Digestive Health Archive

Fermented foods and drinks such as kimchi, kombucha, and tempeh are increasingly popular, adding to mainstays such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and beer. Heat and bright lights during manufacturing can destroy some beneficial probiotics. Fermented products can ease digestion, dampen inflammation, boost nutrient absorption, and battle harmful bacteria. People should look for product labels that say "live and active cultures" and avoid shelf-stable versions, which don't contain probiotics.

By age 40, one in five women has dealt with an eating disorder, twice the proportion of women known to be affected by age 21. Risks for anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating can rise at midlife due to job stressors, an empty nest, and dating again after divorce or widowhood. Health effects can include bone loss, heart problems, lung conditions, gastrointestinal issues, diabetes, and skin breakdown. Signs of an eating disorder include dramatic weight fluctuations, excessive exercising, and preoccupation with weight, calories, and body size and shape.

Digestive enzyme supplements are promoted to fix problems like bloating, gas, and bowel irregularity. However, for most people, there's little evidence that they help. Doctors may prescribe enzyme pills for people who can't make enough digestive enzymes because of a health condition.

Groundbreaking cancer treatments continuously emerge from labs and research trials. Three Harvard oncologists share what stands out in their respective fields of prostate, lung, and colon cancer, the most common cancers among men. Examples include greater roles for immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and intensive hormonal treatments.

In recent years, treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease have expanded rapidly, with new types of drugs, new medications within existing classes, and new combinations of treatments for some patients.

Nearly half of all people with inflammatory bowel disease have symptoms that occur outside of the gastrointestinal tract. These conditions, known as extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs), can affect the musculoskeletal system, eyes, lungs, and other areas of the body.

Lung cancer kills about 130,000 Americans yearly, but only a tiny percentage of people eligible for low-dose CT lung cancer screening receive it. People qualify for lung cancer screening if they are 50 to 80 years old, have a substantial smoking history as measured in lifetime packs smoked, and currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. Tens of thousands of lives might be saved each year if everyone who qualified underwent lung cancer screening, which can detect tumors when they are still small enough to be cured with surgery or radiation.

Everyone experiences acute (short-term) diarrhea at some time. The unpleasant experience often resolves on its own in a few days, but there are situations that require medical attention. Examples include bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, a high fever, and episodes that continue for a week or longer. A medical consultation can help determine if diarrhea is related to a specific bacterium or parasite, a medication side effect, a food intolerance, or an inflammatory bowel disease.

Lactose intolerance can develop at any age, prompting gas, bloating, nausea, or diarrhea after people eat or drink dairy products. Secondary lactose intolerance can happen after the small intestine is jolted by surgery, illness, or injury.

Current guidelines for women under 65 with early-stage breast cancer recommend following lumpectomy with radiation therapy, but emerging research could expand the option of skipping radiation to some women as young as 55.