Digestion, health and nutrition: Dr. Anil Minocha, a gastroenterologist and nutritionist

Botox is good for constipation too!

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Botulinum toxin or botox has been gaining increasing popularity as a cosmetic intervention for wrinkles in recent years. Even botox parties and get-togethers are held!

Now comes a study demonstrating that botox is good for constipation due to dysfunction of muscles of the pelvic floor.

Normally, such muscles are supposed to relax to facilitate dysfunction. In affected patients there is paradoxical contraction. This disorder is fairly common cause of constipation especially among females.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Study

Dr. Maria and colleagues studied studied 24 women with functional outlet obstruction or functional obstructive defecation. Treatment involved injection of type A botulinum toxin. They published their findings in the American Journal of Gastroenterology .

Results

At 2-month follow-up, 19 of the 24 patients had improved defecation.

Conclusions

The authors concluded that botox is simple, safe and effective treatment for such patients with constipation.  

Are you familiar with botox? Do you or someone you know has had botox treatments? By the way, botox is used as a treatment for treatment of anal fissures also.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

 

Tips to prevent alcohol hangover	Homeopathy: fact or fiction?
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Swedish massage for osteoarthritis

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First my confession. I have no idea whether Swedish massage is different and more exotic than regular massage Swedish Massage.

Dr. Perlman and colleagues from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark and Yale Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine recently published their findings suggesting that Swedish massage relieves pain in osteoarthritis. The article was published in the December 2006 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

These investigators conducted a randomized, controlled trial involving 68 subjects over a period of 8 weeks. Subjects were divided into Swedish massage group or delayed intervention.

• The massage therapy group showed significant improvements in pain, stiffness, range of motion and time to walk 50 feet.
• The authors concluded that massage therapy is effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
• Massage therapy may be a valuable adjunct for treatment in such patients especially since many of the drug treatments carry significant side effects.

Do you or someone you know has arthritis? Have you had massage for stress relaxation or any other reason? What are your thoughts on the results of the above study?

 

Tips to prevent alcohol hangover	Homeopathy: fact or fiction?
Natural treatments of migraine?	Do you have intestinal gas problems?
Food allergies? Knowledge is power	Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
Difference between colitis and diverticulitis	About aphrodisiac foods to make your day or night: Myth or reality
Constipation: Taking care of business!	Do artificial sweeteners increase cancer?

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Smoking is bad for arthritis too!

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Evidence keeps piling up that smoking is bad not just for your breathing, lungs and heart, but also for your joints.

Dr. Amin and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic examined the relationship between smoking and osteoarthritis, a degenerative form of arthritis.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

They studied 159 males with osteoarthritis of the knee. The study was conducted prospectively over a 30-month period. MRI scans were done at baseline and then at 15 months and then at end of the study. Pain scores were also measured.

After adjusting for the age and body weight, these investigators found that current smokers suffered a greater loss of cartilage. In addition, current smokers also greater pain, both at baseline as well as upon follow-up.

Above study highlights the deleterious effects of smoking.

Do you or someone you know smokes tobacco? Remember, it is never too late to quit smoking. Talk to your health professional. 

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Heartburn drugs may cause bad breath

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

It is believed that chronic heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) causes bad breath or halitosis. Acid blocking medications have often been used for this purpose.

Now comes a study suggesting that the opposite is in fact true, i.e. the potent heartburn drugs of the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) class e.g. Aciphex, Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Protonix etc. may actually cause bad breath.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Dr. Camacho-Lobato and colleagues from Brazil recently presented their findings at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting in Las Vegas in October 2006 (Poster#8).

The researchers studied 23 consecutive adults with GERD. And compared them to 17 patients with dyspepsia or indigestion. Patients with oral or dental disease were excluded. Oral volatile sulfur compounds that cause bad odor in breath were measured.

These investigators found that bad breath occurred in 39 percent of the GERD as compared to only 18% in those with dyspepsia.

Because of their potent acid blocking activity, PPI have potential to cause small bowel bacterial overgrowth thus causing bad breath.

This study represents a classic chicken and egg story. Is it that GERD causes bad breath and patients were simply taking acid blocking PPIs to alleviate GERD. The reverse is also possible, i.e. the halitosis occurs due to acid blocking by these drugs in GERD, and contributes to the bad breath problem caused by GERD itself also.

Do you have chronic heartburn and/or bad breath? What measures do you take for these problems?

