Common Digestive Problems

Most people with a constipation problem either don’t recognize they have it, or they don’t want to admit it. Rarely have I ever received a “yes” answer to the question, “Are you constipated?” I’ve always received a more accurate assessment by asking the person how often they have bowel movements.

The simple truth is, you eat two or three meals a day, so you should be having two or three bowel movements a day. Anything less than that falls under the category of constipation and needs to be corrected. Don’t kid yourself with the delusion that “everyone is different” or “this is normal for me.” It could end up killing you.

For more information on common digestive problems, constipation and diarrhea, or other bowel problems, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

While much well-deserved attention is paid to soluble fiber foods, it is insoluble fiber that provides roughage and improves bowel regularity. This natural bulk also gives feelings of fullness and satisfaction, resulting in less food intake.

In the 1980s, there was a huge push promoting the benefits of fiber in the diet, particularly its ability to prevent colon cancer. Since that time, there have been conflicting studies, and, for some reason, fiber has fallen out of favor. I predict (something I do very rarely) that you will soon begin to see a dramatic increase in the ill effects of decreasing the amount of fiber in our diets. We’re already seeing an increase in many of these problems, such as widespread obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous bowel problems.

Fiber has decreased dramatically as our food supply has become more and more processed. To make matters worse, low-carb diets like Atkins and South Beach often shun the complex carbohydrates that contain insoluble fiber or roughage. The most commonly consumed “vegetable” in this country is now French fries. Food manufacturers have increasingly removed insoluble fiber from processed foods, to both lessen the gritty texture and make ingredients easier to combine.

Insoluble fiber, the portion of the plant that can’t be broken down by your digestive system, provides a valuable service. The fiber absorbs water and swells, making the stool bulky, soft, and easy to pass. (This is why you always need to increase your water intake when you increase the fiber in your diet.) Without adequate fiber, bowel movements slow and toxic material remains in contact with the intestinal walls longer. The foreign material causes inflammation, and additional toxins are reabsorbed into your bloodstream. These additional toxins increase the workload of both your liver and kidneys. The slow-moving stools also lead to a condition called diverticulitis.

Diverticulum: Latin for “You Don’t Want to Know”

In the early stages of the disease, as your intestines struggle to remove toxins and waste material, small, pea-sized, irreversible pockets called diverticula develop. Waste material becomes trapped in these pockets, which often expand and become inflamed, resulting in diverticulitis. If the pockets rupture, the resulting infection and inflammation in the abdominal cavity can prove fatal.

Not surprisingly, the treatment for diverticulosis (the condition before inflammation sets in) is to increase fiber and promote bowel regularity. At the same time, I would also highly recommend the use of probiotics and fermented foods like sauerkraut and others to help re-establish good bacterial flora in the lower bowel at the same time. I don’t recommend the long-term use of over-the-counter fiber products like those mentioned earlier. It is my experience that long-term use of these products seems to deplete various minerals, which can lead to all kinds of seemingly unrelated problems. This just doesn’t happen when the fiber comes from a wide variety of foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, dried beans, popcorn, brown rice, and bran.

For more information on common digestive problems, bowel irregularity, or a list of the highest fiber foods, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

While everyone sings the praises of the low-carb diet, there’s one offshoot of this trend that rarely gets mentioned, however, and that’s constipation. While the more common low-carbs diets such as Atkins or the South Beach diet both advocate salads and various vegetables, in practice they are often low-fiber diets, and that can quickly lead to bowel regularity problems. Reports are that about half the individuals who go on these diets, or variations of them, experience constipation problems.

The fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by the pharmaceutical companies. GlaxoSmithKline has experienced a jump in sales of its fiber laxative, Citrucel. Procter and Gamble has also started promoting its Metamucil product as a “zero net carb” product to help with the bowel regularity problem. Both of these companies see this as a huge opportunity to begin marketing their regularity products to younger consumers instead of just the geriatric crowd.

And, thanks to this diet fad, their target audience is changing to a younger age group. These two products are just part of the $350-million laxative market, and companies know that the sooner you get a customer hooked on one of these products, the greater the chance the customer will end up staying with them for life.

