All posts tagged: stomach

Does Ginger Ale Actually Help An Upset Stomach?

Does Ginger Ale Actually Help An Upset Stomach?

If you had an upset stomach when you were a kid, there was one home remedy that parents, grandparents and other caregivers seemed to recommend time and time again: ginger ale. In fact, I was still turning to ginger ale for its supposed stomach-soothing properties well into adulthood, including when I was dealing with morning sickness while pregnant with my son. But does ginger ale actually have health benefits? Or is it a myth that many of us have been buying into for way too long? We talked to dietitians and a gastroenterologist to set the record straight. Here’s how the whole thing started. Ginger ale likely became known as a stomach settler due to its association with ginger. Since ancient times, ginger root has been used as an herbal remedy to treat different gastrointestinal ailments, including nausea, diarrhoea and indigestion. And there are some studies to back this up. “Ginger root contains a special compound called gingerol that has been shown to support gastrointestinal motility, or the rate that food moves through the digestive …

Major link found between common stomach bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease

Major link found between common stomach bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia, affects approximately 40 million people worldwide. (CREDIT: Creative Commons) Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia, affects approximately 40 million people worldwide, with projections suggesting a significant increase in the coming decades. Despite the immense impact of this devastating disease, effective treatment options have remained elusive. However, recent research has shed light on a potential link between a common stomach bacterium, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This discovery, made by a team of researchers at McGill University, opens doors for further investigation into the role of infections in Alzheimer’s development and the possibility of preventive strategies. The Helicobacter pylori Connection H. pylori, a bacterium found in the stomachs of approximately two-thirds of the world’s population, has long been associated with various gastrointestinal issues, including indigestion, gastritis, ulcers, and even stomach cancer. However, recent studies have raised concerns about its potential involvement in Alzheimer’s disease. The groundbreaking research, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, …

Should you work out on an empty stomach?

Should you work out on an empty stomach?

A popular New Year’s resolution is to exercise more. Whether you’re training for a marathon or looking to get healthy, how you prepare for the gym is key. One decision you’ll have to make is whether you eat before your workout.  Exercising on an empty stomach is commonly thought to help burn fat. The logic is that people use fat and sugar for energy, so by not having anything in your stomach, you will burn off stored fat reserves in the body. However, the science to support this exercise “hack” is inconclusive. While working out on an empty stomach is not necessarily dangerous, depending on your fitness goals, it may be less than ideal. “The answer is yes and no depending on your goals and capabilities,” says Alexander Rothstein, coordinator and instructor for the exercise science program at the New York Institute of Technology.  Exercising to burn fat The research looking into the pros and cons of fast-and-burn workouts is limited. For some people who exercise on an empty stomach in the morning, higher rates …

Are Onions The Reason For Your Stomach Issues?

Are Onions The Reason For Your Stomach Issues?

Onions are found in most cuisines across the world. They’re cheap, they have a good shelf life and they grow year-round. About 6.75 billion pounds of onion are produced each year just in the United States, according to Colorado State University’s food source database, and global production reaches as high as 105 billion pounds per year. You probably have onions in your pantry, and they could even be in the food you are eating right now. But did you know onions may make a large portion of the population feel sick? Yes, the onion and its relatives (chives, shallots and even garlic) can cause a wide range of symptoms including gastrointestinal distress, migraines and, though rare, anaphylactic shock. And yet onions are found everywhere. U.S. consumption has grown 70% since 1982, according to the National Onion Association. But for some people, onions can be part of a recipe for disaster. For patients with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, onions are “one thing most of our patients can’t tolerate,” said Dr. Jane Muir, associate professor and …

Vibrating pill may help with obesity by making your stomach feel full

Vibrating pill may help with obesity by making your stomach feel full

The pill contains a vibrating motor powered by a small silver oxide battery. When it reaches the gut, gastric acid dissolves its outer layer. This causes an electronic circuit to close, which starts the vibration Shriya Srinivasan, Giovanni Traverso, MIT News A vibrating pill that tricks the brain into thinking the stomach is full could one day treat obesity. The approach would be considerably less invasive than gastric bypass surgery and potentially cheaper and less prone to side effects than drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic. Giovanni Traverso at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues have developed a pill around the size of a standard multivitamin that houses a vibrating motor powered by a small silver oxide battery, which is safe to swallow. When the pill reaches the gut, gastric acid dissolves its outer layer. This causes an electronic circuit to close, which starts the vibration. In an experiment in pigs, some of the animals were given the pill 20 minutes before being given access to food. These pigs ate around 40 per …

How a Common Stomach Bug Causes Cancer

How a Common Stomach Bug Causes Cancer

At first, doctors didn’t believe that bacteria could live in the stomach at all. Too acidic, they thought. But in 1984, a young Australian physician named Barry Marshall gulped down an infamous concoction of beef broth laced with Helicobacter pylori bacteria. On day eight, he started vomiting. On day 10, an endoscopy revealed that H. pylori had colonized his stomach, their characteristic spiral shape unmistakeable under the microscope. Left untreated, H. pylori usually establishes infections that persist for an entire lifetime, and they’re common: Half of the world’s population harbors H. pylori inside their stomach, as do more than one in three Americans. In most cases, the microbe settles into an asymptomatic chronic infection, but in some, it becomes far more troublesome. It can, for example, cause enough damage to the stomach lining to create ulcers. Worse still, H. pylori can lead to cancer. This single bacterium is by far the No. 1 risk factor in stomach cancers worldwide. By one estimate, some 70 percent can be attributed to H. pylori. But what still puzzles …

Swedish mountain lodge closes as stomach bug spreads among hikers | Europe

A popular lodge on Sweden’s highest peak has been forced to temporarily close after a stomach bug rapidly spread among hikers. STF Kebnekaise mountain station, which lies at the foot of the 2,096m Kebnekaise massif, had quarantined several guests who had caught the bug in recent days but decided to take a more drastic measure after it was also detected in hikers camping in the area. All but two guests, who were too ill to travel on Sunday so will remain overnight, have left the station, which has 220 beds, a restaurant and shop. The precise nature of the illness is yet to be determined. “We don’t know how it started but somehow someone in the mountain station got a stomach disease and it spread,” Maria Persson, operational manager at STF Kebnekaise mountain station, told the Guardian. “We didn’t have that many cases at the mountain station but we heard about a lot more cases among people camping in the area so we decided to close down for a few days to prevent further spread.” …