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Confused about probiotics on market? Knowledge is power	Coconut oil for healthy, beautiful skin
Evidence based natural treatments of fibromyalgia	Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
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Food triggers for migraine	Botox works at both ends. Cheers!
Fish type, mercury toxicity risks versus benefits	Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
Depressed? Want alternative medicine options?	Risks of heartburn and ulcer medications
Constipation? Think your colon has kinks?	What causes alcohol hangover?

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Hospital food is not nutritious: what a surprise.

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Hospitals are not reputed for their culinary skills. There is a silver lining to this. Patients get more motivated to get healthy and go home sooner their normal life routine.

Now comes a study that demonstrates that hospital food is a source of poor nutrition. This study was conducted by Dr. Feldman and colleagues at the Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ. They published their findings in the Journal of Foodservice (June 2006).

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

They concluded that current strategies for predicting nutritional outcomes of cooked foods in hospitals are not a reliable indicator of nutrition provided to the patients.

Hospital food goes through several processes before being served to the patient. Vitamin C is used as a marker for nutrient quality. They studied the quality of peas served to patients at two hospitals and found that the vitamin C content was lower than the "cooked standard" at both the hospitals.

The authors recommended improved cooking methods to ensure high quality of the food served to patients.

What do you think about the hospital food? Do you enjoy the taste? Do you believe it is nutritious and good for your health? What are your thoughts on the results and conclusions of the above study?

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

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Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Drink water, lose weight

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We have always been told that water, the liquid that sustains life, is good for overall health and well being. No matter what kind of health-advice book you read including obesity, "plenty of water" is always one of the important suggestions given for improving your health. However, there has been a paucity of data to back up such very plausible and intuitive claims.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Plenty of water: It is indeed gratifying when such a study on "plenty of water" comes along proving that such traditional claims about its effect on weight loss and obesity may not be empty. And the current study tackles no small issue, but the huge problem of overweight and obesity affecting the world, no pun intended.

Water instead of beverage: NAASO, The Obesity Society, is the largest conference in North America focuses on the cutting edge issues related to body weight and obesity research and treatment. A study presented at the annual Scientific in Boston (October 2006) showed how drinking water instead of beverages with sugar could help people lose weight.

Researchers studied 240 overweight women who were on one of the several diet plans restricting carbohydrate consumption.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Weight loss with water in lieu of beverage: The investigators found that dieters who replaced completely abstained from sugar-laden drinks and consumed water instead lost 5 pounds per year more than the subjects who did not do the switch.

In addition, the subjects who drank more than four cups of water per day lost an additional 2 pounds as compared to those who did not.

Mechanism of weight loss with water: One simple explanation is that those drinking water were consuming fewer calories. Intestinal bacteria have been linked to obesity. Perhaps plenty of water gets rid of obesity-related bacteria. However, it is also possible that increased water may alter some hitherto unknown aspects of energy metabolism and improve health.

Do you have an overweight problem? What do you think about this study? Do you drink water more than beverages or vice-versa? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

 

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Alcohol prolongs life, Cheers!

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Moderate alcohol drinking and health

Several studies have shown that moderate drinking is beneficial for cardiovascular health. However, its impact on longevity or mortality continues to be mired in debate. Now comes the study providing the strongest evidence thus far that moderate drinking contributes to longevity.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Study

Dr. Di Castelnuova and colleagues from Italy conducted a meta-analysis of 34 prospective studies done on this subject. They pooled the data from these studies yielding 1,015,835 subjects and 94,533 deaths. They analyzed the data from this large group and published their findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine. 

Results on effect of alcohol on mortality

These investigators found a J-shaped relationship between alcohol and total mortality. Men drinking up to 4 drinks and women consuming up to 2 drinks per day had lower mortality. The reduction in death rate was 18% and 17% in women and men respectively.

Effect of excess drinking

In contrast, people who consumed alcohol more than above had a higher mortality suggesting that the beneficial effects of alcohol are overwhelmed by its deleterious effects if consumed in excess.

Bottomline on alcohol drinking and health: If you are drinking too much, it is never too late to cut it down. On the other hand, low to moderate drinking is good for you! The best way might be to drink small amounts of alcohol with meal.

I will drink to that. Cheers!

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Treatment of alcohol hangover

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Alcohol may prolong life but hangover is a problem.Please also refer to my other articles on what is hangover,  causes of alcohol hangover, as well as how to prevent hangover.