I have a better suggestion for you, if you have bowel regularity problems from a low-carb diet or other cause. Rather than opting for one of these fiber products, start including oats and oatmeal in your diet. Oats are not carb-free, but their benefits far outweigh their carb content. Oats are one of the simple solutions that inexpensively eliminate and prevent dozens of bowel problems.

For more information on bowel changes or other common digestive problems, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

Probably 75 percent of all the patients I've worked on have had problems with bloating and gas or flatulence. This is mostly due to not being able to digest protein adequately.

Protein takes a lot of hydrochloric acid from the stomach to be broken down. A deficiency of this hydrochloric acid production is probably one of the most common conditions after age 50, since research has shown that at age 50 the stomach is only releasing 15 percent of the amount of acid that is released at age 25. A more alarming figure is that 35 percent of all individuals over 65 do not secrete any hydrochloric acid at all.

If the protein isn't broken down completely, then it has a tendency to ferment and putrefy. When this occurs, you will have the bloating and gas after eating, fullness, heartburn, and sometimes vomiting.

Let me tell you the simplest way to stop the problem first. Eat the protein foods at the beginning of the meal! Most of us in the United States will eat a salad before the meal, and the carbohydrates that make up the salad require no hydrochloric acid. The stomach dumps all the hydrochloric acid in to begin with and then when the protein food (meat, fish, beans, cheese, etc.) needs the acid, there is none left. So always eat the vegetable salad either with the protein food or after, but never before.

Now, if the above is still not enough to stop the problem, you may need to help the stomach out by taking some hydrochloric acid with your meal. I always recommend betaine hydrochloride, which you can get at your local health food store. One really important point to remember here is to take one or two tablets after you eat. Whatever you do, don't take them before or during the meal, because you want your stomach to produce and secrete as much acid as it can first, then you add the additional acid needed.

And don't forget to practice these good habits either:

1. Eat smaller meals.
2. Chew all the food extremely well and eat slowly.
3. Never eat if you are not hungry or if you are upset.
4. Don't eat raw fruits and raw vegetables at the same meal.

For more information on bloating and gas and other common digestive problems, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

Practically all grains contain gluten, but wheat is one of the most commonly consumed grains found in our food supply—primarily in the form of flour and bread. Cut out the bread and white flour from your diet. (It’s not that easy at first.) Depending on your degree of dependency on gluten, you may experience “withdrawal” symptoms for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

Most people (doctors included) don’t understand that there is a proven additive element to gluten consumption. Gluten is a protein, and when your body isn’t able to completely digest and break down the protein, you end up with forms of biologically active peptides that interact with opiate receptors in the brain. These are the same receptors associated with extremely addictive opiate drugs like heroin and morphine. Studies have found that there are as many as 15 opioid sequences in a single molecule of gluten, and the peptides in gluten can be as much as 30 times more addictive than morphine. (FEBS Lett 92;296:107–111) (FEBS Lett 93;316:17–19)

Considering its potential addictive properties, it’s understandable that gluten withdrawal may be associated with symptoms such as:

• intense food cravings,
• irritability,
• depression,
• mood swings,
• fatigue,
• disorientation,
• insomnia, and
• brain “fogginess.”

From my personal experience in utilizing gluten-free diets, the withdrawal symptoms are not that intense in most people. However, keep in mind that a more serious withdrawal is indicative of a stronger addiction to wheat, and all the more reason to stick with a gluten-free diet.

Following this initial period, if you’re like the majority of individuals (75–80 percent), you can expect to experience a long list of benefits. Just a few commonly reported improvements include:

• fasting blood sugar levels improve,
• LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels drop,
• HDL cholesterol increases,
• bowel problems disappear,
• joint pains subside,
• excess weight begins to fall off,
• energy levels improve, and
• headaches subside.

For some reason, there’s a misconception in this country that celiac disease is a rare condition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Numerous studies have shown it to be a very common yet under-diagnosed problem. In the general population, celiac disease affects one in every 130 to 300 individuals, and is associated with a 95 percent genetic predisposition.

