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Posts tagged ‘bloating’

My tummy hurts!

pH scale showing common substances

Image via Wikipedia

Stomach pain. That’s just one of the symptoms of gastropause. Wow, sounds like menopause or andropause. Very similar in a way. Anyway, this term was coined by one of the doctors I really admire. He’s the well-respected author and physician Dr. Eric Bravermerman of PathMed. Gastropause is basically a period in one’s life when the functions of the intestinal tract begin to decline (similar to ovarian function decline in menopause and testicular function decline in andropause). Gastropause may manifest with symptoms such as gas, bloating and indigestion (or heartburn). This usually happens during our 30’s, making the class of drugs called PPI’s or acid-blockers some of the best-selling drugs for this age group. What triggers the onset of these symptoms? Possibly, factors such as eating cooked (dead, devitalized) food majority of the time, eating mindlessly (eating fast and not chewing food properly), and eating the wrong kinds of foods (highly refined or processed foods with artificial ingredients and preservatives). Ways to relieve these symptoms include taking plant (or animal-based) enzymes and betaine HCl. Eating more raw foods is definitely helpful as well. For acute situations, the drug alternative may be used but only for a short period. However, what ends up happening, is that most people stay on these drugs indefinitely, without making the necessary dietary and lifestyle changes to address the problem. In fact, there’s an article in the latest issue of Scientific American on the overuse of acid blockers and how it poses long-term health risks such as nutritional deficiencies, hip fracture (buy inhibiting calcium absorption) and an increased risk of bacterial infection (by increasing the pH of the stomach). One thing the article stresses is that there’s a need to re-evaluate the use of PPI’s as a prophylactic agent (for hospital patients with serious injuries to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding and stress ulcers) since only one intensive care patient is saved from serious bleeding for every 900 treated. Therefore, to prevent or relieve the symptoms of gastropause, try these things. Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, in small (frequent) portions.

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We Need Bugs….

The good ones, that is. In a recent article in Scientific American magazine, it was reported that prophylactic bacteria may protect critically ill patients against pneumonia. The study was done at the Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and was subsequently published earlier this month at the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. This is great considering that you rarely hear about preventive medicine in mainstream medical journals. Good bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifodibacterium are part of the body’s normal flora. Their numbers can decrease due to factors such as antibiotic intake, NSAID use, and even just by drinking tap water (chlorinated and fluoridated). When this imbalance between good and bad bacteria happens, conditions such as antibiotic-related diarrhea, small bowel bacterial overgrowth, candidiasis and “leaky gut syndrome” could occur. Symptoms of these conditions could range from gas, bloating, food sensitivities, allergies, joint pains, muscle aches, fatigue and brain fog. It’s really important to take probiotics on a regular basis nowadays (even without a history of taking antibiotics or NSAID’s because our water supply is not as safe as it used to be). Typical water purification methods usually remove particulate matter and certain microbes. It does nothing however for removal of heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, etc.), VOC’s (volatile organic chemicals), certain bacteria (such as Cryptosporidium), and mostly importantly, pharmaceutical drugs (from people flushing them in the toilet, etc). It certainly won’t hurt to invest in a good water purification system. Remember, most water sold in plastic containers may just be filtered municipal water. Let’s not even get into that now! I’ll save that rant for another day. How about that? In the meantime, take a good probiotic supplement daily and make sure to stay hydrated with pure water. By the way, the probiotic that I use is called Life 5.

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