Gluten Free Pho Recipe from Simply Gluten Free

This week's recipe thanks to Simply Gluten Free.

Ingredients

• ½ pound rice noodles (Banh Pho)

• 4 CelifibR gluten free vegetarian chicken bouillon cubes

• 5 cups boiling water

• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 handful cilantro leaves
• 
1 handful basil leaves

• 2 Thai or jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced

• 2 fresh limes, cut into wedges
• 
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (omit for vegan or vegetarian)

Directions

Inability to Gain Weight

Strange as it might seem to many Americans, a fairly regular complaint of patients is the inability to gain weight. This can be a problem at any age and ranges and can be relevant for infants, children, teenagers, men and women of all ages, and athletes who work out and are trying to put on muscle mass. In fact, it’s common enough that it is well worth writing about.

The inability to gain weight, or in the case of infants and children, poor development or even a failure to thrive, often indicates a problem properly digesting and assimilating nutrients. The next logical question is, “Why isn’t that person able to properly digest and assimilate nutrients?”

There are several possible reasons for this, but the most common one is that they are ingesting things that their body isn’t handling well. These “things” are foods, or what most people consider foods. And in most cases these foods are usually considered healthy foods. Unfortunately, not everyone is meant to eat the same thing, and any food has the potential to be unhealthy for a particular individual.

When is it questionable to remove the gallbladder?

It is often tempting for physicians to blame the gallbladder for abdominal pain and digestive problems even when there is little or no evidence that the gallbladder is the culprit. It’s a relatively simple procedure, and most people don’t miss it too much. If stones are present, then the decision is easy to make.


However, in some cases physicians recommended that the gallbladder be removed even when stones are not apparent on any exams. The recommendation is based primarily on symptoms and a lack of any other visible problem. Gallbladder function tests also may indicate that the gallbladder is not functioning at 100%. However, that does not mean that it is the cause of the problem. If the gallbladder is functioning at a below normal level, removing it will only guarantee that it will not function at all.

Studies (see below) have shown that patients with IBS symptoms and/or abdominal pain are more likely than others to have gall bladder removal surgery (cholecycstectomy) when they do not have gall stones. This exposes the patient to the increased (though small) risks of surgery and to further digestive problems caused by the abscence of a gall bladder. Testing for food allergies and other causes of IBS symptoms, and treating those conditions can enable patients to avoid unnecessary surgery and achieve good digestive health.

More information on the gall bladder at Center for Food Allergies
Image thanks to beltina.org

Innate Health Group

The Innate Health Group was designed and created to reintroduce something that has been missing in medicine, a belief that you are capable of being healthier if given a better understanding of your body.

We subscribe to the scientific method and the theory of evolution. We know that in most cases health is something that comes from the capacity of your body to perform according to its genetic design, with which you were born.

Health, excepting traumatic damage to the body, is usually not most effectively achieved by drugs or surgical procedures. Although these have their place, they are grossly overused. And frequently drugs and surgical procedures cause other significant problems that could be avoided by other techniques that not only solve the underlying problem, but avoid additional risk.

Stress Reduction and IBS

So you think that you carry your stress in your abdomen. It's a common belief. If you have been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it is likely that you have been advised to reduce your stress level.

You may have been told to get regular exercise and adequate sleep, and to practice stress reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, deep breathing, journal writing, relaxation therapy, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, or psychotherapy.

All of these practices can indeed improve physical, mental, and emotional health. They provide a host of benefits, from improved personal relationships to enhanced productivity to increased energy and mental clarity, and they just might help with your IBS symptoms.

But chances are they won't cure your IBS.

Everyday Painkillers, High Blood Pressure and Stomach Damage

Americans consume an estimated $2 billion per year in over-the-counter painkillers like Tylenol, Advil and Motrin. The most common reason for taking them is for arthritis.

However, these drugs are not without side-effects. It also doesn’t take as much as you might think to cause damage. And the variety of side effects includes high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, and other problems.

A study of more than 80,000 women found that women who used acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, for 22 days or more a month had the greatest risk of high blood pressure, estimated at twice that of non-users. And even those who used the drug as little as one to four days a month had a 22% greater risk of having high blood pressure than non-users.