Celiac disease is actually an allergy to certain storage proteins found in grains, called glutens. If you have celiac disease, the allergies to the glutens in wheat, rye, and barley are so severe that many tissues throughout the body can be destroyed. In addition to celiac, many people cannot properly digest gluten, leading to gluten intolerance.

Although celiac disease and gluten intolerance can result in the destruction of the mucosa of the small intestine, you may not experience outright bowel problems or intestional issues. Instead, you may exhibit symptoms such as:

• general poor health,
• fatigue,
• depression,
• weakness,
• joint pain,
• osteoporosis, and
• nighttime bone pain associated with the loss of calcium.

Since these symptoms can result from other problems, the diagnosis of celiac disease might not be made for years, if ever. And during that time you could needlessly suffer from skin problems, cancer, or dozens of other serious diseases.

There’s a critical connection between bowel problems and the nervous system that doesn’t receive much attention in most medical circles. In fact, in testimonials concerning the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, you’ll find that many individuals have seen a dramatic improvement or even complete reversal in such problems as schizophrenia. The same is true when bowel problems are corrected with probiotics or many of the other digestive cleansing methods I’ve discussed in this blog.

Generally, those in conventional medical circles haven’t been able to grasp the connection between toxins in the bowels and neurological disease. (Most still believe the cause of IBS, ulcerative colitis, and similar bowel problems is totally unknown.)

Between 60 and 70 percent of our immune system is located in the digestive tract, which makes sense when you realize it’s one of only three direct connections our body has to the outside world (our skin and respiratory tract are the others)—making it one of the places we are most exposed and vulnerable.

A breach in the gut wall—common in individuals with IBS, Crohn’s disease, and chronic constipation and diarrhea—is commonly referred to as “leaky gut” syndrome. This state allows toxins, bacteria, yeast, fungi, viruses, and incompletely digested foods to enter the bloodstream. An excess of these pathogens creates additional acids, fermentation byproducts, waste, and toxins that eventually overcomes our gut’s defenses.  

That’s why it is vital to maintain bowel health. It’s one of the most effective methods of improving your overall immune function. It can help prevent or reverse many of the neurological diseases on the rise in both children and adults.

Once these toxins and other particles breach our body’s protective barriers, they cause inflammation throughout the body and can often cross the blood/brain barrier, where they then interfere with the circulation and flow of nutrients to the brain—which in turn impairs consciousness, speech, cognition, and behavior. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that digestive and bowel problems are one of the principal complaints of people of all ages with depression, “brain fog,” irritability, schizophrenia, and seizures—even children with autism. It also should be no surprise to see these problems resolved when the bowel problems are corrected.

If you or your loved ones suffer from one of these neurological problems, getting rid of body toxins and restoring the bowels to normal is one thing you don’t want to overlook.

The use of probiotics is preventive medicine at its best. For this very reason it’s important to constantly replenish your body’s supply of these important life-sustaining organisms, which you can do easily with a daily probiotic supplement. And to that you can add my favorite—a nice daily helping of homemade sauerkraut to reap full probiotic benefits.

I am a big fan of anything that aids common digestive problems, as well as more serious conditions like celiac disease. That’s why I am such an advocate of papain.

Papain is a digestive enzyme derived from papaya. Research has shown that taking papain supplements (500 to 1,000 mg with meals) can help digest wheat gluten. It often works so well that with supplementation many celiac disease patients can once again eat wheat products without problems (Gut 64;5:295-303)! Papain can be a godsend to those people who have a gluten intolerance or allergy and must meticulously avoid wheat-containing products.

Finding papain in lower dosages combined with other digestive enzymes is easy to do. You will also find a large selection of papaya tablets. Locating papain by itself is more difficult. One source that sells papain by itself is Nutriteck. It comes as a powder, which can be taken by weighed doses. If you take it in bulk form, make sure you take it with meals. Remember, this is the same stuff used to tenderize meat. It can do a job on your tender lips and mouth if it stays there long enough!

