activity. This opens doors to entirely new areas of brain research related to understanding lactate's specific neurological effects.

"Now that we know the brain can run on lactate, so to speak, future studies should show us when to use lactate as part of a treatment," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "From an evolutionary perspective, the result of this study is a no-brainer. Imagine what could have or did happen to all of the organisms that lost their wits along with their glucose when running from predators. They were obviously a light snack for the animals able to use lactate."

To reach their conclusion, the researchers looked at research that compared the blood running to and from the heads of volunteers undergoing strenuous exercise. They found that the blood on its way to the brain contained considerably more lactate than blood flowing from the brain. Further investigation showed that the brain was not storing the lactate which had come from the muscles during exercise, but rather using it as fuel. In fact, the brain helped to clear lactate from the circulation, thereby leaving glucose to the muscles that need it for the hard work they were performing.

About Colon Cancer

Colon cancer ranks second of all gastrointestinal malignant tumors, it is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Until now, several molecules have been reported to play an important role in gastroenterological tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis, but the molecular mechanisms involved tumor development and progression still remain unclear in colon cancer.

A research article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology refers. In this research, by using the combined methods of laser microdissection (LMD), P27-based RNA amplification, and polypeptide, They evaluated differentially expressed genes between early carcinoma and lymph node metastatic patients. Moreover, They further identified four differentially expressed genes in the progression of colon cancer in another group of 15 patients by means of semiquantitative reverse transcribed polymerase chain.

Their result indicated that the five gene expressions were changed in colon carcinoma cells compared with that of controls. Of the five genes, three genes were downregulated and two were upregulated in invasive submucosal colon carcinoma compared with non-invasive cases. The results were confirmed at the level of RNA and gene expression. Five genes were further identified as differentially expressed genes in the majority of cases in progression of colon cancer, and their expression patterns of which were similar to tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes. These results not only reveal the differentially expressed genes in progression of colon cancer, but also provide information that may prove useful for identifying novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Small intestine can sense and react to bitter toxins in food

Toxins in food often have a bad, bitter taste that makes people want to spit them out. A new research finds that bitterness also slows the digestive process, keeping bad food in the stomach longer and increasing the chances that it will be expelled. This second line of defense in the gut against dietary toxins also triggers the production of a hormone that makes people feel full, presumably to keep them from eating more of the toxic food.

The study was performed with mice, and the results probably translate to humans, said Timothy Osborne, molecular biology and biochemistry professor and study senior author. Mammals have evolved to dislike the bitter taste of toxins in food. This response is particularly important when they eat a lot of plant material, which tends to contain more bitter-tasting, potentially toxic ingredients than meat.

Examples of bitter-tasting toxins include phenylthiourea, a compound that destroys the thyroid gland, and quinine, found in tonic water, which can be deadly in large doses. If toxins are swallowed, bitter-taste receptors in the gut sense them and trigger the production of a hormone called cholecystokinin that both suppresses appetite and slows the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine.

Interestingly, the UCI scientists found that cholesterol regulates the activity of bitter-taste receptors in the intestine, and diets high in plant material and potential toxins naturally are low in cholesterol, compared to low-toxin, high-cholesterol, meat-based diets.

In small intestine cell cultures, low levels of cholesterol triggered a stronger receptor response – meaning they worked better – while high levels caused a weaker response.

The same response was observed in mice that were given drugs to stop the production and absorption of cholesterol. Not only were their receptors more active, their small intestine cells produced two to three times the amount of the appetite-suppressing hormone in the presence of bitter food, compared to normal mice.

In addition to the appetite-suppressing hormone, bitter-taste receptors in the gut activate the production of glucagon-like peptide 1, a protein that stimulates insulin secretion in the pancreas. Drugs currently are on the market that attempt to stabilize this protein in people with diabetes, and therapies aimed at increased production are attractive therapeutic targets.

Probiotic bacteria don't make eczema better

I truly hope that most of my readers know that probiotics or probiotic bacteria is only useful for our digestive system, colon and digestive process and shall never accept to be treated for other affection with probiotics. Probiotics are bacteria that have to stay inside our abdomen only!

Unfortunately, there are uses of probiotics on patients suffering from other problems than digestive system-related. There is no evidence probiotics can relieve the symptoms of eczema, but there is some evidence that they may occasionally cause infections and gut problems. These findings from The Cochrane Library come at a time when use of probiotics to treat eczema is increasing.

Eczema is an itchy skin condition that affects more than 1 in 20 people at some time in their lives and is especially common in children. Its cause is complex and not well understood, but sufferers do have different bacteria in their guts compared to unaffected people. Consequently, some nutritionists have suggested that eating live gut-dwelling bacteria, such as those found in probiotic yoghurts and some infant formulas, could be beneficial.

"Some doctors are recommending probiotics as a cheap treatment for eczema, but having carried out a systematic review we have found no evidence that they work for treating eczema," says lead researcher Robert Boyle of Imperial College, London, UK.

The Cochrane Researchers looked at 12 studies that together involved 781 children diagnosed with eczema. These studies compared severity of the disease in children given live bacteria to severity in those given a placebo. The researchers found that probiotics provided no significant health improvement. Similar bacteria were given across all studies, so the researchers could not rule out the possibility that other strains might be beneficial. Moreover they found that in separate studies 46 patients had been reported to suffer side effects from using probiotics, including infection and bowel damage.

"There is no evidence that probiotics are a worthwhile treatment for eczema, and they may be harmful for certain groups of people," says Boyle. "However, further studies of new probiotics are needed, because it is possible that different types of probiotics which haven't yet been studied in eczema treatment could be more effective."

Too many calories send the brain off kilter

Being fat is a worldwide spread problem and, believe it or not, things are worst than many of us can imagine. Fat is simply bad, is pure evil and we have to do something about it if we want to live a healthy, happy lifestile and have a happy life.

An overload of calories throws critical portions of the brain out of whack, reveals a study in the October 3rd issue of the journal Cell. That response in the brain's hypothalamus—the "headquarters" for maintaining energy balance—can happen even in the absence of any weight gain, according to the new studies in mice.

The brain response involves a molecular player, called IKKß/NF-?B, which is known to drive metabolic inflammation in other body tissues. The discovery suggests that treatments designed to block this pathway in the brain might fight the ever-increasing spread of obesity and related diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

"This pathway is usually present but inactive in the brain," said Dongsheng Cai of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cai said he isn't sure exactly why IKKß/NF-?B is there and ready to spring into action in the brain. He speculates it may have been an important element for innate immunity, the body's first line of defense against pathogenic invaders, at some time in the distant past.