The risk for those taking NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), including ibuprofen products such as Advil and Motrin and naproxen drugs such as Aleve, was similar. Heavy users had a risk of high blood pressure 86% higher than those who didn't use the drug. Light users carried a 17% higher risk. (Journal Hypertension November 2002 20(11):2301-2307)

Case Study from Nature.com: Epidemiology of Community-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection: A Population-Based Study

C. Diff is becoming common in the non-hospital population, even among those without risk factors. Fortunately we don't run into it all that often. But we do have options for treating challenging cases.

From Nature.com:

OBJECTIVES

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common hospital-acquired infection with increasing incidence, severity, recurrence, and associated morbidity and mortality. There are emerging data on the occurrence of CDI in nonhospitalized patients.

However, there is a relative lack of community-based CDI studies, as most of the existing studies are hospital based, potentially influencing the results by referral or hospitalization bias by missing cases of community-acquired CDI.

METHODS

To better understand the epidemiology of community-acquired C. difficile infection, a population-based study was conducted in Olmsted County, Minnesota, using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Data regarding severity, treatment response, and outcomes were compared in community-acquired vs. hospital-acquired cohorts, and changes in these parameters, as well as in incidence, were assessed over the study period.

Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber

Fiber can be soluble, meaning that it partially dissolves in water, or insoluble, meaning that it doesn't.

Although neither type typically cures IBS, soluble fiber (which is also called viscous fiber, and is found in foods such as oatmeal, okra, or legumes, such as garbanzo beans) can be helpful in treating IBS symptoms, especially constipation and diarrhea. Insoluble fiber is more of a "scratchy" fiber; it adds bulk to the stool. A good example of insoluble fiber is celery.

Soluble fiber forms a thick gel that helps to properly form the stool in the digestive tract and move it through the bowel; it also adds bulk to the stool. Because it slows the stool's transit time, it helps to prevent diarrhea. Soluble fiber also prevents constipation, because the colon becomes filled with gel, as opposed to being clenched tightly around dry, hard stools.

Basically, fiber moves bulk through the intestines and helps to balance the pH (acidity) level in the intestines. It is also helps to keep healthy the good bacteria that live in your digestive tract. In particular, one type of plant fiber, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), feed these good bacteria. You can supplement your diet with FOS, which are available at IBSTreatmentCenter.com.

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Image thanks to bryanking.net

Celiac Disease and Other Forms of Gluten Intolerance

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and is responsible for the springiness and stretchiness of bread. Allergies and intolerances to gluten have been the subject of intensive research over the past decade.

Much of this research has focused on celiac disease, which is a special form of gluten intolerance. It is a hereditary response to gluten that results in a very specific type of damage to the small intestine. Common symptoms, which can mirror those of IBS, include loose stools, constipation, or both; fatigue; weight fluctuation; dermatitis; and more.

Celiac disease is diagnosed by measuring damage to the small intestine, either by blood testing or, traditionally, with a biopsy of the small intestine. A positive biopsy means that the villi, or small finger-like extensions of the intestinal lining, have been damaged; this is known as villous atrophy. However, recent studies have shown blood testing to be as accurate as a biopsy.

Converting Wheat Flour Recipe to Gluten Free

Below are some general guidelines for how to convert a traditional wheat-flour recipe to a gluten-free one. Excerpted from Bake Deliciously! Gluten and Dairy Free Cookbook by Jean Duane, Alternative Cook.

One cup of wheat flour translates into 1/2 cup of grain flour, 1/4 cup of bean flour and 1/4 cup of starch.

Step One:

Start with a combination of flours in these ratios:

• 50% grain flour (brown rice or sorghum)
• 25% protein flour (navy, fava, garbanzo, soy, gafava flour)
• 25% starch (cornstarch, tapioca or potato starch)
• Use 1:1 for flour called for in the original recipe

A Deeper Understanding of Probiotics

As many of you know, probiotics are products that contain bacteria. These bacteria are the “good” bacteria, and they are called probiotics to make it clear that they are designed to produce the opposite effect of antibiotics which kill bacteria. The most familiar of the good bacteria are the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacter.

The GI tract contains around 100 trillion bacteria. Everyone has good bacteria in their digestive tract, but not everyone has the same kinds of good bacteria, or in the same amounts.

