Digestive Health Matters - Articles
Dietary Triggers for IBS Symptoms - The Low FODMAP Diet Approach
September 7, 2011
Introduction Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects up to one in five Americans. It is a condition that is characterized by gut symptoms including abdominal pain, intestinal gas/wind, bloating, and changed bowel habit (ranging from diarrhea to constipation). Symptoms can often be debilitating... Read More

 
Traveling with Gastroparesis
September 7, 2011
Tips to Help You Enjoy Your Time Away Read More

 
What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)?
September 7, 2011
Editor’s Note: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices to maintain health or treat symptoms or illness is often controversial. As pointed out in this article, rigorous, well-designed clinical trials for many CAM therapies are often lacking; therefore, the safety and... Read More

 
Functional GI Disorders - Setting the Record Straight
September 7, 2011
Functional GI disorders are among the most common chronic medical conditions – and the least understood. Erin is a 23 year old graduate student. She developed painful abdominal symptoms at age 17. That began a journey of doctor visits that started with her General Practitioner, and then... Read More

 
Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders of the Esophagus and Stomach
May 17, 2011
Normal Gastrointestinal Motility and Function "Motility" is a term used to describe the contraction of the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract. Because the gastrointestinal tract is a circular tube, when these muscles contract, they close off the tube or make the opening inside... Read More

 
Common Questions and Answers about Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
May 17, 2011
Introduction Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is very common, affecting up to 1 in 5 or more of adult men and women in the U.S. population. It also occurs in children. Although common, the disease often is unrecognized – its symptoms misunderstood. This is unfortunate because... Read More

 
Gastroparesis
May 17, 2011
Gastroparesis is a disorder in which the stomach empties very slowly. The delay in stomach emptying can result in bothersome symptoms that interfere with a patient’s life. Gastroparesis most often occurs when the nerves to the stomach are damaged or don’t work properly. Diabetes is... Read More

 
Dietary and Nutritional Recommendations for Patients with Dumping Syndrome (Rapid Gastric Emptying)
May 17, 2011
Dumping syndrome describes a collection of symptoms that occurs when food is emptied too quickly from the stomach, filling the small intestine with undigested food that is not adequately prepared to permit efficient absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. Dumping syndrome is most... Read More

 
Infant Regurgitation
May 17, 2011
Regurgitation means the backward movement of stomach contents up the esophagus (the "swallowing tube") into the mouth. Regurgitation often includes the release of the material from the mouth, as in infants who "spit up." It occurs when the muscle between the esophagus and... Read More

 
Progressive GI Symptoms: Could it be Scleroderma?
May 16, 2011
Overview Functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are extremely common. However, on rare occasions, patients thought to have a functional GI disorder can develop progressive GI symptoms from another underlying condition. This is truly rare, but when symptoms do not respond as expected, or if... Read More