" In today's society, this pathway is mobilized by a different environmental challenge—overnutrition," he said. Once activated, "the pathway leads to a number of dysfunctions, including resistance to insulin and leptin," both important metabolic hormones.

Earlier studies showed that overnutrition can spark inflammatory responses in the peripheral metabolic tissues, including the muscles and liver, and therefore cause various metabolic defects in those tissues that underlie type 2 diabetes. As a result, scientists identified IKKß as a target for an anti-inflammatory therapy that was effective against obesity-associated diabetes.

Yet whether metabolic inflammation and its mediators played a role in the central nervous system remained uncertain. Now, the researchers show that a chronic high-fat diet doubles the activity of this inflammatory pathway in the brains of mice. Its activity is also much higher in the brains of mice who are genetically predisposed to obesity, they found.

The researchers report that that increased activity of the IKKß/NF-?B pathway can be divorced from obesity itself -- infusions of either glucose or fat into the brains of mice alone led to this inflammatory brain reaction.

Further studies revealed that this activity in the brain leads to insulin and leptin resistance. Insulin lowers blood sugar by causing cells of the body to take it up from the bloodstream. Leptin is a fat hormone important for appetite control.

Moreover, the researchers found that treatments preventing the activity of IKKß/NF-?B in the animals' brains protected them from obesity.

While chronic inflammation is generally considered a consequence of obesity, the new results suggest the inflammatory reaction might also be a cause of the imbalance that leads to obesity and associated diseases, including diabetes. As Cai says, it appears that inflammation and obesity are "quite intertwined." An abundance of calories itself promotes inflammation, while obesity also feeds back to the neurons to further promote inflammation in a kind of vicious cycle.

The findings could lead to treatments that might stop this cycle before it gets started. Let's hope for the best. And, most important - stay healthy!

Dr. Natura's Colonix Review - Part 1

Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long, spare time is not the thing I have aplenty for now, unfortunately. Anyway, it is the time to tell you the first few impressions on Dr. Natura's Colonix, following two weeks "under treatment".

I have followed the indications closely, took as much as it was written there and consumed the needed water (usually a bit extra, too). I didn't pay too much attention to my diet, but I tried to ignore as much as possible foods with high fat values or generally unhealthy foods. On the other hand, physical exercises were close to zero since I have a lot of work to do and my job unfortunately keeps me tied to the chair.

These being said, I must admit that I am still somewhere in the middle with all this Colonix thing: it was not a wondermaker for me yet during these two weeks, but it doesn't seem to be a scam, either. My bowel movements are regular and I do feel that I'm eliminating more waste than I did before. So these should be enough to make me happy. Unfortunately, there might be a problem I'm willing to look into and, if my concerns are right, I might even stop the Colonix diet.

I'm talking about high acidity, which I believe is created by the Kleriol tea (the one you have to drink before going to sleep). I am not 100% sure my high levels of acidity are caused by the tea - I suffered from Ulcers in the past and I still have gastritis and acidity problems every now and then, so it could be just bad timing. However, I did notice that acidity levels tend to raise after I drink the tea. So this could be my bigger con, from a personal point of view.

Although I did not start looking at my feces (I wanted to, but I just can't!) I don't know if I am starting to eliminate stuff like other people who tried it were. One thing is for sure, though: I do eliminate bigger quantities and generally I feel better. There are no side-effects (except for the afore-mentioned acidity problem which might not be caused by it), and that makes me happy.

Oh, and one more thing: I find it a complete pain to take the Colonix (the fibers) in the morning. I have never used colon cleansers before, not fiber supplements and I must admit that it's a pretty tough job. So, if you plan to do it, be prepared! Also, stay tuned as I will update you on my Colonix review soon!

A new alternative in treating short bowel syndrome

SBS is a clinical condition characterized by diarrhea, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, malabsorption, and progressive malnutrition related to a wide resection of the small intestine. The most important therapeutic objectives in the management of SBS are maintenance the patient's calorie intake and nutritional status. However, some enteral nutrition (EN) products use for energy supports in order to reduce total parenteral nutrition (TPN) demand. The new treatment modalities alternate the current ones are still under research with the experimental and clinical studies. Chlorella is a species of green algae that grows in fresh water. It has been consumed as a food source for centuries in mainly Japan and other Far East countries, besides, it's healing properties has enhanced it's consumption too. Several EN products have been used for SBS.

A research article to be published on July 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team was led by Mustafa Kerem from Gazi University Experimental Surgery Center. In this original study, it has been seen that there's a positive effect of chlorella crude extract (CCE) on intestinal adaptation of rats which had undergone short bowel syndrome. Administration of CCE lead significant increase in intestinal villi height and villi width, intestinal protein and DNA amount, and serum citruline levels which is a sign of improved intestinal absorption. As being the first it's an important study. By this information algs which are easily found widely in salt and fresh waters and can be generated easily, can be used in clinical settings.

CCE has beneficial role in intestinal adaptation. It seems that it can be an alternative to the other commercial enteral and parenteral products.

The risk factors of abdominal venous thrombosis

Abdominal venous thrombosis may present as BCS or SVT. Hereditary and acquired risk factors have been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of abdominal venous thrombosis. Hereditary risk factors for thrombophilia include Factor V Leiden gene mutation, Prothrombin gene mutation, homozygous methyl tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene mutation and deficiencies of coagulation inhibitor Protein C, Protein S and Antithrombin III. There are few studies from South Asian region which have comprehensively evaluated prothrombotic risk factors in BCS and PVT.

A research article to be published on July 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Prof. Ashok Chacko at the Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, India investigated the inherited and acquired risk factors causing clotting of blood in abdominal veins.

Thirty-six patients with blood clots in abdominal veins were studied. The patients were divided into BCS group and SVT group based on the veins involved. Twenty patients had SVT, 14 had BCS and 2 had mixed venous involvement. Inherited and acquired risk factors for blood clotting were evaluated in all patients. Overall, 10 patients (28%) had inherited and 10 patients (28%) acquired risk factors. The acquired risk factors were significantly more common in the SVT group while inherited risk factors though higher than controls did not show significant difference between the two groups. Multiple risk factors were present in one (7%) patient with BCS and 3 patients (15%) with SVT. No risk factors were identified in 57% of patients with BCS and 45% of patients with SVT.

Their result indicate that hereditary and acquired risk factors play an important role in etiopathogenesis of abdominal venous hrombosis. Acquired risk factors are significantly more common in patients with SVT while hereditary risk factors are similar in patients with BCS and SVT. Recognition and evaluation of these risk factors may help in therapy and prevention of disease progression. As a significant number of patients lack obvious etiology further research is required to identify as yet unrecognized risk factors.