For the last few decades we have seen the rise of antibiotics, considered wonder drugs because of the lives that they saved. Unfortunately, we have also seen that too much of a good thing can be harmful.

9 Primary Causes of Heartburn

In order to cure acid reflux disease, you must remove the cause of the problem and promote the healing process.

The 9 most common causes of heartburn: 



Food allergies: In my practice I have found that a majority of cases of heartburn are caused by food allergies. Food allergies often cause a host of other problems and can be diagnosed with a simple blood test. 



Foods: certain foods cause the lower esophageal sphincter to relax, thus leading to heartburn. These include peppermint, coffee, alcohol and chocolate. 



Hiatal hernia: This is a physical condition where part of the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm. It can generally be reduced without surgery, though even when present it is not necessarily the sole cause of heartburn.


S. boulardii and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Two recent studies say that S. boulardii did not help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It's something that many people try at some point.

As we know, there are hundreds of causes of IBS, so it's unlikely that a study on one treatment will find it effective. However, I have also not found S. boulardii to be effective in IBS.

S. boulardii study #1

Role of Saccharomyces boulardii in diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome.

-Kabir MA, Ishaque SM, Ali MS, Mahmuduzzaman M, Hasan M.

Several studies with probiotics have shown promising results in the treatment of IBS. One of the probiotics used was saccharomyces boulardii. This is a randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial of S. boulardii in diarrhoea predominant IBS and was carried out in the hospital of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from June 2004 to July 2005.

Gall Bladder Q&A

What does the gallbladder do?


The gallbladder does exactly what its name describes; it is a small bladder that stores gall. Gall is more commonly known as bile. Bile is produced by the liver and piped over to the gallbladder via the bile duct.

What is bile?


Bile is a highly concentrated yellow green fluid that contains bile acids. Bile acids are important for digesting fats. When you eat, your gallbladder contracts and secretes bile into the small intestine to help you digest your food. If your gallbladder has been removed then it will be more difficult for you to digest fats. In such cases, eating too much fat may cause loose stools.

Hypoglycemia and Food Allergies

Do you find that you need to eat every 2-3 hours?
Do you feel like your blood sugar drops to a point where you can’t function anymore?
Do you get tired, shaky, or dizzy and find that if you eat something you feel better?
Do you get irritable when you get hungry?
Do your friends know when it’s time to get some food into you?

What is Hypoglycemia?

People suffering from one or more of these problems have what is commonly referred to as hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Technically, hypoglycemia is not diagnosed until it is very severe, so you are unlikely to have your doctor diagnose you as having hypoglycemia.

But in the general public this problem is commonly referred to as hypoglycemia. Unfortunately, many doctors will not explain the difference to you or acknowledge that you may have a form of hypoglycemia.

Some people assume that hypoglycemia is risk factor for developing diabetes. However, diabetes involves an elevation in blood sugar and is therefore the opposite of hypoglycemia.

What is a Food Allergy?

Food allergies are much more complicated than most people, including most physicians, realize.

Food allergies are typically thought of as relatively uncommon reactions to a few select foods, such as peanuts, that usually result in anaphylaxis, hives, or maybe asthma. This is how most allergy specialists think of food allergies. However, there are numerous research studies that indicate that food allergies cause many other conditions.

Technically, an allergy is any reaction that involves the immune system. But the standard of practice in medicine is to use a much narrower definition of the word allergy. Therefore, in order to truly understand the breadth of allergic reactions, it is necessary to define some of the underlying mechanisms involved in allergies.

Conventional IgE Allergies

Classic food allergies are the result of an IgE (immunoglobulin E) reaction to a food. IgE is a type of antibody produced by the immune system. When the immune system is attacking a food, it may produce IgE antibodies. IgE antibody reactions are the kind of reactions that are involved in hives and other conventional allergic reactions as well as conditions such as reflux.

Candida and IBS: What's the Connection?

One of the more common causes of digestive problems is Candida, or yeast. Although there are other types of yeast, Candida is the word usually used to describe a problem with yeast.

Although many people think of yeast infections as a female problem, yeast is an organism that can colonize any orifice. In the mouth it is known as thrush. In the digestive tract it is often called a yeast overgrowth, or simply candida. These do not have to occur together. However, they are essentially the same problem.