Did you ever think that an "aspirin substitute" could come in the form of a digestive enzyme? Think again.

Bromelain is a digestive enzyme extracted from the pineapple plant. It is referred to as a "protease," which means it breaks down proteins, reducing them to their basic building blocks.

Almost 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus and his crew "discovered" the pineapple on the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe. Even then, they were amazed at its medicinal uses. Natives used the juice to aid in digestion of meat and cure stomachaches. Women used it to beautify their skin and warriors used it to improve the healing of their wounds. Recent research suggests that the pineapple (more specifically bromelain, which is extracted from the stem) may be one of the best tools we can use to help prevent and even treat heart disease.

Research has continually shown that the clots formed in arteries are composed largely of protein (fibrin). These clots also contain particles of various fats and cholesterol, but the protein mesh of fibrin seems to be the culprit holding the clot together. In fact, the new clot-busting drugs that have been shown to dissolve 70 percent of the clots in heart patients, work by breaking down the protein fibrin!

Bromelain works much the same way as these new miracle clot-busting drugs. (Just like streptokinase, bromelain stimulates the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, which in turn helps break down fibrin clots.) Even more surprising, bromelain may be able to "clean" arteries of atherosclerotic plaquing before a problem occurs. In an animal study, bromelain broke down arteriosclerotic plaque in the aortas of rabbits.

Bromelain also has been shown to be very effective in treating inflammation, again without the side effects of aspirin or the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Motrin, Advil, Midol, etc. In fact, even the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has been effective using 2,250 mg of bromelain twice daily between meals. In one study, over 70 percent of those on the program experienced good to excellent results of less joint swelling, less pain and more mobility.

Bromelain is sold in health food stores everywhere as a digestive aid and is generally considered very sage, without any known side effects. After all, it comes from pineapple juice, which again has been used medicinally for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Most studies recommend between 2,000 and 4,000 mg daily. When taken to ease common digestive problems, it should be taken after meals. If you are using this digestive enzyme for inflammation and as an aspirin substitute, it is best taken between meals.

IBS has many triggers, including antibiotics, certain foods, and poor digestive capability, just to name a few.

IBS is a complicated condition with several factors that can trigger or contribute to its development. Top among these are antibiotic use, certain IBS trigger foods, or poor digestive capability.

Antibiotic Use

For many people, IBS first shows up after an infection (often one in the gastrointestinal tract), particularly when a long course of treatment or potent antibiotics have been used to address the infection. Antibiotics disrupt the normal bacterial flora in the gut, and this imbalance can lead to IBS.

Food Intolerance

Intolerance to certain foods is one of the primary triggers of IBS. Many people incorrectly refer to food intolerances as food “allergies,” but ingesting the offending foods doesn’t trigger a reaction from the immune system the way a true allergy does. Studies have shown that patients with IBS can usually correct their problem by following a diet that eliminates offending foods.

Some of the most common IBS trigger foods include:

• wheat,
• corn,
• dairy products,
• coffee,
• tea, and
• citrus fruits.

In fact, one study suggests that fructose (fruit sugar) alone may be responsible for 30 to 60 percent of all cases of IBS. The most common source of fructose in the American diet nowadays is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). And while it’s a given that you need to avoid HFCS, fruit can also trigger IBS.

Poor Digestive Capability

A decrease in digestive juices and/or enzymes results in the incomplete breakdown of various foods. Undigested proteins, fats, and carbohydrates can all create havoc in the intestinal tract. Protein fractions can be absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine and cause reactions that mimic allergies, locally as well as throughout the body.

Undigested fats can ferment in warm cavities of the lower bowel and create gas or flatulence, resulting in bloating, distension, and pain. And, undigested carbohydrates can pass to the lower bowel and provide the ideal food for the growth and replication of pathogenic and disease-causing bacteria, fungi, and yeast.

As we age, our ability to produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach is reduced—which reduces our ability to break down proteins. Sluggish bile and gallbladder problems prevent many people from properly breaking down fats in the diet. Surgical removal of the gallbladder without supplementing the diet with bile salts probably increases the difficulty a hundredfold or more.

