Digestive Health

Liver toxicity
The liver is the second largest organ in the body (after the skin), and is essential in keeping the body functioning properly. The liver is located in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. It performs many functions in the body, including processing the body's nutrients, manufacturing bile to help digest fats, synthesizing many important proteins, regulating blood clotting, and breaking down potentially toxic substances into harmless ones that the body can use or excrete. Inflammation of the liver may, in severe cases, interfere with these processes and allow potentially toxic substances to accumulate. Inflammation can occur while the liver is performing its functions, such as metabolizing drugs.

Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids, also called piles, are swollen, inflamed veins around the anus or lower rectum. Hemorrhoids are either inside the anus or under the skin around the anus, and often result from chronic (long term) straining to have a bowel movement. Other factors that may lead to hemorrhoids include pregnancy, aging, and chronic constipation or diarrhea.

Gastrointestinal disorders
Gastroinestinal disorders occur when the digestive tract (gastrointestinal) does not function properly. As a result, patients may have difficulty digesting food, absorbing nutrients, or having normal bowel movements.

Gallbladder/pancreas disorders
The biliary tract is a system of organs and tubes (ducts) that help transport a digestive fluid, called bile, from the liver to the small intestine. Bile, which is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, is needed to breakdown and absorb fats in foods. Gallbladder disorders, also called biliary tract disorders, occur when there is a disruption in this process.

Typhoid fever - from Natural Standard
Typhoid fever is a contagious infection of the intestines that affects the whole body. It is caused by a bacterium called Salmonella typhi that is found in the fecal matter of infected individuals. Drinking water can become contaminated with fecal matter from sewage. Typhoid is spread when a person drinks or eats food and water contaminated by human waste (stool or urine) containing Salmonella typhi bacteria.

Rectal cancer
Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine (colon), which is the lower part of the digestive system. Rectal cancer occurs on the last eight to 10 inches of the colon. They are often referred to together as colorectal cancers, and are the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

Ostomy care
Sometimes treating diseases of the digestive or urinary systems (such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or bladder cancer), involves removing all or part of the small intestine, colon, rectum, or bladder. In these cases, there must be a new way for wastes to leave the body. The surgery to create the new opening in the abdomen is called ostomy. An ostomy connects either the small or the large intestine to the surface of the body. The opening is called a stoma.

Wilson's disease
Wilson's disease is a rare inherited disorder that causes copper to accumulate in the liver, brain, and other vital organs. In individuals with Wilson's disease, copper is not eliminated properly and instead accumulates, possibly to a life-threatening level. Left untreated, Wilson's disease is fatal. When diagnosed early, Wilson's disease is easily treated, and many people with the disorder live normal lives. Copper can accumulate in and damage the liver.

Familial adenomatous polyposis
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an inherited genetic condition that causes the growth of hundreds to thousands of polyps (abnormal mushroom-shaped growths of tissue) in a patient's lower intestine (including the colon and rectum). Polyps may be seen in a patient's upper intestine as well. About one in 30,000 people is affected with FAP.

Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic disorder that causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Although it may cause inflammation in any area of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus, it most commonly affects the small intestine and/or colon. Crohn's disease causes painful swelling that often results in diarrhea, or frequent, loose, watery stools.

Colon cancer - from Natural Standard
Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine (colon), which is the lower part of the digestive system. Rectal cancer occurs on the last eight to ten inches of the colon. They are often referred to together as colorectal cancers, and are the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

Anthrax infection
Anthrax infection can occur in the following three forms: cutaneous (skin), inhalation (lungs), and gastrointestinal (digestive). Cutaneous anthrax is associated with a 20% chance of death but is rarely fatal if treated. Gastrointestinal anthrax can usually be treated with antibiotics but is associated with a 25-60% chance of death. Inhalation anthrax is the most difficult form to treat and is usually deadly.

Your complete guide to Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may be referred to as spastic colon, mucous colitis, spastic colitis, nervous stomach, or irritable colon.

Gilbert's syndrome
Gilbert's syndrome, also known as constitutional hepatic dysfunction, unconjugated benign bilirubinemia, and familial nonhemolytic jaundice, is an inherited disorder that occurs when the liver is unable to properly process the yellow-green pigments in bile (called bilirubin). The resulting increased levels of bilirubin in the bloodstream may lead to yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), but the liver itself remains normal. In fact, this condition is so mild that doctors do not usually consider it a disease.

Gastrointestinal (GI) / Stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant (cancerous) tumor within the stomach.

Galactosemia
Galactosemia is a genetic condition that causes an inability to break down a sugar called galactose. Galactose is produced during the breakdown of lactose, which is the main sugar found in dairy products. Galactose is normally further broken down into smaller components that the body uses for energy.

Trichinosis
Trichinosis (or trichinellosis) is a complex disease about which little is known. It is caused by eight different species of round worm in the genus Trichinella. These parasites can be found in animals on all continents but Antarctica. Artic bears harbor a species of Trichinella that is resistant to freezing for reasons yet to be discovered. Recently a species of Trichinella has been discovered in East African reptiles, notably crocodiles. Carnivorous animals and humans acquire these nematodes (flat worms) by eating raw or undercooked meat and meat products of other animals, particularly pigs, horses, and wild game. The most reliable method of prevention is to cook meat thoroughly before eating.

Parasites - from Natural Standard
A parasite is an organism that lives off of or inside of another organism, called a host, during all or part of its life. This is a type of symbiotic relationship in which the parasite needs the host in order to live. The parasite obtains nourishment and/or protection from its host. A parasite may or may not harm the host, but the host never benefits from the parasite. Many organisms, including some plants, animals, spiders, crustaceans, bacteria, and worms, are considered parasites.

Nausea and vomiting - from Natural Standard
Nausea is the unpleasant, painless sensation that one may potentially vomit. Vomiting is an organized, subconscious response that ultimately results in the forceful expulsion of gastric contents through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting is intended to protect a person from harmful ingested substances.

Inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to two chronic diseases that cause inflammation of the intestines - ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The symptoms of these two illnesses are very similar, which often makes it difficult to distinguish between the two. In fact, about 10% of colitis (inflamed colon) cases cannot be diagnosed as either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. When physicians cannot diagnose the specific IBD, the condition is called indeterminate colitis.

Diarrhea
Diarrhea is characterized by loose or watery stools. Diarrhea is a symptom of an underlying health problem, such as an infection, that prevents the intestines from properly absorbing nutrients from food.

Constipation - from Natural Standard
Constipation is the infrequent passage of small amounts of hard, dry bowel movements, usually fewer than three times a week. Some individuals who are constipated find it painful to have a bowel movement and often experience straining, bloating, and the sensation of a full bowel.

Celiac disease
Celiac disease, also called celiac sprue, is a digestive disorder that occurs when an individual's immune system overreacts to the protein gluten, or other proteins within gluten such as gliadin, found in grains including wheat, rye, barley, and to some degree, oats. When a patient with the disease eats food that contains gluten, the immune system's response damages the intestinal lining. This causes symptoms of abdominal pain and bloating after consuming gluten.