What are the symptoms of Candida?

Yeast can cause a large number of symptoms, including all of those of irritable bowel syndrome – gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

How do you get Candida?

Candida are a normal part of the environment. However, a problem occurs when they get out of balance with the normal good bacteria found in your digestive tract. Then they can develop into an overgrowth of yeast in the digestive tract and cause problems there as well as elsewhere in your body.

The Gall Bladder and IBS

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea or abdominal pain often wonder if they have a problem with their gallbladder.

Problems with the gallbladder can indeed cause these symptoms. However, many people find that having their gallbladder removed did little or nothing to help their IBS, or even made it worse.

What does the gallbladder do?


The gallbladder does exactly what its name describes; it is a small bladder that stores gall. Gall is more commonly known as bile. Bile is produced by the liver and piped over to the gallbladder via the bile duct.

What is bile?


Bile is a highly concentrated yellow green fluid that contains bile acids. Bile acids are important for digesting fats. When you eat, your gallbladder contracts and secretes bile into the small intestine to help you digest your food. If your gallbladder has been removed then it will be more difficult for you to digest fats. In such cases, eating too much fat may cause loose stools.

The Colonics Debate Continues

We stumbled across a recent article titled "Dangers of Colonic Hydrotherapy" and wanted to pass it along to you.

Colonics have not been well researched, but some people have found them to be temporarily helpful. Although not risk free, the are certainly not any riskier than many treatments and procedures regularly used by gastroenterologists, when performed by properly trained technicians.

I prefer to work with patients to find out the true cause of their problem, but I feel that is important to point out that this article has an obvious bias against colonics. Please feel free to share your own thoughts in our comments section.

From Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News:

It is often billed as a natural therapy that can spur weight loss, reduce water retention, cleanse internal organs and increase energy. Yet, according to a meta-analysis published in the August edition of the Journal of Family Medicine, colon cleansing provides no known health benefits, only dangerous side effects including, in rare cases, death (Mishori R et al. 2011;60:454-457).

“There can be serious consequences for those who engage in colon cleansing whether they have the procedure done at a spa or perform it at home,” said the paper’s lead author Ranit Mishori, MD, MHS, a family medicine physician at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C., in a statement.

Gluten Free Fruit Cake Recipe from Jules

This week's recipe thanks to our friends at Jules Gluten Free!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
• 2 cups granulated cane sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup rum
• 1 Tbs. lime juice
• 1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1 Tbs. almond extract (optional)
• 1 tsp. grated lime zest (approximately 1 lime)
• 2 3/4 cup dried/candied fruit*
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Guest Author Katie McKenna, CN LMHC: Eating Disorders and Food Allergies

Today's article is courtesy of Katie McKenna, CN LMHC. As a certified nutritionist and mental health therapist, McKenna specializes in working with eating disorders, food allergies and sustainable weight loss for adults and teens.

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There are several physical, mental and emotional connections between eating disorders and food allergies. Eating disorders affect over 10 million people in the United States and an estimated 15 million people suffer from food allergies.

Eating disorders and food allergies affect women, men, and young children. These staggering numbers are a call to action and there is a vast array of new research and approaches that promote true health and well being.

Anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.

Bulimia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or laxative use designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.

Binge eating disorder is characterized by recurrent binge eating without compensatory measures.

Understanding and Treating Abdominal Pain

People often think that Irritable Bowel Syndrome has to involve diarrhea or constipation, but often it does not.

For many people the only obvious symptom is abdominal pain. And the pain can vary from a mild discomfort to incredibly debilitating. Chronic abdominal pain is one of the top 5 reasons that people to go to the doctor.

Unfortunately, for many it is also very poorly treated. The typical approach is to rule out ulcers, appendicitis, gallstones, uterine problems, or cancers. This may be done with blood work, scopes, scans, ultrasound or other imaging, depending on the problem.

If you have one of the aforementioned problems and it’s found, then your problem should be solved. But many people with abdominal pain do not have an ulceration, appendicitis, gallstones, uterine problems or cancer.

