Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/443876
A round 70 million Americans suffer from digestive problems, accounting for 37 million doctor visits and $50 billion in costs. Here I discuss other digestive challenges (besides diarrhea) and the role probiotics may play in treating them. Inflammatory Bowel Disease Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, refers to a group of autoimmune inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, for example, are common IBDs. Ulcerative colitis affects the colon, whereas Crohn's may affect any area of the digestive tract (although primarily the colon and/or the small bowel). IBD symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, rectal bleeding, and anemia. Crohn's disease can also cause fistulas (abnormal passageways between two organs in the body or between an organ and the exterior of the body) around the anus or on the abdominal wall. Patients with either of these two IBDs are at a higher risk of developing colon cancer and need periodic colonoscopies. (And everyone, regardless of symptoms, should have a screening colonoscopy at age 50.) Both conditions can go into remission (a temporary easing or disappearance of symptoms) with appropriate treatment. Studies have shown that probiotics can help prevent and treat IBD, and several studies have shown that probiotics can help prolong the remission period in IBD. People with IBD have a decreased number of indigenous probiotics, or friendly bacteria, in the colon. at's true even when the IBD is in remission; the situation is worse when the IBD is active. Initial studies have shown a positive role for probiotics for ulcerative colitis, but proof for the effectiveness of probiotics in helping patients with Crohn's Looking at Other Digestive Problems by: Shekhar K. Challa, M.D. Prominent Gastroenterologist Page 20 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com