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Reference: Dutta AK, Chacko A, George B, Joseph AJ, Nair SC, Mathews V. Risk factors of thrombosis in abdominal veins

How to diagnose and treat spontaneous colonic perforation

Spontaneous perforation of the colon is defined as a sudden perforation of the normal colon without any diseases such as tumor external injury. It is rare, often misdiagnosed and has a high mortality rate. A group led by Huai-Kun Ni from Fuding City Hospital of China investigated the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous perforation of the colon, and this will be published on July 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

They retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 10 cases of spontaneous perforation of the colon, observed at Fuding hospital from January 2004 to December 2007. Seven patients had a history of chronic constipation. All patients complained of sudden lower abdominal pain. The perforation occurred after coloclysis and administration of senna leaves in two patients. Nine patients had signs of peritoneal irritation. Seven cases underwent abdominal paracentesis, which was diagnostic in six. Only one case was definitely diagnosed prior to surgery. One patient underwent neoplasty of the colon, another a partial resection of colon, six a neoplasty of the colon plus sigmoid colostomy, and two underwent Hartmann surgery. All perforation sites were opposite to the mesenteric edge. The perforation sites were located on descending colon in one case, sigmoid colon in three cases, and rectosigmoid colon in six cases. In five patients, surgical pathological examination was consistent with the microscopical changes of colonic perforation caused by feces. Three patients died after surgery. This study may be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous colonic perforation.

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Reference: Yang B, Ni HK. Diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous colonic perforation: An analysis of 10 cases

Starting to Review Dr Natura's Colonix

Following a lot of delays from various reasons, today I will start using Dr. Natura's Colonix and post weekly updates on the product. I have only purchased a set for one month - since I have never done such a colon cleansing before, I did not want to go for the full three months package before knowing how my body reacts to it.

Anyway, the idea is that, starting today, I hope to get rid of my annoying constipation and finally get it going and feel better with myself. Stay tuned as I will update my Colonix experience regularly and I will personally tell you if it is a scam or not. I truly hope it's not, because I'm running out of options with my IBS :) Stay healthy!

Medications to treat stomach acid

Gastritis can prove to be a real pain for us, but thankfully there are lots of types of medicine to help us fight against its effects and avoid turining it into an ulcers. Although they should usually be combined with a healthy, good diet for gastritis, stomach acid can easily be lowered with medications. Stomach acid irritates inflamed tissue in your stomach, causing pain and further inflammation. That's why, for most types of gastritis, treatment involves taking drugs to reduce or neutralize stomach acid, such as:

• Antacids. Over-the-counter antacids (Maalox, Mylanta, others) in liquid or tablet form are a common treatment for mild gastritis. Antacids neutralize stomach acid and can provide fast pain relief.

• Acid blockers. When antacids don't provide enough relief, your doctor may recommend a medication, such as cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), nizatidine (Axid) or famotidine (Pepcid), that helps reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces.

• Medications to shut down acid 'pumps'. Medications called proton pump inhibitors reduce acid by blocking the action of tiny pumps within the acid-secreting cells of your stomach. This class of medications includes omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (Aciphex) and esomeprazole (Nexium).

You Love to Eat, Don’t You?

If you’re starting to read this, one thing is clear: you just LOVE to eat, just like I do and just like at least half of the population of the globe does. Unfortunately, our love for food means we are prone to getting overweight, eating all sorts of unhealthy foods and eventually bombarding our body with toxins and all sorts of nasty stuff which, in the end, can have some really bad effects like gastritis, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive system related diseases. So… what can we do, if we still love to eat?

Well, the first thing to do would be to “grow up” and stop eating all those tasty but unhealthy stuff – you know, the fast food type of stuff, the oily stuff and so on. But this is totally out of question (presuming that you’re not like me, already suffering from IBS which takes each and every tasty food from you). So… what to do?

One of the safest ways to keep your body and digestive system ready to battle the caloric bombs and the toxins of everyday’s food is a 5 day diet with fresh fruits and vegetables – apparently, this “living food”, often mistaken with “green food” means that you eat healthy for five days per week in order to keep your body up and running, help it detox and win a few more years for you to continue eating like hell. No, really!

So this diet I’m talking about consists of eating only fruits for short periods of time, along with vegetables – none of these being cooked. You’ll love them raw and your body will love them, too! Also, instead of water or the nasty sodas, you should drink tea, digestive tea, diuretic tea and avoid coffee at all costs. You can do that!

Following these short periods of time of eating living food (vegetables and fruits) it will be easier for your body to detoxify itself. But please, have in mind that, even though this kind of diets is better than nothing, it does not stand for a healthy living style that will be a pure heaven for your digestive system. So please have in mind to keep fats and unhealthy foods as low as possible, otherwise you might get to a point when you will regret. And that’s not nice at all! So stay healthy and IBS-free!

I'm Back!

My planned vacation has finally (and unfortunately) ended, so I am back home now, ready to take care of my body and mind and ready to share some advice on the way. And trust me, it's going to be a busy month October, since I am planning to start my detox program with Colonix and I'm going to both review it and offer a couple of days' impressions. Also, I have been testing Microhydrin for a while now and I'll be writing a very short review soon.

However, the most important thing of them all is the fact that I will probably have to write about my detox program during this vacation in a wonderful area on the globe - somewhere in the rather scary-ish (at first) country of Romania. But I tried, did my best and I am not at all disappointed. Actually, I will certainly re-visit this place next year, too. Anyway, this is just a teaser and a "I'm back" message, more will follow up during the following weeks. I'm sure we'll be more healthier if we follow all the advice I came with from the rather wonderful country of Romania. Anyway, let's all stay healthy and please allow me to rest following my long trip back home!

Short Vacation

I will go on a short one week-long vacation this Sunday and I will not be able to write while I am gone. However, for those interested in some good advice regarding diets for digestive system related problems, you can always choose my personal 7-day diet for gastritis. Also, since a good detox is never out of hand, find out here a few things about the magic of drinking water. And, most important than everything, stay healthy! Let's hope we'll meet again as healthy as possible!

Stem cells and inflammatory bowel disease curing

Investigators from a hospital in Massachusetts have found that infusions of a particular bone marrow stem cell appeared to protect gastrointestinal tissue from autoimmune attack in a mouse model, allowing the regeneration of the gastrointestinal lining in mice with a genetic mutation leading to multiorgan autoimmune disease. In other words, this means that bowel related problems such as irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel diseases could be controlled using these stem cells.

"Our findings suggest that MSC therapy could become a useful treatment for inflammatory bowel disease," said Biju Parekkadan, PhD, according to EurekAlert. "Several previous studies have observed these cells' ability to inhibit specific subsets of T cells and relieve symptoms in particular autoimmune disorders. But this is the first demonstration of their ability to suppress a broad-based autoimmune reaction and protect gastrointestinal tissue."

Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system loses control over lymphocytes (white blood cells) that attack an individual's own tissues. Treatments for these diseases – more than 80 conditions, ranging from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis to gastrointestinal disorders like Crohn's disease and IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) – are primarily directed against symptoms; and even those that target the immune system do not completely suppress the out-of-control response. Found in the bone marrow, MSCs give rise to tissues supporting blood cell development and secrete factors that can modulate several immune system activities. Their use has recently received FDA approval to treat severe graft-versus-host disease in children, which means that the first step has been made and there is a huge possibility we'll see more in the future!

Analysis of the animal's lymph nodes revealed that MSC treatment produced a significant reduction in inflammation of the colon. Surprisingly, cell-tracking studies indicated that the MSCs – which were administered by infusion into the peritoneum, the membrane lining the abdominal cavity – moved into abdominal lymph nodes rather than to the intestine itself. The presence of MSCs was associated with a reduction of activated T cells and changes in other indicators of immune system activity, indicating suppression of the out-of-control immune reaction. Let's all hope for the best. Stay helathy!

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

It’s time to talk a little bit about irritable bowel syndrome symptoms or IBS symptoms because there is one thing that should always be remembered when it comes to digestive system related problem like this one: symptoms can vary from person to person and only your doctor should exactly analyze them for you, in order to make sure you get a proper diagnosis.

However, there are a few symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome that usually stand out of the pack and these are: bloating, constipation (or diarrhea) and abdominal pain or discomfort in the lower right part of the abdomen (or the lower left part). Since I am a constipation IBS “owner”, I can tell you out of my own experience that you can generally try to have a bowel movement without managing to eliminate anything and that’s a common thing. Also, you can have cramps or feel spasms of your bowel, but these things usually go away after defecation. However, it is common for people with IBS to leave the bathroom with the feeling of not emptying the waste (actually, this was one of the most clear signs for me!)

Other irritable bowel syndrome symptoms can be excessive bloating and swelling of the abdomen and even the need to pass more wind. Together with these might come other symptoms like headaches, tiredness, backache and muscle pains. After all, there are many people who associate stress with IBS and they might be right.

Any of these symptoms might come mixed up with others, too and they can also completely go away for a few months, just to return as if nothing happened. Actually, that is one of the main things regarding the irritable bowel syndrome: symptoms come and go and usually change in between, especially from constipation to diarrhea. But one thing is clear: even though you can generally tell for yourself, after reading the list above, if you have IBS or not, the best thing to do is to go and ask your doctor.

And, if you have the power to do so, watch a pretty funny Youtube video I found today which kind of goes hand in hand with our topic of symptoms for IBS. If you are easily offended, don’t watch it!

Look Into the Future: Early Gene for IBS Identified!

Apparently, parents will be able in the near future (hopefully) to know if their children have the risk to develop an irritable bowel syndrome and cure it before it starts becoming a real pain! Just imagine how much would this scientific breakthrough help our kids!

It was a study of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in children that identified a gene that influences whether children get these diseases early in life, and therefore points to a potential new target for treatment. The findings of the international team that performed the study were published online this week by the journal Nature Genetics.

While several genes that influence susceptibility to the two diseases have been found previously, this study is the first to focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with childhood onset.

Both genetics and the environment have an effect on the risk of getting inflammatory bowel disease – that’s a fact everybody knows. For example, if one identical twin suffers from Crohn's disease, the other has a 60 percent probability of getting it too. However, the incidence of disease has drastically increased over the last half century, because the environment has changed, as well as the way people lead their life today. So, please try to understand: we are doing it to ourselves and we have to stop. Because, the way it is now, the future does not look nice…

Anyway… back to the study and its IBS/ulcerative colitis findings: it compared the DNA of more than 1,000 children diagnosed with all sorts of inflammatory bowel diseases at the average age of 11 with 4,250 disease-free children, and confirmed the findings in a larger set of patients established by the British Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium - the authors used gene chip microarray technology to scan thousands of one-letter alternative genetic "spellings" spread throughout the patients' DNA. Most of these made little difference when it came to affecting the risk of inflammatory bowel disease, but a few stood out, and two had not been seen before. Just imagine how important! Because scientists were led to a gene whose activity they found was associated with the degree of inflammation in the colon. And there is encoded a protein that lengthens the duration of an immune response by regulating the longevity of activated white blood cells, meaning that it could be the answer for our problems! Let’s just hope that the doctors and scientists and researchers are able to create a good medicine to help our kids in the future. Although IBS could certainly be controlled in a more natural way: by living a healthy life!

Water for Detox and Better Digestion

I am almost sure most of you know already that doctors and dietitians recommend 8-10 glasses of water to be consumed daily for a “healthier body”. Again, I am almost sure that they don’t take the needed time to tell their patients WHY they should drink that much water. And that is a really important thing to know, because, for one, I would never do something “just because”.

So let’s see what benefic effects water has on our digestive system and why we should drink about 10 glasses per day (of course, it is good for other things, but since this blog is about IBS and digestive system-related problems, that’s our topic!)

On average, in the human body, water makes up around 60% of body weight – this argument only is enough for you to understand that water is pretty important! The more water we lose via dehydratation, the weaker our body (thus digestive system) will be. However, you should know that our body gets water from all the aliments that have water, so not all the water in our body is made up by that we drink.

Also, water is very, very important in digestion of the food, and that is another big factor when it comes to problems like irritable bowel syndrome or constipation (chronic or not). It could also be very helpful in high acidity gastritis problems, as well as general diets:

1. It is said that drinking water before meals helps us feel full. This is not 100% true, since water is the only thing we can consume which has exactly 0 calories! Also, it has no nutrients so it is passed on immediately. However, drinking a glass of water before eating will help us identify if we are hungry or thirsty, therefore helps us to avoid overeating.

2. Generally, drinking water during meals is very bad for our digestive system (especially for those with IBS) since it slows down digestion and thus it facilitates deposits of waste in the colon’s walls – and they keep adding up, becoming more and more dangerous.

3. You can also combine water and eating in a more pleasant way – soups and teas also help up with the hydratation of the body and they speed up the digestive process (water is a very important factor when it comes to waste movement in our intestines and the lack of it lacks to constipation).