Case study: Gliadin causes intestinal permeability in both celiac and non-celiacs

This is a very interesting celiac case study from 2006. It indicates that gliadin (gluten) leads to increased gut permeability in everyone, whether or not they have celiac disease. Though it's a lesser degree of permeability in non-celiacs.

Find this in its entirety at National Institutes of Health.

Gliadin causes intestinal permeability in both celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa.

OBJECTIVE:

Little is known about the interaction of gliadin with intestinal epithelial cells and the mechanism(s) through which gliadin crosses the intestinal epithelial barrier. We investigated whether gliadin has any immediate effect on zonulin release and signaling.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Both ex vivo human small intestines and intestinal cell monolayers were exposed to gliadin, and zonulin release and changes in paracellular permeability were monitored in the presence and absence of zonulin antagonism.

Changing Your Diet Can Reduce Migraines

From National Institutes of Health:

"Diet restriction in migraine, based on IgG against foods: A clinical double-blind, randomised, cross-over trial"

Introduction

It is well-known that specific foods trigger migraine attacks in some patients.

We aimed to investigate the effect of diet restriction, based on IgG antibodies against food antigens on the course of migraine attacks in this randomised, double blind, cross-over, headache-diary based trial on 30 patients diagnosed with migraine without aura.

Methods

Following a 6-week baseline, IgG antibodies against 266 food antigens were detected by ELISA. Then, the patients were randomised to a 6-week diet either excluding or including specific foods with raised IgG antibodies, individually.

GIG: Understanding Dermatitis Herpetiformis

From the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America:

Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH) is a chronic disease of the skin marked by groups of watery, itchy blisters.

The ingestion of gluten (a protein contained in wheat, rye and barley) triggers an immune system response that deposits lgA antibodies under the top layer of skin. IgA antibodies are present in affected as well as unaffected skin.

DH is a hereditary autoimmune disease linked with gluten intolerance. If you have DH and do not follow a gluten-free diet, you may develop the intestinal damage of celiac disease.

With DH, the primary lesion is on the skin rather than the small intestine. The degree of damage to the small intestine is often less severe or more patchy than for those with only celiac disease. Both diseases are permanent and symptoms/damage will occur after consuming gluten.

Antibiotics and Surgery May Not Cure Sinusitis

Many people with sinus infection complain that after having taken multiple courses of antibiotics or even following surgery, in the end they feel the same as they did before their treatment. Their sinusitis problem returns with a vengeance. What is the problem? Aren’t they getting the right antibiotic?

The answer is that in these people, the antibiotics are only treating the bacterial infection that is secondary to the inflammation clogging their sinuses. Therefore antibiotics don’t get at the real cause of the problem. The same can be said for surgery. Surgery may scrape out the sinuses or open up a bigger hole for them to drain, but these treatments only address secondary problems resulting from the inflammation. Therefore the original sinus problem remains.

The inflammation that is causing the sinus pain requires a trigger. The real question is, “What is causing the inflammation?” Anything that triggers the immune system can be that trigger, because the immune system is what causes inflammation and mucous production. Bacteria, which are treated with antibiotics, are only one cause of inflammation.

Understanding Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a symptom that patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive problems are sometimes given as a diagnosis. Like irritable bowel syndrome, it generally sounds more important and impressive than it really is.

The word gastroparesis often gives people the impression that their stomach is paralyzed and that there is nothing that they can do to solve their problem. Fortunately, this is often not the case, certainly not in the same way that someone with a serious spinal cord injury may suffer from paralysis.

The diagnosis of gastroparesis simply means that there is a delay in how long it takes the stomach to empty. It is then typically assumed that this is due to damage to the vagus nerve, which helps control the emptying time of the stomach.

In some cases this damage is actually seen or verified. But in many cases is only an assumption of nerve damage based solely on the delayed emptying time of the stomach.

The Importance of Fiber

Fiber is big business. You’ve seen commercials for it on your TV. You’ve been told that it’s good for you and that you need more. And if you have IBS or many other digestive problems then you have probably tried fiber.

What is fiber, anyway? Well, this is an interesting question. Historically fiber was the term used to define the parts of plants that you ate, but which were not digested. Typically this was the cellulose and other fibrous materials in plant foods. More recently fiber is being used as a word for any thing you might eat that provides bulk to the stool and is not digested. As a result we have “fiber” supplements that contain man-made materials including polymers, yet don’t contain any natural plant fibers at all.

