Search Results for: food+intolerance/malabsorption

For many people, taking medication is a regular part of the daily routine, and these medicines are relied upon to treat disease and improve health. Although medicines can make you feel better and help you get well, it’s important to know that all medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter, have risks as well as benefits. Here are some tips from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and some of its public health partners to help you weigh the risks and benefits when you make decisions about the medicines you use.

Lactose intolerance is the inability or insufficient ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and milk products.

Rumination syndrome is an under-recognized condition in pediatric and adolescent patients. The purpose of this article is to describe the characteristics and treatment of this disorder that prompts parents to bring their child to the doctor for evaluation of regurgitation or vomiting up of food after eating and to answer common questions about the condition. Reviewed 2009.

Dyspepsia refers to pain or discomfort centered in the upper abdomen. The symptom characteristics of dyspepsia in children are pain and discomfort in the upper middle region of the abdomen. Individuals often describe the pain as occurring around eating, after eating, or at night. The discomfort can be a sensation of fullness after meals, an early feeling of having had enough to eat (satiety), bloating, belching, nausea, retching, vomiting, regurgitation, anorexia, or food refusal. Diagnosis and treatment discussed. Revised and updated 2009.

Functional dysphagia is the sensation of solid and/or liquid foods sticking, lodging, or passing abnormally through the esophagus. It is diagnosed based on symptoms present for at least three months and not associated with anatomic abnormalities, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or well recognized motility disorders such as achalasia [difficulty swallowing due to an absence of peristaltic contractions in the esophagus].

The gastrointestinal tract is divided into four distinct parts that are separated by sphincter muscles; these four regions have distinctly different functions to perform and different patterns of motility (contractions). Abnormal motility or abnormal sensitivity in any part of the gastrointestinal tract can cause characteristic symptoms: food sticking, pain, or heartburn in the esophagus; nausea and vomiting in the stomach; pain and bloating in the small intestine; and pain, constipation, diarrhea, and incontinence in the colon and rectum.

This article reviews disorders caused by abnormal motility in the gastrointestinal tract (including GERD, dysphagia, functional chest pain, gastroparesis, and dyspepsia) and their characteristic symptoms, such as food sticking, pain, heartburn, nausea, and vomiting.
Also available offline as a glossy color brochure (3.5″ x 8.5″). Contact IFFGD for details.

Everyday, ordinary life is challenging enough if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Add the obligations, deadlines, family dynamics, food focus, and travel issues that are associated with the holiday season, and it can be easy to feel anxious and overwhelmed. This busy time can also be one of great joy, as you get to experience the security of tradition, the warmth of being with loved ones, and the time to reconnect with spiritual roots. In order to achieve a healthy balance, self care becomes essential.

A wide range of therapies have been used to control IBS symptoms including various medications, bulking agents and laxatives, and a myriad of lifestyle changes. Most individuals with IBS believe that their symptoms are related to the consumption of certain foods, but advice in this area has been conflicting and confusing and offered little relief for IBS sufferers. Our research team has developed a new dietary management approach – the Low FODMAP diet – to control symptoms associated with IBS. In Australia, the low FODMAP diet is increasingly being accepted as the primary management strategy for IBS, recently adopted by their National Therapeutic Guidelines.

Dealing with a chronic gastrointestinal disorder such as IBS can be distressing. You may have days where you don’t want to leave the house. You may feel you are sensitive to certain foods and/or have made significant restrictions to your diet. You may feel abdominal cramping one minute and bloating the next. You may walk into a room and check to see where the nearest restroom is, and may even avoid social situations more than you would like. Your bowel symptoms may feel unpredictable and you wish there was something more you could do to regain a sense of control of your life.

The right information can help patients with IBS feel better. Knowing this can help doctors and patients. Wrong beliefs about IBS may lead to distress, more doctor visits, and unneeded tests. For example, patients need to know that IBS: Does not put them at risk for cancer; Does not get worse with age, and; Does not shorten life spans. Patients most often want to know: If foods and diet have an effect on IBS; The causes of IBS, and; How best to treat and cope with the disorder.

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) These are rare conditions that affect the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. EGIDs can occur in infants, children, and adults. They are often identified by irregular food-related reactions. This occurs with a high number of eosinophils in the GI tract. Eosinophils are white blood cells linked with allergic-type reactions. Their exact role is […]