So, all in all, if used correctly and in a big enough quantity, water will help our digestive system and aid in our battle for a happy, healthy abdomen. There are many people who say something like: “if your body needs water to be cleaned on the outside, it needs water to be clean on the inside, too”. And that is correct – there are some alternative medicine concepts that go as far as suggesting a one day diet per week, meaning that on any given day (Friday, usually, for the best results) one should only drink water for the entire day, to clean his or her body. However, radical stuff like that should usually be avoided since they could do much harm to an already sick body. But one thing is clear: drinking enough water will help you fight against toxic waste in your body and help improve your overall digestive properties.

Colon Cleansing Tea for a Cleaner Colon

There are all sorts of means for people to try and clean their colon, but sometimes a herbal colon cleansing could prove to be better than any other diet or medicine. A colon cleansing tea, for example, has a few main advantages other types of so-called colon cleanser don’t: the most important of them all is that it is natural and it rarely has side effects (if any) for patients with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

So… why is colon cleansing tea better than other products, you might ask? Well, the colon cleansing tea primarily fights back the issues of body – irritable bowel syndrome, in our case - since it washes out the nasty stuff from our intestines. Cleaning your colon is the initial and crucial step before its curing and further more, maintenance. However, in order to make sure that the colon cleaning tea makes a good impact, it is always a good idea to maintain a vigorous and well-maintained diet chart, which includes protein rich vegetables, fruits, and intake of ample amount of water (I will talk a bit later about the importance of water in body detoxification).

The colon cleansing tea or herbal colon cleansing method as it is otherwise called, helps you clean your intestines with a mixture of select herbs and plants with properties that facilitate the elimination, removal of toxins and waste from the intestinal tract, and enhance the absorption of nutrients for the body. Which further means that it acts like a diuretic (eliminating constipation) and as a detox method, too. Colon cleansing tea should always be tried out before going to some more powerful cleansing methods such as medical colon cleansers, hydrotherapy and so on.

However, one should never consider a colon cleansing tea product something which should be taken lightly. Actually, this tea usually has a powerful effect on human body, and that is the biggest reason why a colon cleaning tea diet should not last over two weeks. Also, there is no “correct” number of cups one should drink per day for a fully optimized colon cleansing – it all depends on your own body, the state of your colon and the amount of waste it deposits (usually, as scary as it might sound, a typical male holds no less than 8 (EIGHT!) undigested meals in his colon!). However, it is better suited for any body to start out low and increase the colon cleansing tea dosage if effects fail to appear.

If you are interested in a full detox using herbal colon cleaning via a colon cleansing tea, you should look for products which have only natural ingredients like Stevia rebaudiana, Rubus idaeus leaf, Lobelia inflate and most important Psyllium. I know these things have no sense for you, but it is said that these, especially the latter plant, are the best. For example, this psyllium is said to be an essential part of a good detoxification program! So always be careful what you buy and stay as far as possible from scam, because you’re your health you’re playing with!

So, as a conclusion, I could say that even though the colon cleansing tea is considered as a trouble free and a natural product to clean the colon, you should always seek medical advice before buying the medicinal tea, which is readily available from herbalists and health food retailers, since you must stay away from scam and bad products, in order to have the best effect on your irritable bowel syndrome or general colon health.

Colon and Colorectal Cancer Based on Family History

For a person like myself who has irritable bowel syndrome and all sorts of problems related to the digestive system, it’s not at all pleasant to talk about (or even think about) colon or colorectal cancer, but it’s the information that matters in the end, so I have to do it, especially because it appears that some people might be a bit more lucky with the treatment of colon cancer.

According to health magazine Medical News Today, there is a lower risk of recurrence or mortality for patients with stage III colon cancer who have a family history of colorectal cancer in a first-degree relative. It appears that out of the people with colorectal cancer, about 20 percent have a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer, too. Although your parent or sibling having colorectal or colon cancer doubles the risk of a person developing the disease, the influence of family history on cancer recurrence and survival is improved. So, to put it in other words: it’s a 50-50 chance you’ll have it, but if you do, you’re more likely to cure it. Here are the numbers and the detailed story:

All these were found following a study that analyzed 1087 patients with stage III colon cancer (cancer that has spread from the colon to the lymph glands but not to other parts of the body) who were taking part in a clinical trial of chemotherapy. Rates of recurrence and death were compared over a median follow-up of 5.6 years in the 195 patients (17.9%) with a family history of colorectal cancer in a first-degree relative with the 892 patients without a close relative with the disease.

Results showed that cancer recurrence or death occurred in 29% of the patients with a family history of colorectal cancer, compared to 38% of those without a first-degree relative with the condition. The risk of recurrence was 26% lower in patients with a family history of colorectal cancer, while their risk of death was 25% lower.

The reduction in risk of cancer recurrence or death associated with a family history became stronger as the number of affected first-degree relatives increased. Compared to those without a family history, patients with one affected relative had a 23% greater disease-free survival, increasing to a 51% in those with two or more affected relatives.

Of course, you should note that generally it is said that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) usually stays there and does not evolve to cancer. So put all the good ahead and try to change your life – live if healthy and try to prevent!

Just Bought My First Colon Cleanser!

If you read my previous entries, you probably know I’m not really for using colon cleansing products… but sometimes, you should not follow your heart but what the medic says, especially if you have a very disturbing irritable bowel syndrome, like I do. (Well... it was just a figure of speech, since no doctor told me to go for a colon cleansing product, but I decided to do so after consulting with him and the almighty Internet).

So, the idea is that, after reading tons of reviews on the Internet about colon cleansing products, after checking every dark corner of each company, I have decided to go for Colonix from Dr. Natura simply because it received the most positive reviews. Hopefully, these were honest and not paid-for ones, since I know that happens pretty often nowadays, and it’s so un-ethical when it comes to health.

Anyway, I have ordered the program and today I received the colon cleansing program for one month (honestly, I don’t trust it does what it promises, so there was no point for me to order the recommended 3 months program for those who never did this).

I must say that the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw this product was: Hey! It’s much smaller than I had imagined! (You probably know the classic ad-picture of this product, and it seems to be huge. Well… it is not).

Colonix comes with an instruction guide telling you exactly what steps you should follow, how this colon cleansing product works and other stuff like that (which, if you have an irritable bowel syndrome for a while, you probably know for yourself). However, I must admit that the writing is pretty good and I am tempted to believe them. They promise to do a lot of good to your colon, and I don’t know why they would do something like that if it wasn’t true. So I’ll start and pray for the best…

However, my review on this product won’t come too fast – right now I’m undergoing a different detox program with microhydrin and lots of naturist stuff (things that kind of work, but are not great) but as soon as possible, I’ll come up with my review for Dr. Natura’s Colonix, so stay tuned!

