Our bodies make digestive enzymes that break down food into nutrients that we can absorb. “The enzymes are secreted by the digestive tract starting in the mouth, but most digestive enzymes come from the pancreas,” says Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“This idea that we all have low-level digestive enzyme deficiency or that we could all benefit from a little boost doesn’t fit with our understanding of how the pancreas or enzymes work,” he notes.
People with IBS have issues with motility and gut hypersensitivity, so they are more prone to develop symptoms from small doses of FODMAPs. FODMAPs occur in a wide range of foods, and different FODMAPs affect people differently. To figure out which FODMAPs, if any, trigger your symptoms, you have to follow a low-FODMAP diet.
Just because you have lactose intolerance—that is, you’ve lost most of your ability to break down lactose—doesn’t mean you need to avoid dairy forever. For starters, many dairy foods, like hard cheeses, don’t have much lactose—just a gram or so per serving. What’s more, “most people can tolerate far more lactose than they realize,” says Purdue University's Dennis Savaiano.
Diverticulosis happens when the lining of the colon pokes through the muscles on the outside of the colon, causing pockets that look like indentations. And while diverticulosis is common, it’s mostly inconsequential and asymptomatic. Diverticulitis, however, is a different animal. That’s where one or a couple of the pockets get inflamed, and it can result in pain in the lower abdomen, constipation, or diarrhea.
While no studies have tested whether chewing each bite thoroughly—much less, 32 times—prevents GI discomfort, there is reason to make sure you chew your food sufficiently. “Chewing your food thoroughly makes it easier for your stomach to process the food,” explains William Chey, professor of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan.
Fermented foods are made by combining milk, vegetables, or other ingredients with yeast or bacteria. Until last year, few well-designed studies had put fermented foods to the test. So Stanford's Christopher Gardner and his team randomly assigned 36 healthy adults to eat a diet high in fiber or fermented foods.
Five to 10 percent of Americans suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. Half of people over age 60 have diverticulosis. About a quarter of us lack the enzyme that digests lactose. And we all deal with occasional gas, constipation, bloating, and indigestion. Here’s what may help.
Celiac disease is on the rise. Is it because of how we grow wheat? Can you be sensitive to gluten—a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye—without having celiac? Should you buy an at-home antibody kit to test yourself? Can you trust gluten-free packaged and restaurant foods? Here’s what you need to know.