Okay, you have been drinking alcohol out all night and now you have hangover with throbbing headache, aches and pains with no energy. Don't you wish there was a cure for your alcohol hangover?

Treatments for alcohol hangover are limited although it is never too late to start damage control. The preventative measures based on causes of alcohol  hangover are still helpful. Some of important points to remember are as follows:

1. Do not drink more alcohol in order to reverse the hangover. It will make matters worse.
2. Take a tablet of multivitamin tablet.
3. Drink plenty of water or other fluids but avoid orange or grapefruit juice.
4. Many people drink coffee; it does not appear to be effective. Many people recommend avoiding it as its diuretic effect may further worsen the fluid imbalance in the body.
5. Eat light, nutritious food and stay away from greasy, fatty foods. I recommend bananas and yogurt etc.
6. Avoid sauna to relieve hangover. It may sound appealing, but can have adverse effects on your heart and blood pressure.
7. Liv52, an herbal remedy (Himalaya Drug Co., India) has been demonstrated to decrease the symptoms of a hangover. Another study showed that prophylactic use of pyritinol (similar to vitamin B₆) reduces the symptoms of a hangover by about 50 percent.
8. Over the counter medications like acetaminophen, aspirin/caffiene like Blowfish and ibuprofen are frequently used by hangover sufferers. Tolfenamic acid, a drug with similar pharmacological action, has been shown to ameliorate the symptoms of hangover. It is best to check with your doctor before trying any such remedies.
9. For your own safety and others, don't drive a vehicle or operate heavy machinery.

Other home remedies:

1. Eat bananas, tomatoes and strawberries
2. Eat dry toast with black coffee
3. Take a tablet of vitamin C
4. Drink half a glass of tomato juice with fresh lemon/lime squeezed into it every one to two hours.
5. Take plenty of rest, and if possible sleep.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Some herbal remedies of benefit

• Red ginseng
• Siberian ginseng

Bottom-line: Drink plenty of fluids, eat a few bites at a time, take 1-2 aspirin and sleep!

What has your experience been with alcohol hangover? Have you tried any tricks or remedies that work best for you? Please feel free to share your tips here with the readers. 

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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How to prevent alcohol hangover?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Preventing or minimizing hangover after drinking alcohol

You may also refer to my articles on what is hangover,  causes of alcohol hangover as well as treatment of hangover.

First of all, the only absolute way to prevent alcohol hangover is not to drink at all. Most of us ignore this warning especially since it is known to be good for health also. So let us be realistic especially during the Holiday season since alcohol drinking especially at social gatherings may be a fact of life for most of us.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

1. Take a nap in the afternoon before going out for the night.
2. Take a multivitamin tablet before going out.
3. Ladies, don't try to act macho and compete with the guys. I am not being sexist here. Just that biologically speaking, men can tolerate more alcohol than women can, even if they are of same height and weight.
4. Do not mix different types of drinks.
5. Do not drink on empty stomach. Food in the stomach prevents rapid absorption of alcohol into the blood stream. Thus, the more food you have before and during drinking, the less the impact of alcohol.
6. As much as possible, drink "clear" spirits or alcohol. Dark or colored alcohols have small quantities of other toxic substances or congeners that are created during the fermentation process. Congeners are implicated in the causation of hangovers. These congeners include methyl alcohol, aldehydes, histamine, tannins, iron, lead and cobalt.One study showed that for the same amount of alcohol ingested, 33% of bourbon drinkers suffered hangovers, compared to only 3% of those who drank vodka. Brandy, red wine, tequila and rum are more likely to cause hangover than white wine, vodka and gin.
7. Beer lovers have an advantage somewhat. Beer has lesser amount of congeners, although the heavier the beer, the more the congeners.
8. Drink slow. No more than one drink per hour would be a good strategy.
9. Drink plenty of water while drinking alcohol. A simple rule of thumb is to drink one glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have.
10. Avoid coffee while or after drinking. It has diuretic effects and can contribute to dehydration.
11. Do not drink while using sauna. Saunas and alcohol do not mix well together and lead to increased health risk.
12. Make sure to drink water or other fluids such as apple juice or Gatorade before going to sleep, in order to prevent dehydration.
13. Drink less than your normal at high altitudes or when flying in an airplane since you are more likely to get hungover as compared to drinking at sea level.
14. Many hangover prevention pills are on the market but there is limited data to support the use. Artichoke despite the notoriety has not been found to be helpful in controlled studies.
15. Consuming Korean pear prior to alcohol intake reduces hangover symptoms like memory, concentration, sensitivity to light etc.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Positive studies of interest (Review article: Pittler et al)

