Digestive Health

The use of oral contraceptives by younger women or hormone therapy by older women may be linked with inflammatory bowel disease, new research indicates.

Overview

Digestion involves mixing food with digestive juices, moving it through the digestive tract, and breaking down large molecules of food into smaller molecules. Digestion begins in the mouth, when you chew and swallow, and is completed in the small intestine. Common digestive disorders include ulcerative colitis, gastritis, constipation, diarrhoea, hiatus hernia, worms, Crohn’s disease, diverticulosis and diverticulitis, haemorrhoids and colon polyps. Diarrhoea can be caused by a wide variety of factors and agents. Spoilt food that has either started to ferment or gone sour, or is infected with microorganisms (both bacteria and viruses) is a common cause of diarrhoea. Constipation occurs when stools become hardened and difficult to pass. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or spastic colon is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders. It has also been called spastic colitis, mucus colitis or nervous colon syndrome. It tends to be a chronic disorder, and the symptoms can wax and wane over many years. Most people have such mild symptoms that they never seek medical help.