If you’ve tried a fiber product and it didn’t work, or it even made you feel worse, then you are not alone. This is one of the most common complaints expressed by patients to the IBS Treatment Center. Fiber is definitely not a cure all for IBS, and its effectiveness can vary widely depending on a host of issues.

Testing for IBS Triggers: What's Included?

The Standard Food Allergy Profile test takes the guesswork out of treating your IBS and saves you a great deal of time, effort, and discomfort. And if by chance your test happens to be negative, you can quickly move on to other potential causes of your problem without spending valuable time on an unsuccessful elimination diet and then wondering if you actually did it correctly.

Food allergy testing is a highly specialized procedure performed only by doctors trained in recognizing and treating non-anaphylactic food allergies, and only in laboratories especially equipped to handle the sophisticated testing required. In order to give you an accurate result, this test must be a blood test, and must include both IgE and IgG antibodies. If it does not evaluate both antibodies, there is a strong possibility that the testing will miss your food allergy.

Foods Included in the Standard Food Allergy Panel - 96 foods

Dairy: Cow's milk, whey, casein, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, goat's milk.

Gluten Free Recipe: Aunt Libby's Genius Bread and Butter Pudding

This great recipe thanks to Genius Gluten Free.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons raisins
• 1 tablespoon mixed candied citrus peel (or dried fruit)
• 3 fl ounces rum or brandy
• 2 ounces butter, softened
• 8 slices of Genius by Glutino White Gluten-Free Bread, thinly sliced and crusts removed
• 10 fl ounces whole milk
• 10 fl ounces heavy cream (or double cream)
• Vanilla pod, split down the middle with a sharp knife
• 3 large eggs

What is an Allergy?

An allergy is what results when your immune system is inappropriately activated. Your immune system is designed to attack bacteria, viruses and parasites.

It is not intended to attack the food you eat. But this is exactly what happens with some people. This is called a "food allergy."

When your immune system is activated, antibodies (also called immunoglobulins) are produced. Antibodies in turn trigger an inflammatory response. Inflammation causes pain and tissue damage, leading to further symptoms. Increased mucous production is another aspect of an immune response.

When a food is broken down and absorbed, it is distributed through your bloodstream to all of your tissues. Therefore an allergic reaction can occur just about anywhere in your body.

Causes of IBS: Medications

At least 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The drug companies are beginning to tap into this hefty target market by offering medicines aimed at relieving the symptoms of IBS.

These drugs alter the physiology and ultimately the action of the digestive tract, but they do not address the underlying causes of IBS, or even claim to cure IBS. These drugs also come with an alarming variety of warnings and side effects.

Six types of drugs are used to treat the different symptoms of IBS.
They include the following:

1. IBS-specific drugs to control the speed with which the bowels move (Zelnorm, Lotronex, and Calmactin),

Digestion Basics: Understanding Your Digestive System

Think of your gastrointestinal tract as a long, muscular tube. This tube starts at your mouth and ends at your anus, and, if you were to stretch it out to its full length, would be about thirty feet long with a surface area approximately the size of a tennis court.

This tract is a highly specialized organ that is designed to do three very important things:

1. Convert food into something your cells can use for nourishment and then absorb it.
2. Protect you from invading organisms and toxins;
3. Dispose of a large variety of waste products.

It is truly amazing that these three vital functions are performed by one structure.

In fact, this tube is so specialized that it actually has its own nervous system, often called a second brain. It also has a significant defense system to protect it from outside threats; in fact, the largest part of our immune system resides in the lining of the digestive tract. And to top it all off, this tube contains a highly evolved ecosystem of organisms which are not only critical to proper digestive function, but which are also a vital part of the defense system.

8 Quick Facts about IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is defined by a set of symptoms affecting a patient’s gastrointestinal system. These symptoms, or immune system reactions, can be produced by a wide range of different medical conditions.

Most often, IBS symptoms are caused by one or more of the following: chemical mechanisms resulting from reactions to certain foods; microorganisms in the gut including bacteria and parasites; yeasts; or celiac disease (gluten intolerance).