1. Rosiglitazone (Avandia) has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of ethanol-induced hangover in rats.
2. One study examined the use of prophylaxis with tolfenamic acid, an inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis. Subjects consumed alcohol at their own pace. However, they did not measure the amount of alcohol and food ingested.. The intervention group had lower scores of headache, nausea, vomiting, thirst, dry mouth, tremor, and irritation as compared to placebo.
3. Prophylactic use of extract of the Opuntia ficus indica (OFI) plant has also shown promising results. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial involving 64 healthy, young subjects, the investigators found that the symptoms of nausea, dry mouth, and anorexia-were significantly reduced by prophylactic use of 1600 I.U. of OFI. The risk of severe hangover was also reduced by half.
4. Prophylactic use of pyritinol (similar to vitamin B6) reduces the symptoms of a hangover by about 50 percent.
5. Use of a combination preparation containing 250 mg dried yeast, 0.5 mg thiamine nitrate, 0.5 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride, and 0.5 mg riboflavin per tablet has been tested in subjects who consumed vodka equivalent to a total of 100 g absolute alcohol. The yeast preparation resulted in lesser discomfort, restlessness, and impatience.

 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Heartburn, GERD and acid reflux	Probiotics in IBS or irritable bowel syndrome
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Intestinal bacteria and infantile colic	Cranberry juice versus antibiotics for urinary tract infections

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Confused about probiotics on market? Knowledge is power	Coconut oil for healthy, beautiful skin
Evidence based natural treatments of fibromyalgia	Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
Herb/spice in kitchen to prevent cancer & boost immunity	Yoga improves blood pressure & diabetes
Food triggers for migraine	Botox works at both ends. Cheers!
Fish type, mercury toxicity risks versus benefits	How to stop heartburn?
Depressed? Want alternative medicine options?	Risks of heartburn and ulcer medications
Constipation? Think your colon has kinks?	What causes alcohol hangover?

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What causes alcohol hangover?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Alcohol hangover is a poorly understood clinical entity despite its existence since ancient times. Prevention of alcohol hangover is discussed elsewhere. Treatment of alcohol hangover is of limited help.

Alcohol hangover is multi-factorial and their occurrence is not solely related to the amount of alcohol consumed.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Type of alcohol

The type of spirit is important too because of various impurities or additives in the particular  alcohol (methyl alcohol, aldehydes, histamine, tannins, iron, lead and cobalt). Other factors include drinking on an empty stomach, lack of sleep, psychosocial factors like stress and psychiatric illnesses, increased physical activity while drinking, and dehydration.

Personal and family factors

Persons in otherwise poor health have a greater likelihood of developing a hangover. Children of alcoholic parents report greater hangover symptoms than the children of non-alcoholics.

Sex differences

There are major gender differences too! Beware, 6 drinks in an 80-kg male and 3-5 drinks in a 60-kg woman will almost always lead to hangover. Simply put, not drinking enough to get drunk will dramatically reduce the likelihood of hangover.

Do hangovers deter drinking?

Some people believe that a hangover is nature's way of punishment to prevent future drinking. However, studies have found that hangovers do not deter drinking. In contrast, it may encourage the person to drink more, also known as an "eye opener". One study showed that many people with hangover drink more alcohol to reverse its effects.

What about you?

From your experience, what do you think causes hangover or is among the important factors causing hangover in you or those around you. Feel free to share an interesting anecdote. 

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

 

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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What is alcohol hangover?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

It's never a bad time to party or to discuss hangover. Actually there is no precise scientific definition of hangover. Just like there is no clear-cut definition of pornography, we all know when we see it; similarly we all know it when we have the hangover.

 Causes of alcohol hangover are discussed elsewhere.

In general, an alcohol hangover involves two or more the following symptoms: headache, nausea, diarrhea, lack of appetite, shakiness, feeling tired and an overall feeling of being unwell. Simply put, it feels like the "flu". There are several ways to minimize or prevent alcohol hangover.

Are some people resistant to hangover?

It appears that about 23% of the population is resistant to alcohol hangover, some might call them the lucky ones!

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

These symptoms are a result of many metabolic changes that occur in the body. There involve numerous changes in the balance of hormones, neurotransmitters and other biological substances.