Self-inducted Constipation

The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and constipation usually go hand in hand and constipation is one of the most common problems in the world today. Although general causes for it are multiple and generally based on the lifestyle of the subject or other health problems, constipation can also be self-inducted, and that is probably the biggest problem, since constipation is one of the biggest pains in one’s arse (pun intended).

So, what does self-inducted constipation mean and why is it so bad? Well, there is not really a definition for this, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory: it is represented by the delay of defecation from various reasons. For example, I had a friend that could only defecate in his own WC and nowhere else, so whenever he went on a trip or vacation, he kept taking constipation pills to keep him going. Results? He now has IBS, he’s always constipated, he gained fat and is in a generally bad condition.

Another example of self-inducted constipation: myself. When I got my first job, I found out that the bathroom was located in the vicinity of a big office where about ten people were working. Basically, just the bathroom door was separating the two rooms, so whenever I felt the need for a bowel movement, I delayed it because I was pretty ashamed of the smell that could follow and the reaction of my colleagues. Results? Big problems with constipation today, irritable bowel syndrome and a small gain in weight. Fortunately, unlike my friend, I have learned how bad for one’s health is this self-inducted constipation and started to right the wrongs.

So please, have in mind: if you feel the need to go to the bathroom, go for it! Do not self-induct your constipation, whatever the reasons are. Because, ultimately, it’s all about your health. And there is nothing on this world more important than maintaining your good health!

Chew Your Way to a Healthier Life

Keeping your digestive system healthy is much easier than you think it is, as long as you follow a few simple rules and always care about your health. There are indeed more steps to follow to defeat nasty things like the irritable bowel syndrome or some gastritis, but this one I’m going to talk about today is the easiest of them all, is costless and, the most important: you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying it!

I am talking about chewing your food. Yes, that’s right! Experts say that, in order to maintain a healthy digestive system, a mouthful should be chewed 50 times – this way, saliva will mix with the perfectly chewed food and allow for both a better digestion and nutrient absorption.

This is not only good for living a healthy life, but also for helping treatment of gastritis, ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome. And, as I said, it costs you nothing to try it: just chew your food 50 times before swallowing and soon, your digestive system will be very happy. Stay healthy!

Bioresonance, Best Thing Ever or Biggest Scam?

You have probably heard about the latest miracle of modern and alternative medicine: Bioresonance Therapy. Also, if you're suffering from a strange condition like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (just like I do), you probably start to wonder if other things could cure you or not. Let's see if Bioresonance Therapy can help your IBS or not.

What is Bioresonance? According to Wikipedia, descriptions are pretty obscure and there is no real definition about this Bioresonance: Usually electrodes, linked to a box, are applied to the patient's skin. According to the manufacturer of these devices, they emit alternating currents which are claimed to be healing. They describe cells as resonating objects (with unknown frequency and energy however) having a natural resonance (ie bio-resonance). Generally using PC-based technology, these machines are said to be "repairing" the natural resonance withing the cells and therefore cure the diseases. Without medicine, without pain – without feeling anything, actually. Which sounds really great!

I must admit that I went to such a clinic and I was pretty excited about the prospect of curing my Irritable Bowel Syndrome and live a healthy life, after all. The medic told me that for IBS, I need to go four times to the Bioresonance machine and I'll be cured. Also, the doctor told me she will give me a bunch of naturist medicine to help speed up the process. Everything seemed to be trustworthy and apparently there was nothing for me to lose.

Since my condition was pretty bad (just a couple of bowel movements per week and big pain in the abdominal area), I hoped for the best. Actually, after the first visit to the Bioresonance Machine (called BICOM 2000 if I remember well), I felt better: the pain was of a lower intensity and I felt the need to go and defecate! So I thought it was
working! But I was wrong, unfortunately.

My situation didn't go any better in the future, even though I kept taking the naturist plants for my colon and doing everything the doctor told me. When I went to my third visit, I had a conversation with the doctor. She said "So... any improvements?" I said:
"Absolutely nothing, I have the same problems, it's not better". And she said: "No, you are felling better. At least a little better. Just think about it: you are feeling a little, little bit better, right?" And I said yes – it could've been a tiny little bit better...

When I was ready to leave, the doctor did the ultimate mistake and fully convinced me that Bioresonace Therapy is nothing but a scam: she told me that, in order to solve my problems, I have to visit her at least one more time (but she'd suggest two more visits, just to be sure) and then at least one visit per month. Well... you know what? She only wanted my money and had nothing to do with my Irritable Bowel Syndrome! So I never got back!

The thing is that it might be all placebo and I doubted the whole thing from the start. Or maybe Bioresonance Therapy is not good for colon related problems, but it helps with others. Or maybe I just was unlucky and got a crook of a medic. I don't know, I'm not the one to say that Bioresonance Therapy is a scam, but I do know it did not help me, not even a little. On the other side, it cost me a lot of money and that really makes me wonder: how can some people play with somebody's life, if they know that they can't help? Some people have no heart, I tell you! So, if you want my honest opinion: stay away from Bioresonance Therapy if you have IBS or other colon problems!

What to Eat if You Have Gastritis - 7 Day Plan

I have talked earlier about what you are allowed to eat if you have gastritis, now it's time to get a bit more specific and try to find a seven-day plan to have some varied foods (because you probably know already that having a gastritis doesn’t allow you to eat the most varied things). So, here is my homebrew, tested, personally designed 7 day plan to offer a calming, great diet for your gastritis (with an emphasis on homebrew – it’s based on medical gastritis fact, but it’s not made by dieticians) :

DAY ONE
Breakfast: A glass of milk and five digestive biscuits.
Mid-morning snack: One apple
Lunch: 2 medium-sized steamed potatoes, one slice of cheese, two slices of bread if you can’t without it. Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before lunch.
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, eat a yogurt and 2 digestive biscuits.
Dinner: A large bowl of cabbage salad with dressing of lemon juice and olive oil (extra vergin), and two pieces of toasted bread.

DAY TWO
Breakfast: Four digestive biscuits together with one big juicy apple
Mid-morning: One banana
Lunch: Grilled chicken breasts with two steamed carrots and two slices of toasted bread.
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, drink a glass of milk and eat 2 digestive biscuits.
Dinner: Fresh home-made cottage cheese with 3 slices of toasted bread.