Additional IBS Triggers

In addition to antibiotics, food intolerance, and poor digestion, there are a myriod of other factors that can trigger IBS. These include:

• genetics,
• drugs,
• radiation therapy,
• smoking,
• alcohol use or abuse,
• carbonated beverages,
• lack of sleep and exercise,
• surgical trauma or injury to the bowel,
• eating disorders, and
• use of hormones (particularly oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy).

Common digestive problems are the second most common cause of hospitalizations. (Pregnancy is #1 with women and coronary problems are #1 with men.) Thousands of diseases can be linked directly to a poor digestive system.

In the case of diarrhea, one of the best diarrhea treatments is to increase your intake of cultured foods, specifically, those made milk products, such as yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, etc.

Yogurt has been used for centuries to cure bowel problems and diarrhea. The oldest people in the world, in the mountains of Russia, reportedly use plenty of yogurt and clabbered milk as their protein source. Similarly, a study at a New York hospital confirmed that between a third and a half cup of ordinary yogurt stopped severe infant diarrhea twice as fast as the standard anti-diarrhea drug Neomycin Kaopectate (Clin. Ped.63;1(7):407-411). In fact, yogurt works so effectively at preventing diarrhea in the first place, it is routinely used for that purpose in hospitals throughout Russia, Japan, and Italy.

Yogurt can do so much more than just correct bowel problems. At least seven natural antibiotics have been isolated from yogurt and fermented milk products. One called acidolin has been shown to be as effective, if not more so, as many prescription antibiotics (J. of Antibiotics 74;27(8):631-636). Eating yogurt may also decrease the risk of cancer. One French study discovered that among women who ate dairy products, those who ate the greatest amounts of yogurt had the lowest rate of breast cancer (J.Nat.Cancer Inst. 86;77(3):633-636).
Yogurt can also drop LDL cholesterol levels as much as 10 percent in one week, while raising HDL cholesterol levels (the good kind) (Ather.77;26[3]:335-340). And regular yogurt (not the low-fat kind) contains the hormone-like substance prostaglandin E2, which, among other things, can prevent ulcers. It can even boost the immune system.

Like just about everything else these days, the type of yogurt you eat makes a difference. The label of any yogurt you buy should say it has "active cultures." Some companies pasteurize the product after it’s been made, and this kills off the remaining beneficial bacteria making it useless. If you can find products made from L. acidophilus bacteria cultures, they will have the greatest benefits. If the yogurts made in your area don’t list the type of cultures used, you may have to call or write the manufacturer.

Also, avoid the yogurts containing sugar. Usually the yogurts with fruit are loaded with sugar. Add your own fruit. Bananas give it a sweet taste and counteract the sourness. For a more consistent sweetness, try blending the banana into the yogurt in the blender.

Just as there are many common digestive problems, there are many common causes. When it comes to disrupting the bacterial balance in your digestive system, there are a wide variety of dietary and lifestyle factors, including:

• A diet high in sugar;
• Low consumption of soured milk products;
• Antibiotic use;
• Excessive alcohol intake;
• Fluoridated and/or chlorinated water supplies;
• Radiation therapy;
• Exposure to toxic metals, pollutants, and/or radiation; or
• Use of non-steriod anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDS (like Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, Rufin, Medipren, Midol, etc..).

Besides symptoms, another good indicator of bowel problems is the pH of your stool. Remember the pH scale measures how acidic or how alkaline something is. It runs from 0 (the most acidic reading) to 14 (the most alkaline reading). The midpoint 7 is neutral.

The pH of your stool should be slightly acidic, about 6.7 to 6.9. Generally, an alkaline pH (about 7) indicates poor bacteria flora, whereas a very acid stool pH can occur with excessive amounts of sucrose (table sugar) or lactose (milk sugar) in the diet.

This can be checked by using pH paper or with a liquid test agent called Bromthymol. The easiest to obtain is the pH paper, which is sold in many aquarium shops, pharmacies, medical supply houses, or by chemical supply companies. To determine the pH, simply touch the paper to a moist stool sample (before it hits the water in the toilet) and compare the color change to the chart that comes with the paper.