This neurobiological imbalance leads not only to the symptoms described above, but also in a rapid heart rate and increased workload on the heart. The latter is responsible for increased cardiac mortality.

Brain waves become slow as seen on electroencephalogram (EEG) and last several hours after alcohol is out of our body system.

Neuromuscular performance is also impaired long after alcohol is undetectable in blood. Person feels lethargic or just blah!

Do you drink alcohol? Do you or someone around you frequently gets hungover? Feel free to share any interesting episode from your experience. 

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Time from food to feces

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How much time does it take from ingestion of food to the time it is expelled in stool? I was recently asked by one of the print media regarding this question raise by one of its readers. This may be not a question for dinner table, but if you want to know, read on.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

The time it takes for food to travel from mouth through the gastrointestinal tract and come out through anus is known as bowel transit time. This time depends on multiple factors including person's diet and medications as well as diseases he/she may be having.

There is a great deal of person to person variability and in fact, even when tested in same person, the results can vary from day to day. Persons ingesting high fiber diet may have quicker transit while patients taking medications that slow down gut are likely to have longer duration. A variety of tests are employed to look at bowel or gastrointestinal transit time.

One of the tests involves ingestion of non-absorbable radio-opaque markers. These markers start appearing in stool about 15 to 24 hours after ingestion. In the simplest form of this test, the markers are given only once. An x ray is done before ingestion, and then on the fifth day to look for any residual markers.

In most normal healthy subjects, the markers are usually completely evacuated by about 48-72 hours. If however by the fifth day, over 20% of the markers are still in the gastrointestinal system (gut), that is considered definitely abnormal. 

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Are walnuts heart-protective?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

This amazing study comes from Journal of American College of Cardiology . There is dysfunction of the blood vessels after a fatty meal. Investigators studied the impact of consumption of walnuts and olive oil on the deleterious effects of fat laden meals.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

The study was conducted in 12 healthy subjects and 12 patients with elevated cholesterol. They were given 25 g olive oil or 40 g walnuts after a fatty meal.

The authors found that both raw walnuts and olive oil inhibited the harmful inflammation and oxidation in the arteries after a fatty meal. However, the walnuts were better at improving flow-mediated dilation, i.e. keeping arteries more elastic and flexible.

Dr. Ros reported on the effects of both walnut diets and single walnut meals on heart in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. He indicated that walnuts have postive impact on vasoreactivity along with reduced expression of endothelin 1 in animals.

The healthy cardiovascular effect of walnuts may be related to l-arginine,alpha-linolenic acid, and phenolic antioxidants contained in walnuts. He concluded hat while more data is needed, the emerging picture is that nut consumption in general has beneficial impact on cardiovascular risk beyond cholesterol lowering.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

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Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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DHEA: is it good against aging?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

DHEA is a popular over the counter product that has been used for its benefits against aging processes. There have been many studies that support that thesis. However, a recent study put cold water on the enthusiasm for this popular remedy and brought its efficacy into question.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

The study was performed by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Nair and colleagues conducted a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to study the effect of DHEA. It involved 87 elderly men with low levels of the DHEA and testosterone plus 57 elderly women with low levels of DHEA.

They studied the effect of intervention on physical performance, body composition, bone mineral density and quality of life over a period of two years.

These researchers found that DHEA or low-dose testosterone replacement in elderly people did not have any clinically relevant beneficial impact on the outcome measures studied.

These results are in contrast to some previous studies. However, the validity of many of those has been questioned because of the inadequate number of subjects and short duration. However it does not answer whether use of high doses of testosterone may be helpful.

Do you use DHEA or testosterone as a supplement or any other over the counter supplements? What are your thoughts on their marketing and beneficial effects?

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Hepatitis C: pot of coffee or just pot?

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
 

Treatment for hepatitis C is frequently accompanied by numerous side effects and patients try various kinds of modalities to counteract them.

Researchers from University of California recently presented preliminary data on the effect of coffee and marijuana on the liver in patients with hepatitis C. This presentation was part of the annual AASLD meeting (2006).

Dr. Ishida and colleagues studied HCV infected patients and correlated their coffee, alcohol and marijuana use with liver tests.

These investigators found that while cannabis is harmful in hepatitis C (HCV) infected patients, drinking three cups of coffee a day actually protects liver. The protective effect is thought to be due to the antioxidant properties. Alcohol is also harmful, although not as much as the pot is!

