
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals

UTI in older women: Why postmenopausal women are susceptible to urinary tract infection, and what to do about it

Can a routine vaccine prevent dementia?

Some adults may need a measles booster shot. Who should get one and why?

Less butter, more plant oils, longer life?

Healthier planet, healthier people

Counting steps is good — is combining steps and heart rate better?

Appendix pain: Could it be appendicitis?

Can saw palmetto treat an enlarged prostate?

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Digestive Health Archive
Articles
Keep ultra-processed foods off the menu
Inflammatory bowel disease on the rise in older adults
Battle of the bulges
Adjusting gut bacteria may improve response to cancer treatment
Facts about fiber
Five lifestyle factors that can help prevent gastroesophageal reflux disease
Is IBD an underrecognized health problem in minority groups?
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a treatable condition once considered a disease that largely affects people who are white, although in recent years it has been diagnosed more often in other racial and ethnic groups, in the US and around the world. Recognizing this condition early can make a difference in care and quality of life.
Harvard researchers: Pill-free approaches help control heartburn
News briefs
Living a healthy lifestyle may be one of the best things you can do to tame the heartburn of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), suggests a research letter published online Jan. 4, 2021, by JAMA Internal Medicine. Harvard researchers analyzed the self-reported health information of about 43,000 middle-aged women who were followed for 10 years. Women who adhered to five healthy lifestyle factors, regardless of whether they took heartburn medication, appeared to prevent nearly 40% of their GERD symptoms each week. The pill-free approaches included maintaining a healthy body weight (a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9); not smoking; getting 30 minutes daily of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; limiting coffee, tea, or soda to no more than 2 cups per day; and eating a healthy diet. "Each one of these factors may prevent the inappropriate relaxation of the sphincter muscle between the stomach and the esophagus, helping to keep acid from refluxing up and causing heartburn. For example, carrying extra weight around the waist can push on the stomach, forcing stomach acid up into the esophagus," says Dr. Raaj S. Mehta, lead author of the study and a gastroenterology fellow at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Image: © kate_sept2004/Getty Images
Gut check: How the microbiome may mediate heart health
Your cholesterol and other factors linked to cardiovascular health may be influenced by the bacteria in your belly.
The roughly 38 trillion bacteria that dwell deep within your intestines perform many important tasks. Collectively known as the gut microbiota, these microbes help digest food, metabolize medications, and protect you from infectious organisms.
In many ways, your gut microbiota — which weighs about half a pound in total — functions somewhat like a distinct organ in your body. Just as you have a unique genome, you also have a unique gut microbiome, consisting of some eight million genes that control your microbiota. Scientists are still learning how the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome influence the health of the cardiovascular system.
Clostridium difficile: An intestinal infection on the rise
Intestinal infection known as C. diff can spread through spores and cause diarrhea
Why would you get an intestinal infection, like C. diff, from treating a different illness with antibiotics?
When you're admitted to a hospital, you expect to receive tests and treatments that will make you feel better. When you get antibiotics in the hospital, you expect that the drugs will treat or prevent infection. But it doesn't always work that way. A distressing number of patients acquire infections while they are in the hospital. And antibiotic therapy can actually increase the odds of coming down with a hospital-acquired infection, particularly when the cause is a bacterium named Clostridium difficile. Although doctors are working hard to control intestinal infections caused by the bug commonly (if not fondly) known as C. diff, the problem is rapidly becoming more common, more serious, and harder to treat.

How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals

UTI in older women: Why postmenopausal women are susceptible to urinary tract infection, and what to do about it

Can a routine vaccine prevent dementia?

Some adults may need a measles booster shot. Who should get one and why?

Less butter, more plant oils, longer life?

Healthier planet, healthier people

Counting steps is good — is combining steps and heart rate better?

Appendix pain: Could it be appendicitis?

Can saw palmetto treat an enlarged prostate?

How does Ozempic work? Understanding GLP-1s for diabetes, weight loss, and beyond
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