8 Facts about IBS:

1. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 10-20% of the general population, with women 20-40 years old accounting for the majority of patients. (Astegiano et. al. 2008)
2. Irritable bowel syndrome affects approximately 10-15% of the European population and up to 70% of individuals with IBS may not be formally diagnosed. (Quigley et. al. 2006)
3. Patients with IBS cost a average $1300 more per year than non-IBS patients (Levy et. al. 2001)
4. IBS results in more than $10 billion in direct costs (eg, office visits, medications) and $20 billion in indirect costs (eg, through work absenteeism and reduced productivity) each year. (Foxx-Orenstein A. 2006)

5 Reasons Why It's Hard to Detect Your Own Food Allergies

Reason #1

One major obstacle to figuring out which foods are problematic is that, even on an elimination diet, you may not have truly eliminated all of your allergenic foods. Assumptions are often made about which foods are allergenic and which foods are not. These assumptions are often wrong.

Even on an elimination diet you may still be eating something that will trigger your IBS, even if you are eating foods that you normally don't eat.

In order to solve your IBS you may need to stay away from entire food groups, not just one or two foods.

Food groups are much more difficult to avoid than you might think. One food group that commonly causes problems for IBS sufferers is dairy. Dairy is not just milk. Dairy includes cheese, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, ice cream, and yogurt. It's found in many baked goods such as muffins, breads, and cookies, as well as in many cream soups, some salad dressings, and milk chocolate. Coffee and lattes are another common source of dairy. Even margarine contains dairy. The list goes on and on.

Treating Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease

We often receive calls asking if we treat Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease, and the answer is an emphatic “YES!”

Though the clinic was originally founded with an emphasis on treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), patients with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s, which together make up inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are also welcome and receive unique and highly specialized treatment at the IBS Treatment Center.

Do These Issues Have Anything in Common?

IBD, like IBS, is not a particularly useful acronym for the person suffering from the problem. In both cases the acronym provides a label for describing the condition, but it does not provide any information for understanding the cause of the problem or to attempt to cure it. Our goal is to find the cause of the problem so that it can be cured.

And IBD sufferers are just as surprised as IBS sufferers to discover that there is much more to learn about digestive health than what they learned from their gastroenterologist.

What is the difference between IBS and IBD?

Acne and Food Allergies

Acne may be one of the most common conditions known to humans. It can be embarrassing, frustrating, and downright unfair.

Fortunately, most of the time, it is also avoidable. 



The Traditional View of Acne and Its Treatment 


Most people assume that getting acne is a normal part of life. But why do some people get acne when others do not? And why do certain people have such bad cases of acne? Commercial treatments for acne focus on keeping the skin clean and clearing clogged pores. This sounds reasonable, but again, why do some people have to obsessively clean their skin when others do not? And why do some people cleanse, exfoliate, deep clean and still get acne? 



What's Wrong with this Approach to Acne? 


The real problem with this approach to acne is that acne develops from inside the body, not outside. The skin is an organ, and it is an organ of elimination. We eliminate waste products through our skin, just as we loose minerals when we sweat. 
Too many toxins inside the body can lead to inflammation in the skin resulting in clogged pores and acne. In order to treat the cause of the acne we must first remove the toxins. 



Why Do Antibiotics Help, but Only Temporarily? 


The inflamed and clogged pores of acne become infected. This is what causes puss. Antibiotics may help treat this infection. Unfortunately, acne comes back when the antibiotics are discontinued because the underlying cause that leads to inflammation and clogged pores, toxins in the body, still exists. 



Testing for IBS Triggers: Comprehensive GI Functional Panel

The Comprehensive GI (gastrointestinal) Function Panel includes everything in the DNA Microbial Profile as well as several other tests that evaluate the overall function of the digestive tract.

These tests include inflammatory markers, digestive markers, measurement of absorption, pH, occult blood, and several other tests. Each is described below.

Inflammatory Markers

Beneficial Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA)

Beneficial SCFA come from dietary carbohydrates that have escaped digestion or absorption in the small intestine. They are also produced by bacteria in the large intestine via the fermentation of fiber.

The production of SCFA in the intestine plays an important role in maintaining the intestinal lining. Beneficial SCFA include acetate, propionate, and butyrate. They affect the bacteria of the colon as well as the health of the colon and the entire body.

Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin is released in inflammatory condition such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. It can help to differentiate between IBS and these conditions, and to monitor improvement in inflammatory bowel diseases.

Digestion Basics: Understanding Constipation

The two major factors for defining constipation are the frequency of bowel movements and their firmness. One sign that your digestive system is functioning optimally is that you have at least one bowel movement per day.

However, bowel movements that are difficult to pass, very firm, or made up of small rabbit-like pellets qualify as constipation, even if they occur every day. Other symptoms related to constipation can include bloating, distension, abdominal pain, or a sense of incomplete emptying.

If you don't have these symptoms but you rely on extra fiber (such as Metamucil), a stool softener, a laxative, or some other method to prevent these symptoms, then you also have constipation.

Constipation is a symptom of slow transit time, not unlike rush-hour traffic. When the colon is backed up, the small intestine is also backed up. And when the intestines are backed up, the stomach can be delayed in emptying itself of food matter. This is why some people with constipation also experience heartburn and reflux.

Gluten Free Recipe: French Onion Soup with Crostini and Gruyere

This week's gluten free recipe comes thanks to our friends at Delight Gluten Free Magazine.

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 medium-sized Vidalia or sweet yellow onions, cut in half and then sliced in very thin half-moon slivers
• 3 medium-sized red onions, cut in half and then sliced in very thin half-moon slivers
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 6 cups gluten-free beef broth (can use vegetable broth to make vegetarian)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• Salt, to taste
• 4 Rudi's Gluten-Free Multigrain Hamburger Buns, sliced in half
• 1 pound block Gruyere cheese, grated (or Daiya brand mozzarella instead of dairy cheese)

Directions:

CaseStudy: Diet and Disease Symptoms in Rheumatic Diseases

The following study (Diet and disease symptoms in rheumatic diseases--results of a questionnaire based survey) comes from National Institutes of Health.

Abstract

Experiences with food intake, diet manipulations and fast were registered in rheumatic patients. The study was a questionnaire-based survey in which 742 patients participated.

It comprised:

• 290 patients with rheumatoid arthritis,
• 51 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,
• 87 patients with ankylosing spondylitis,
• 51 patients with psoriatic arthropathy,
• 65 patients with primary fibromyalgia and
• 34 patients with osteoarthritis.

One third of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthropathy reported aggravation of disease symptoms after intake of certain foods while 43% of the patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and 42% of the patients with primary fibromyalgia stated the same.

Causes of IBS: Generic Dietary Changes and Elimination Diets

If you've done much reading about IBS diets, then you've seen advice urging you to increase fiber if you're constipated, increase fiber if you have diarrhea, cut back on sugar, drink more water, avoid lactose, avoid dairy, avoid bread, avoid red meat, cut back on yeast, reduce spicy foods, cut back on carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners, eliminate chocolate, eliminate caffeine, eliminate alcohol, eat smaller meals, and so on and so on.

The question becomes whether you can ever eat again without triggering your symptoms!

The problem with this approach is that different foods trigger IBS in different people, and many foods can potentially trigger IBS symptoms - far more than in the list mentioned. Therefore the best diet for you may not be the best one for someone else. Certainly some people have been helped by one of the recommendations above, but most people have not.

Elimination Diets

Ideally, to create an optimal IBS diet, all you'd have to do is avoid a certain food or food group to discover whether it was triggering your IBS. Unfortunately this is easier said than done. It takes a great deal of time, persistence, and education to properly construct a diet that will adequately treat IBS. Proper lab testing can help you avoid all of this.

Testing for IBS Triggers: Why Skin Testing Generally Isn't Effective

For several decades skin testing has been the standard way to test for allergies. The potential allergen is injected under or scratched into the skin, and any resulting inflammation (also known as wheal) is measured. The size of the wheal supposedly determines whether or not an allergy is diagnosed.

This technique leaves a lot to be desired because we don't inject food into our skin when we eat, nor do we necessarily get a red bump when we have a food allergy.

This is also a subjective test. There is no scientific standard for the amount of swelling required for a positive result.

Equally important, this test can measure only an IgE antibody reaction. And even so, it often is negative, missing elevated IgE levels that are evident with a blood test. The IgG antibody is not tested for at all.