DAY THREE
Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 slices of bread
Mid-morning: Half a can of pineapple compote
Lunch: A big bowl of Caesar salad, without any spices.
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, eat one banana.
Dinner: Steamed vegetables (carrots, broccoli, celery, cabbage) with 2 slices of toast bread

DAY FOUR
Breakfast: One big grape, and three-four digestive biscuits
Mid-morning: One yogurt with dried crackers
Lunch: Pasta alla carbonara, without any spices. You should also use low-fat meat for preparing it.
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, eat one big juicy apple
Dinner: Hummus and two-three big slices of toasted bread

DAY FIVE:
Breakfast: One bowl of hot oatmeal porridge
Mid-morning: One banana
Lunch: Vegetable soup with some low fat steamed meat (chicken, low fat pork) and two-three tortillas
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, drink a glass of milk and eat four digestive biscuits
Dinner: Potato salad with hard boiled eggs and toast bread if necessary

DAY SIX:
Breakfast: A glass of milk and five digestive biscuits.
Mid-morning snack: One big grape
Lunch: Tuna fish salad (without any spices) and three slices of toasted bread
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, eat one banana.
Dinner: Hummus and two-three big slices of toasted bread

DAY SEVEN:
Breakfast: Fruit salad (apple, orange, grapes, pineapple).
Mid morning: One yogurt with dried crackers
Lunch: Ravioli with spinach.
Mid-afternoon: Only if you have problems with gastritis symptoms or if you are hungry, drink a glass of milk and eat 2 digestive biscuits.
Dinner: A large bowl of green salad with dressing of lemon juice and olive oil (extra vergin) with feta cheese and two pieces of toasted bread.

Please note: As soon as you wake up, you can (and should) drink a glass of water with a few drops of squeezed lemon and a spoonful of honey. Also, before going to bed (at least 30 minutes before) you can drink a glass of fresh milk and eat an apple, as they will calm down your abdominal pains and gastritis symptoms. Of course, the dinner should be consumed at least 2 hours before going to sleep, or else your digestive system might not have time to digest and will not help your gastritis problems.

Also note: This is not a lose-weight diet! This is a suggestion of what one person should eat for gastritis problems, in order to have as varied meals as possible. When I had gastritis and ulcers problems, I used to eat something like that and it calmed me down. If any of the foods in this diet will make your abdominal pains more intense, DO NOT eat them again until you have cured your gastritis. Of course, you can use other foods if you don’t like any of those posted here, with a focus on hummus, spinach and green/cabbage salad. Good luck with your gastritis recovery!

If you are interested, you can also read my general post “What Should You Eat if You Have Gastritis”.

What Should You Eat if You Have IBS

Unlike the diet for gastritis, the irritable bowel syndrome died is quite tricky. Especially because, as I said before, there are two types of syndromes (diarrhea or constipation) and practically each person has a specific reaction to the same type of food. So it would’ve been better if you did everything you could to prevent it… but you are here now and you have to deal with it, right?

As I said, te influence of diet is unique to each individual and there is no generalized dietary advice that will work for everyone, unfortunately. A doctor can take a brief dietary history and with a 2-3 week diary of dietary intake, symptoms, and any associated factors (like daily obligations, stressors, poor sleep, medications etc) can help identify dietary and/or other factors that may impact symptoms.

Usually, there are a few rules of thumb when it comes to the irritable bowel syndrome diet:

Eating too much of some types of sugar that are poorly absorbed by the bowel can also cause cramping or diarrhea. Examples include sorbitol – commonly used as a sweetener in many dietetic foods, candies, and gums; and fructose – also used as a sweetener and found naturally in honey as well as some fruits.

Also, meals that are too large or high in fat, fried foods, coffee, caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes will never help improve your colon condition and ameliorate the IBS symptoms, so you’d better cut them off completely until you get the chance to go and see a medic to discuss with him about your diet. Keep your chin up and stay healthy!

Things to Do for a Happy, Healthy Abdomen

I kept saying it: preventing is much easier than curing. Trust me, please, even if you are young and nothing bad seems to be possible to happen to you. I was just like you when I started to destroy my life bit by bit and now, at only 24 years old, I am trying hard to get it back on track and enjoy a painless, colon-healthy life. So please, invest just a little time in reading the following tips and try to follow them and you will be thankful at 60, when everybody else will have lots of problems. Because a healthy abdomen can't be had without a bit of interest from you.

So, if you want to reduce the risks of colon cancer or other complications, as well as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), here are a few easy steps you should follow as often as possible:

• Healthy diet: All research suggests that eating a diet rich in fiber and calcium may help prevent colon cancer and other diseases. Whole grains from breads and cereals, as well as nuts, fruits, vegetables and beans may also have protective effects (even though consumption of these foods is not recommended if you are having colon problems).

• While the cancer-fighting mechanisms in various foods are not completely understood, researchers continue to work on the connection between cancer and diet, with promising results. Studies show that calcium, vitamin D and folic acid (which can be found in cabbage) may keep colon cancer at bay. On the other hand, a diet high in saturated fat combined with a sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of colo-rectal cancer.
  

• Exercise regularly: Scientific evidence supports the conclusion that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of several cancers — particularly colon cancer — among men and women. A 1997 study by the Harvard School of Public Health determined that regular moderate exercise, such as a daily hour-long walk, reduced the risk of developing colon cancer by almost 50 percent. However, it was recently discovered that the so called “good" walk right after dinner, is actually a real pain for your abdomen and digestive system and actually harms both digestion and colon. So try to take a little break between eating and walking.

• Quit smoking: Countless studies and researches have linked cigarette smoking to colon cancer (among other types of cancer, of course). The studies also found that smoking at a young age increases one's lifetime risk of colorectal cancer. And since your risk increases the longer you smoke, it's never too late to stop. Not to mention that, among with the decrease in IBS or other colon related problems, you will also reduce chances of getting other problems related to smoking.

• Limit alcohol drinking: Excessive alcohol consumption may increase your risk for colon cancer. Alcohol has also been linked to other gastrointestinal cancers. So if you drink, do so only in moderation and try to stay away from very strong alcoholic beverages.

• One aspirin: People who take aspirin regularly to keep their hearts healthy may reduce their risk of cancer. Taking an aspirin every other day for 20 years may cut the risk of colon cancer almost in half, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, research conducted by doctors from St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York shows that a combination of aspirin and cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may nip cells in the earliest stages of cancer.
  

So, as you can see, it's nothing too difficult: just a few easy steps that can be done if you care at least a bit about your health. And trust me, you should: it's much easier to prevent than to cure! I know.

Image credit: hypnofitmaui.com

What Should You Eat if You Have Gastritis

I have generally talked only about irritable bowel syndrome until today and I think we should take a break from it and focus on other abdominal problems. We’re keeping in the same area and today are talking about gastritis.

There are two types of gastritis – low acidity and high acidity and obviously the treatment and diet for each is completely different. Since my gastritis is caused by high acidity, that’s what we are going to talk about right now – diet and permitted foods, to be more specific.