If you have a healthy intestinal tract, you have over 400 different species of microorganisms living there. They make up two pounds of your body weight! In the stomach, very few are able to survive because of the acidity. In fact, there may be as few as 10 to 100 organisms in every milliliter (.0338 fluid ounces) of stomach content. In the small intestine, there might be anywhere from 100 to 1000 organisms per milliliter.

As you reach the junction between the small and large intestine (at the ileocecal valve), the numbers begin to grow. In the large intestine or colon, as many as one trillion organisms per milliliter are common.

Good bacteria do four key things to help promote a healthy body, digestion, and even immune system:

1. Acidify the Colon—A healthy colon pH should, ideally, be between 6.7 and 6.9. Some of the by-products that help good bacteria achievethis are lactic and acetic acids. This slightly acidic environment inhibits the growth of undesirable bacteria like salmonella (causes food poisoning), shigella (common diarrhea cause), and E coli (which can cause intestinal disease and chronic kidney failure). These bacteria also produce a volatile fatty acid that, along with the acids, makes it difficult for fungus and yeast (like Candida) to survive.
2. Promote Bowel Regularity—Good bacteria can decrease the time it takes for waste products to move through the digestive system. They can also prevent the opposite problem. In other words, they correct both constipation and diarrhea.
3. Improve the Ability of the Immune System—By providing an area for controlled antigen production, good bacteria help stimulate the formation of antibodies. They provide a natural form of vaccination.
4. Eliminates bloating and gas problems and sweetens the breath—Bad breath (halitosis) is very frequently caused when the wrong bacteria takes over in the colon and produce foul smelling waste products, bloating and gas. These gases can be expelled and/or reabsorbed into the blood, where they are later released in the lungs and exhaled. All the breath mints in the world won’t correct bad breath caused by a bowel problem.

In the 1980s, the big “discovery” was the importance of fiber in the diet. There were dozens of reports explaining how high-fiber diets could prevent heart disease, ease common digestive problems, and help dozens of other health problems. I’d like to add another key health benefit of fiber: weight loss. If you want to lose weight or maintain a proper weight, a diet rich in the highest fiber foods can help.

There are two kinds of fiber in food—soluble and insoluble. In a nutshell, insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water and is considered “roughage.” It swells and softens the stool, and it also scrubs and stimulates the intestines as it passes through. It helps protect against constipation, cancer, and the formation of pockets and inflammation in the colon.

On the other hand, soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms sticky gums and gels. They tend to absorb certain compounds like toxins, bile acids, cholesterol, et cetera. They also slow the digestion of food, which improves insulin regulation and helps prevent diabetes.

The overall highest fiber foods include fruits and vegetables (with the skins left on when possible), beans, and whole grains. Stay away from such refined foods as white flour, cream of wheat, oat flour, cornstarch, and white rice—all of which are low in fiber.

From a dietary standpoint, high-fiber foods are very versatile. Some, like beans, can be the main course, while others, such as fruit, popcorn, and raw vegetables, make excellent snacks. High-fiber foods generally are very low in fat and are made up mostly of high-quality proteins and complex carbohydrates. The fiber itself has no calories, yet provides bulk and a sense of fullness. Fiber isn’t the cure for obesity, but a high-fiber diet with proper nutrition can definitely help you lose weight.

A high-fiber diet decreases what is called “transit time” in the gastrointestinal tract—the time it takes for food to move through your body. A shorter transit time results in less formation and absorption of toxic material into your system. Be aware, though, that higher-fiber diets require an increase in fluid intake. As you start to add more high-fiber foods, be sure you’re drinking plenty of water.

Estimates are that most adults consume between 10 and 15 grams of fiber a day but should be taking in at least 25 to 30 grams. Eating 30 grams a day has been shown to reduce the weight gain that seems to gradually accumulate as one gets older.

In the last 100 years, most of the more beneficial fermented foods have practically been eliminated from our diet. Much of the problem has to do with the way we now preserve foods, particularly vegetables.

