Stomach Acid – why it’s so important to your health
Ever since I first went into clinical practice almost 29 years ago, I’ve been alarmed at the increasing number of people taking strong proton pump inhibitor drugs (PPIs) like omeprazole or lansoprazole for conditions that would probably respond very well to some dietary and lifestyle changes. My sense of alarm increases further when I see […]
2020 – A Year to Forget and Remember
As we approach the end of 2020, I can’t help thinking back to where we were this time last year. It was a very different world, for one thing. Sad goodbyes The end of 2019 was, for me, a time of worry. My dad was in hospital for the second time, with a chest infection, […]
Understanding Leaky Gut Syndrome
Go back a few years and leaky gut syndrome had only been heard of by digestive health experts. Thankfully it is now becoming more widely known, but what is it? Why do we need to be aware of it? And, how can we heal it? What is leaky gut syndrome? Leaky gut, also known as […]
What you need to know about Candida
There are many kinds of fungus that live in the human body, normally without causing any issues, and often helping it to function. But, there are times when these fungi can begin to cause problems. In this article I’m going to focus on one of these fungi – Candida. Discover what happens when it begins […]
Dealing with constipation in children
Constipation is an issue that many young children suffer from at some time or other, but when it is prolonged or reoccurs often it can become a big issue for both the child and the parents. What is constipation? Constipation is categorised by your child passing a stool less than 3 times per week. The […]
Understanding Coeliac Disease – diet and lifestyle tips to take charge of your health
It seems strange, doesn’t it, that one of the most important substances in our diet – gluten – can actually make some of us quite ill? After all, we’ve been eating foods containing gluten for millennia. It forms an important part of the ‘staff of life’ – bread. Coeliac Disease (CD) is a little-understood auto-immune […]
All you need to know about histamine intolerance
What is histamine? Histamine is a chemical produced in cells throughout the body as part of the body’s inflammatory response to allergy, infection, or injury. In short, it sends red flag messages to your immune system, notifying your white blood cells to rally up against potential attackers that may be infecting your tissues. As well […]
Is an enema the same as a colonic?
Over the years, I’ve often been asked this question and the answer is no. An enema only empties the very lower part of the large bowel, the rectal area, and a colonic empties the whole length of the large bowel. What is an enema? An enema involves putting warm water or sometimes a raw coffee […]
Do we really need to be taking so many pills?
Are you worried about the sheer number of different medications so many people – particularly the older members of your family – are taking on a daily basis? There has been a staggering threefold increase in the number of prescriptions issued by GPs in the UK in the last fifteen years, with millions now committed […]
Laxatives – how can they improve bowel function?
What is a laxative? The Oxford English Dictionary defines a laxative as “a medicine, food, or drink that makes someone empty their bowels easily”. Used to relieve constipation, a laxative is generally regarded as something that stimulates the bowel, and is often perceived as being aggressive, with many people believing that taking a laxative is detrimental to […]
Probiotics and prebiotics
What are probiotics? The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines probiotics as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”. You are what you eat. Or more accurately, you are what you feed the trillions of bacteria that live in your gut. These organisms that inhabit the lining of […]
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
This blog is the second of two blogs about functional gut testing. You can read the first blog about GI Effects testing and comprehensive digestive stool analysis (CDSA) with parasitology here. If you suffer with IBS, I encourage you to read both blogs, as IBS is often misdiagnosed, and both these functional gut testing blogs will […]
Functional testing for gut health
In this blog, we’re looking at private functional gut health tests, including Gastro-intestinal (GI) Effects, Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). These are tests that are not available on the NHS. It’s the first of two blogs about functional gut testing. You can read the second blog, about Small Intestinal Bacterial […]
Check your meds! When was your last drugs review?
I recently had an interesting conversation with a lady via email. She contacted me about a few digestive issues she was having, with her main points of concern being her long-term IBS symptoms and the fact that she had urgency for the toilet. This was having an impact on her wellbeing, as she was nervous about […]
Antibiotics and children
I get a lot of messages every day. Messages from people of all ages, from all walks of life, the majority of whom need help because they have a digestive or gut disorder. Last week was no exception, but three of the messages struck a particular chord, and I’d like to tell you about them […]
Pregnancy, antibiotics and baby’s immune system
From the moment you fall pregnant, your body starts to change; what you might not know is that these changes can lead to an increased risk of picking up an infection, which can mean needing to take a course of antibiotics. Certain macrolide antibiotics have the potential to cause congenital abnormalities in newborns. The four […]
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