Treatment Specialty Diseases

At health food stores around the world customers are complaining more frequently about food allergies with statements like, “I can’t eat this” or “I can’t eat that.” Why do so many people, particularly shoppers at health food stores, assume that they have food allergies? You never really hear people say, “I’m allergic to coffee, sodas, cookies, cakes, popcorn, pizza or candy”, and yet these are things that many scarf down repeatedly without a second thought. So, what’s up with all these patrons at health food stores who insist they have food allergies?

Food allergies occur when the immune system is effected by a protein molecule in the offending food. This has been known to happen even to those who stick with a narrow health food diet. The body runs into a problem when attempting to break down that particular protein molecule, so it reacts by expelling the offending molecules as quickly as possible. A chemical called ‘histamine’ is generated and symptoms appear in the form of rashes, inflammation, itching, panting, respiratory problems, and lots of mucus being expelled through the nose and mouth. More acute reactions from food allergies are vomiting, loss of consciousness, or even death.

Intolerance to certain foods and food allergies are all too often misjudged by customers looking for help at health food stores. With food intolerances similar to lactose intolerance, where the digestive system has problems breaking down the sugar in the milk, the symptoms are much milder. One could experience gas and bloating or diarrhea and cramping. While food intolerance is bad, it is not normally life threatening like food allergies in severe cases. The common distresses are intolerances to wheat, soy, dairy, and all too often anything that shoppers at health food stores feel is too pricey.

The quintessential question consumers should raise at health food stores is not, “What foods am I allergic to?” But more accurately, “Why is my immune system adversely effected by food, especially items usually thought of as health food?”

When determining particular food allergies and intolerances, some factors to be concerned about are: Which food triggers the allergic reaction? When is the food that triggers the reaction being eaten? Is the trigger food being improperly combined with other fruits, vegetables, grains, meats or dairy products? Merely studying labels at health food stores is not necessarily a reliable way to proceed.

It can be quite exhaustive to discover the offending trigger food and how it is being consumed. In fact, most experts on food allergies will recommend keeping a chronicle of all you consume, and when the trigger food is nailed down then just avoid eating it. While that sounds clear-cut, if you react to numerous ingredients including those found in health food stores, it’s not so easy. Of course, you can attempt to remove the most common triggers to food allergies like corn, wheat, eggs, dairy, and peanuts, but if that doesn’t work, then what?

The problem is that the immune system can overreact when confronted by a number of substances. The ideal method to address food allergies is to bolster the immune system while balancing all the systems of the body equally. Uncover special health food products that feed the five key systems of the body synergistically: immune, endocrine, digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems. Searching online health food stores rather than typical health food stores for these formulas will supply greater results.

Gastroenterology is a category of health care which focuses on the human digestive system. This medical specialization has come a long way in recent years due to research and increased technological advances. A person’s digestive system is quite complex and entails many components of the human body, not just one’s belly. The mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, intestinal system, rectum and anus are all involved in getting nutrients in and out properly. If even one portion of this complicated mechanism breaks down, problems can occur. It is a gastroenterologist who figures out what the problem is, through diagnostics, and fixes it, through treatment. Testing in recent years has become more thorough and includes colonoscopy, colonography, enteroscopy, laser endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography and photodynamic therapy.

Here are some maladies and conditions that these physicians treat:

- Heartburn and reflux: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is an uncomfortable condition that occurs due to bile and stomach acid coming back up through the esophagus. These acidic substances can cause pain and result in irritation and inflammation.

- IBS or Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome: IBS is sometimes also called Irritable Bowel Syndrome, because that’s what it can feel like-that the bowels are cranky. It can also make the patient feel pretty irritable, as well. Sometimes IBS has psychological links as well as physiological.

- Cancer: Cancers in the anus, stomach, rectum or colon are treated by these medical specialists. Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery may be necessary to curtail this disease.

- Pancreatic diseases: Cystic fibrosis, cancer, acute and chronic pancreatic disorders are all handled by these doctors. These maladies result from enzymes which digest food becoming prematurely activated. Illnesses of the pancreas are serious and can result in malnutrition, kidney trouble, diabetes and death.

- Malabsorption: Malnutrition can occur if nutrients aren’t properly absorbed by the body. These docs can figure out where the problems are and devise a treatment plan to remedy it.

- Constipation: Chronic constipation can be a painful and even toxic problem for one’s body. Many times lifestyle changes such as more exercise, a change in diet or adding water to one’s daily intake will alleviate this problem.

- Chronic diarrhea: Chronic diarrhea can be inconvenient and cause the person to become malnourished and dehydrated. There are many reasons for this situation to occur and gastroenterologists can diagnose and treat it.

- Fecal incontinence: Many patients are treated each year for this unfortunate condition. Sometimes surgery on a patient’s sphincter can alleviate the problem, as well as biofeedback therapy, dietary adjustments and more.

- Colitis: Ulcerative colitis can be a painful situation which may entail bouts of diarrhea, bleeding, stomach cramps and more. Swelling of the large intestine and rectum is the culprit in this malady. While there isn’t a cure, the symptoms can be made more tolerable and infrequent.

- Crohn’s Disease: It’s important to diagnose this illness as soon as possible in order to start treatment. Current testing allows for rapid diagnostics.

The specialists who focus on gastroenterology cover a broad range of maladies. If a patient is having difficulty with any digestive issue, these are the doctors to turn to.