what's going on in your gut ?

[orphanedhawk]

http://thekeybiotics.com/video_toon3.html

Although this is a long winded kind of ad, it's got quite a bit on interesting material about our food and how the big food conglomerates and politicians together work against the common good.

[mikesimon]

Medscape Gastroenterology

Debunking Myths About Diverticular Disease

David A. Johnson, MD
April 07, 2014

Myth #4: Recurrent Diverticulitis Is Inevitable

Myth number 4 is that in the patient with diverticulosis and a history of diverticulitis, nothing can be done to prevent the recurrence of diverticulitis.

A study[5] was recently published that looked at 210 patients who had recurrent diverticulitis. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups:

• Placebo;

• Mesalamine 1.6 g/day;

• Lactobacillus DG 24 billion units daily; or

• Mesalamine 1.6 g/day and lactobacillus DG 24 billion units daily.

At 1 year, the recurrence rate was 46% in the placebo group (unusually high), approximately 14% in each of the mesalamine and lactobacillus DG groups, and 0% in the combination group. We know from other trials that 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) drugs have a preventive benefit, but now it seems to be apparent that the combination with a probiotic makes some sense.

What do I do in my patients now? Recurrent diverticulitis is associated with exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), so avoidance of NSAIDs and the use of a 5-ASA drug combined with a probiotic may make some sense in patients with relapsing disease. It may be something at least to offer as an alternative to a surgical intervention. Whether the temporary, short-term benefits are helpful in a patient who is going out of the country, for example, I don't know. All we have is this one study. It needs to be corroborated, but physiologically, it makes some sense. We think that a lot of the recurrent diverticulitis may be related to microflora changes and probiotics may influence the microbiota as well.

So, myth number 4 -- nothing can be done to prevent recurrent diverticulitis -- is busted. I have started using [a 5-ASA drug combined with a probiotic] in my patients with recurrent diverticulitis, or I at least to offer it to them. It has very little downside risk, and it may be helpful.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/822917_4

[teko]

My gut screams at me when I put something in there that it doesnt like. I take probiotics and they have done wonders for me. No they didnt cure anything but they helped immensely. The doctors have told me to keep taking them for just that reason. Diet is responsible for many things imo and we bring so much on ourselves. If we could learn that we should eat like we are grazing from a garden we would be much better off. I think its really a whole lot of common sense.

I get terrible leg cramps at night and when I sit for extended periods of time and the doctor told me I have neuropathy and should take this medication for it. I got the med and still have not taken it.

A nurse in the family asked me about my water intake. Sure enuff, I started drinking more water during my work day and wha la! mysterious leg cramps went from unbearable to almost non existent. LOL

[Barb135]

Actually, I've seen other videos, similar to this and they all say the same; that food manufacturers have duped the public for years getting us to eat the fat, sugar, artificial sweeteners, etc. and many of us are addicted to the sugar, in its various forms as a result.

It's true that probiotics can go a long way toward restoring our bodies to health, but there are so many other things to take into consideration as well.

There are a lot of studies being done about how much of our "health" actually takes place in the gut.  While I'm not on board with a lot of it, I guess it makes sense to make sure that our gut health is as good as possible.