Unlike diets for colon related problems, diets for gastritis are pretty permissive. There is a general rule of thumb here, though, which is usually ignored by the busiest doctors: there are different types of food which could do wonders for some patients, while others might feel sick after consuming them. So the basic idea is that if you feel that your pain is getting worse after eating a specific product, don’t eat that anymore until your gastritis is gone, even if your doctor told you it could be a good thing to eat.

For example, I ate milk and other milk-based products and had no problems (they even calmed my abdomen), but other people I know having gastritis have a bad reaction to milk consumption. So always test before you stock and be ready to listen to your body.

However, there are some things (just like milk) which generally are good for fighting against gastritis. As I said, just to make things clear: these types of food should NOT be used in fighting against the irritable bowel syndrome!

You can usually eat any of the following: tea, milk, dry biscuits (digestive ones are even better), a little butter, egg yolk (very, very healthy), steam vegetables or meat, different kinds of soups, pasta, all sorts of purees (excluding spinach). Coffee drinking is, but no more than one cup a day.

You should try to avoid eating fresh bread, cakes shaped, oily meat, cabbage, prunes, strong tea, cocoa, spices, salt, grapes and other citric fruits or things like French fries, hamburgers or other junk food, peas, beans or other things that lead to constipation. Cabbage could also harm you and alcohol is a big No-No.

When you have problems with gastritis, the best thing to do would be to always carry dry biscuits with you and whenever you start feeling the burning down your throat or inside the stomach, eat no more than 2-3 pieces. That should calm you down and help reducing the acidity in your stomach. And also be prepared for seasonal pain: I have bigger problems during spring and autumn. Stay healthy!

Note: If you are interested in a seven-day diet plan for gastritis, please check my Gastritis Food Program.

Detox - Scam or Not?

You must have heard it everywhere, even though it’s not necessary related to colon problems or other abdomen-related diseases and such. Detoxification of your organism is something you should do, right? Sounds pretty clear, but a few people have some things against such practices and try to fight against them. Although there are some points here, I strongly disagree with this opinion. But it’s worth a read, since it’s always good to know both faces of the problem when deciding a solution. So, without further ado, here it is:

It's an irrational concept, yet an intriguing idea, that modern life so fills us with poisons from polluted air and food additives that we need to be periodically "cleaned out" ("detoxified"). Never mind that natural chemicals in our foods are thousands of times more potent than additives, or that most Americans are healthier, live longer, and can choose from the most healthful food supply ever available.

The elaborate, manipulative hoax of "detoxification" is gaining ground. Many people sincerely believe that their intestines, colon, and blood stream are subject to "clogging" by undigested foods and poisons. Food faddists seem to have a special fascination with bowels, colons, and body wastes.

The supposed need to detox is promoted through extensive writings, advertisements and door-to-door pitches. This usually involves fasting several times a year for a few days while taking laxatives or diuretics to "clean out the system."

Some entrepreneurs claim that detoxing is a great way to jump-start a diet by losing 5 or 10 pounds before you even begin the diet itself. And if their scheme is not about weight loss, "rejuvenation" is typically recommended afterward. People who are persuaded that these activities will restore vigorous youth can wind up hooked on an herbal regimen that costs several hundred dollars a month.

Full article here.

My Quest to Be Healthy

I have decided to tell you about my personal fight against my abdomen related problems. I have had lots of problems during the past years, even though I am apparently too young to have all these problems (I’m 24).

I have had problems with gastritis, duodenal ulcer – these two kind of managed to get away following countless nights of pain and lack of sleeping and a healthy dose of diet, exercise and medical treatment. However, I now have another abdominal-related problem which also very hard to come by: I have incredible pains and discomfort because of an irritable bowel syndrome which is bugging me for quite a while and, because I kind of lost interest in my health for a while, started to get worse.

But I began to take care of my IBS and, thinking about the fact that I’m too young for unnecessary complications, I started to follow a diet, kind-of detox programs, get medicine and hope for the best. My quest is not an easy one, but I will keep everybody updated with the things I do. Let’s hope for the best and let’s stay healthy!

Things to Know about Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome

When it comes to problems with your colon/intestines (just like with any other disease) it is best to know as much as possible about your problems, since that’s the first step into curing them. However, there are a few “must knows” when it comes to IBS – everybody has to start from somewhere, right? Here is a list with the most notable things you should know:

First of all, you can’t blame something specific for your irritable bowel syndrome: the causes vary. It can be anything from stress to a random way of living, to eating unhealthy food or lack of exercise.

It is necessary to have a specialist investigate your problems and make sure it is indeed an irritable bowel syndrome (I would recommend visiting two doctors, just to be sure you’re fighting against the right illness and you use the best weapons).

The symptoms could last for entire years, even if you stick to the diet and help your body with medicine. Support from the close ones is necessary, since there will be many moments you’ll be ready to give up to temptations (trust me it’s like that – been there, done that :D).

Fortunately, the irritable bowel syndrome rarely kills – there are very few cases in which patients who followed the treatment and diet had any complications.
Basically, that’s the secret for a healthy colon (and abdomen): a balanced lifestyle, avoiding excess of any kind (such as drinking, smoking, unhealthy, greasy food), taking your time to relax and don’t work too much, plus exercise. All doctors will tell you that these few things will help your overall health dearly.

Fibers, Must Have for a Healthy Digestive System

I kept talking about the greatness of fibers and how important these are for maintaining (or curing) our intestines, but I just figured out that I barely talked about the aliments or nutriments which will offer us fiber – and that is a very interesting aspect, because just like always in the Universe, there are GOOD fibers and BAD fibers. And we wouldn’t like to bombard our intestines with bad fibers, right?

The good fibers, or soluble fibers (as opposite to bad, insoluble fibers) are also called dietary fibers and that’s a pretty self explanatory name. These are components of the vegetables/fruits we consume and they help moving food through the digestive system, easing defecation and fighting against constipation.

Although I will have to come back to this topic and discuss more about it, an irritable bowel needs fast natural products to restore its health. You can get natural fibers from legumes (such as soy – be careful not to eat genetically modified soybeans, peas and other beans). However, you should consume these with care if you have an IBS or other problems to your intestine/colon, since beans generally tend to harm an already inflamed colon (except for soybeans, which generally do no harm).

Also, grains are a natural source of dietary fibers – oat and rye especially; fruits like berries and plums and vegetables such as carrots and broccoli. Potatoes are also a source of dietary fiber which is good for your colon, but they should never be consumed as fried potatoes since sunflower oil and other oil-cooked meals do lots of harm to our intestines!

So if you need to help your colon and help cleansing it without paying for medication, trying these natural products might help you a lot. However, do not delay a visit to the medic if things don’t get better in 7-10 days, because things would be unnecessary complicated.