Do you or someone you know has hepatitis C. What was your experience with the treatment? What did you do to combat side-effects if any?

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

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Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Fermented soy prevents obesity

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Does probiotic fermented soy have benefit against obesity?

As the health care costs keep rising on account of the epidemic of obesity, scientists are looking at more and more unconventional strategies to combat the curse of extra weight.

Dr. Manzoni and colleagues from Brazil studied the effect of a soy product fermented by two probiotics (Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus jugurti) in rats. The rats were fed a chow diet or Soy diet as above. The results were published in the journal Nutrition .

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

They found that the soy had beneficial effect on fat pads in the body. This was likely due to the fact that the fat cell size was significantly smaller in the rats fed fermented soy diet. In addition, the data showed that the fermentation of probiotic was responsible for enhancing the anti-fat effects of the soy diet on the fat cells.

The authors concluded that this fermented soy diet might be another option to pursue for obesity prevention.

While this study was done in rats, the results look very promising. The soy products and probiotics have many beneficial effects on health and it would be a coup if these results can be duplicated in humans.

What are your thoughts on soy or probiotics? Do you take soy or any probiotics for any reason? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

 

Do probiotics improve gut function and strengthen intestinal barrier?	Health benefits of probiotics and prebiotics
Is kava bad for liver	Fish type, mercury toxicity & health v benefits: Farmed fish versus wild
Is fasting good or bad for health	Food triggers for migraine and helpful natural supplements
Is VitaminD deficiency a growing epidemic. maybe?	Mangosteen is not the same as mango

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Early dementia: another reason to lose extra weight

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Obesity is associated with memory problems in older people. Is the true for younger people also indicating risk for early dementia? This was answered by Dr. Gunstad and colleagues from Brown Medical School in Providence, RI. They published their findings in the journal Eat Weight Disorders .

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

These investigators studied 486 healthy persons. They were divided into normal weight, overweight, and obese groups. All the subjects were subjected them to a verbal list-learning task. 

These authors found that obese subjects performed poorly on memory as compared to their age-matched leaner counterparts. The analysis demonstrated that there is an independent relationship between obesity and memory and that the relationship between BMI and memory does not vary with age.

These findings suggest that extra-weight during middle age may result in a higher risk of dementia later in life. 

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Obese? Bacteria in your gut may be culprit!	Healthy travel, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in men and women
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, some say harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

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Colon cancer prevention: Another reason to enjoy red wine

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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Red wine prevents colon cancer

Red wine is popular because of the many health benefits including protecting against heart disease. A new study claims it protects against colon cancer also. This is especially significant since many studies have linked alcohol negatively with colon cancer. Red wine may be an exception to the rule.

This study was presented at the annual meeting of American College of Gastroenterology held in Las Vegas (October 2006). The study was titled, "Lifestyle or resveratrol? Comparison of white and red wine consumption  and colorectal neoplasia" and was presented as Abstract number 920 at the meeting.

Dr. Anderson and colleagues conducted a dietary analysis of 1741 patients undergoing colorectal cancer screening. After controlling for the effect of age and smoking, these investigators found that those who consumed 3 or more glasses of red wine per week were 68% less likely than non-drinkers to be diagnosed with significant colorectal polyps or cancer were. White wine did not have any impact. The authors speculated that the positive impact of red wine might be related to its resveratrol content.

A note of caution: The results of presentation of an abstract at a meeting should be understood with the caveat that the data is preliminary and has not undergone a thorough and rigorous peer-review process. This not withstanding, the results of this study are consistent with results from pre-clinical studies of resveratrol.

Do you enjoy wine, red or white? Do you drink for pleasure or health benefits or both? No matter what, drink responsibly! 

 Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Learn about feeding disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia	Whole fruit versus fruit juice. Are they equal?
Melatonin  is not just for sleep: use it for healthy digestion?	Is mangosteen good for health and heal disease?
Chronic back pain? Acupuncture helps	Homeopathy benefits fibromyalgia
Are you obese? Bacteria in your gut may be the cause!	When travelling, prevent motion sickness
Breast feeding benefits, alternatives	Yoga improves sex in both sexes
Acupuncture for chronic heartburn?	Folic acid supplement to prevent cancer controversial, Could it be harmful.
Reduce mortality with this vegetarian diet and lose weight too	Does tea make you healthy?

 Facebook Dr. Anil             Home page             AutismItsGutStupid