When fresh vegetables weren't as readily available throughout the year, they were often preserved through fermentation. Nowadays, thanks to improved transportation and storage techniques, we can buy various vegetables all year around. And when it comes to preserving vegetables, freezing and canning have become the methods of choice.

While these techniques help retain vitamin content and provide a high degree of convenience, they do little to provide beneficial bacteria for your system. This fact should be fairly evident when you consider the 35 million people in this country alone who suffer from IBS, and the millions more who suffer from ulcers, indigestion, chronic constipation and diarrhea, and dozens of other related bowel problems.

One of the key bacteria needed to make the majority of fermented food products is lactic-acid bacteria. Lactic acid-fermented foods have been dietary staples for thousands of years. Early writings show that Chinese workers ate acid-fermented vegetables while building the Great Wall of China. The Japanese have routinely served a small serving of pickled vegetable with their meals. Centuries ago, the Koreans developed kimchi by acid-fermenting cabbage and other vegetables. In fact, lactic acid-fermented cabbage has been revered as one of the most beneficial healing agents since early man.

To help stave off common digestive problems like IBS, constipation and diarrhea, I encourage you to add fermented foods to your diet. In addition to yogurt and sauerkraut, you can also try pickled cucumbers, garlic, beets, radish, corn relish, potatoes, various chutneys, Korean kimchi, and more. No matter which type of food you decide to eat, you'll start to reap the benefits.

Keep in mind that, due to their acidity, lactic acid-fermented vegetables should be used as a complement to meals and not eaten in large quantities. Consistency is the key, so eat small amounts (3 or 4 tablespoons) on a daily basis.

Digestive problems are the second most common cause of hospitalizations. (Pregnancy is #1 with women and coronary problems are #1 with men.) Thousands of diseases can be linked directly to a poor digestive system. And one of the biggest culprits is bowel problems, specifically a bacteria imbalance in the bowels.

Cultured foods can help intestinal bacteria growth. Generally, cultured foods are made from milk products. Since the bacteria is necessary for their production requires milk sugar (lactose), the end product will contain less sugar and therefore be less sweet. This holds true for all "soured" milk products like yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, etc.

Yogurt has been used for centuries to cure bowel problems and diarrhea. The oldest people in the world, in the mountains of Russia, reportedly use plenty of yogurt and clabbered milk as their protein source. A study at a New York hospital confirmed that between 1/3 and 1/2 cup of ordinary yogurt stopped severe infant diarrhea twice as fast as the standard anti-diarrhea drug Neomycin Kaopectate. (Clin.Ped.63;1(7):407-411.) It works so effectively as a diarrhea treatment, it is routinely used for that purpose in hospitals throughout Russia, Japan and Italy.

Yogurt can do so much more than just correct bowel problems. At least seven natural antibiotics have been isolated from yogurt and fermented milk products. One called acidolin has been shown to be as effective, if not more so, as many prescription antibiotics. (J. of Antibiotics 74;27(8):631-636.) Eating yogurt may also decrease the risk of cancer. One French study discovered that among women who ate dairy products, those who ate the greatest amounts of yogurt had the lowest rate of breast cancer. (J.Nat.Cancer Inst. 86;77(3):633-636.)

Like just about everything else these days, the type of yogurt you eat makes a difference. Don't be fooled by the recent clever marketing of many yogurt products. The label of any yogurt you buy should say it has "active cultures." Some companies pasteurize the product after it’s been made, and this kills off the remaining beneficial bacteria making it useless. If you can find products made from L.acidophilus bacteria cultures, they will have the greatest benefits.

Also, avoid yogurts with fruit, as they are loaded with sugar. Add your own fruit instead. I find that bananas give yogurt a sweet taste and counteract the sourness. For a more consistent sweetness, try blending the banana into the yogurt in the blender.

Most people are unaware that IBS can be a recurring and intermittent problem linked to, among other things, imbalances within the body. One of the more common issues with IBS is that the protective intestinal mucus lining has been destroyed. One of the better IBS treatments for this is a quarter to a half cup of aloe vera gel daily between meals to help protect and speed the healing of the colon. This gel is available in local health food and grocery stores.

A second common issue with IBS is painful contractions of the colon. Another one of my preferred natural IBS remedies that helps this particular issue is peppermint. Peppermint leaves and oil were probably put on this Earth specifically to treat gastrointestinal disorders.

Peppermint has several very helpful healing characteristics, including:

• It has a gentle disinfecting effect. This helps prevent the fermentation of improperly digested foods in the stomach and bowels. This stops the formation of intestinal bloating and gas and the pain associated with it.
• It alleviates nausea and vomiting.
• It relaxes the muscles of the intestinal tract and prevents colon spasms often present with IBS.

Peppermint tea bags are readily available in both supermarkets and health food stores. The tea can also be made from fresh leaves. Simply add 1 or 2 teaspoons to a cup of hot, not boiling, water and let it stand covered for 10 to 15 minutes. I would recommend keeping a supply of peppermint tea around the house; however, it shouldn’t be used on a casual, regular basis. Use it only during periods of stomach, liver, gallbladder or pancreatic upset. You’ll find that regular habitual use will lessen its effect.

Persistent bowel problems can result from an infection with the bacteria Clostridium difficile, or C diff. I've written about C diff a few times. It's an equal-opportunity bacterium, causing bowel problems for young and old alike--and, more importantly, for those who are otherwise healthy.

C diff infection is marked by watery diarrhea symptoms that occur more than three times a day and last for more than three days.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is an invasive disease that's estimated to cause more than 18,000 deaths annually among hospitalized patients. For several years it was considered the most perilous of hospital-acquired infections, because it's so hard to treat. With C diff on the rise, however, MRSA has to take a back seat.

C diff is transmitted by contact with infected surfaces such as hands or countertops. Until recently it was considered to be a problem only among the elderly ill who had been hospitalized. Now, however, it's become much more prevalent--25% more common than MRSA, according to one recent estimate.

The bowel changes from C diff often arise after the patient has been treated with a course of antibiotics. The problem, of course, is that antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria in your digestive tract. My suggestion: If you begin to experience diarrhea symptoms after taking a round of antibiotics, begin taking high-quality probiotic digestive health supplements immediately.

Bowel problems in your dog can include bloating and gas. Not much can clear a roomful of company faster than when your dog passes gas. Your pet can't help it; the bloating and gas are likely a result of eating habits. That means it's up to you to resolve the problem.

Bloating and gas in animals is often caused by taking in air when gulping down food. The food itself can be part of the problem. Highly fermentable foods such as cabbage, cauliflower, onions, and beans generate their own gas. (And yes, your pet should be getting real food along with kibble. It's not much trouble to cook a little extra at dinnertime and add some to the bowl for Rover or Fluffy. Experiment to see what they'll eat and what agrees with their digestion.)

Here's what you can do to ease your pet's bowel problems such as bloating and gas:

• Offer smaller amounts of food more often, to avoid gulping.
• Watch the diet. Corn and wheat are common culprits when it comes to the bowel problems of bloating and gas, in humans as well as in dogs.
• Get your dog outdoors for some exercise. The more your dog moves around, the easier it is for digestion to occur normally (and with less bloating and gas).

Oh, and be sure to pick up a copy of the kids' book, Walter the Farting Dog.

Digestive supplements could save you significant money, if you're one of the millions of people currently using a prescription medication. A recent survey conducted by the Medical Expenditure Panel showed that more than 10% of Americans received a prescription for a digestive drug in 2007--up from about 7% in 1997. In addition, the average cost of a prescription rose from $90 to $120.

As I've said many times, digestive health supplements such as digestive enzyme supplements and probiotics can be just as effective as any drug--and at a significantly lower cost.

The category includes drugs for common digestive problems such as heartburn, ulcers, constipation, and diarrhea. And while digestive supplements aren't always the answer to every bowel problem, for many people they work like magic, restoring the natural balance in your intestinal tract.

The next time your doctor reaches for the prescription pad, think about digestive supplements as an alternative before you swallow that purple pill.