DEAR DOCTOR K: I'm a healthy young person, but I tend to have a lot of gas, bloating and diarrhea. Could a gluten-free diet help me?
DEAR READER: Gluten-free eating is essential for people with celiac disease, which is an intolerance to the protein gluten. This protein is found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye.
DEAR DOCTOR K: A friend has a condition called gastroparesis. Could you explain what it is and how it can be treated?
DEAR READER: Gastroparesis is the term used for sluggish emptying of food from the stomach into the small intestine. Normally, your stomach moves about half of an average meal into the small intestine within two hours after you eat. Within four hours, about 90 percent of your meal is in the small intestine. If you have gastroparesis, food stays in the stomach much longer.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I belch a lot more than I used to, and I feel an uncomfortable fullness in my upper abdomen after eating. Are there any natural ways to treat this?
DEAR READER: If you're belching and feeling bloated more than you'd like, there are natural treatments you should consider. To understand them, you need to understand why we belch.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My daughter has just been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. What is it, and what is the treatment?
DEAR READER: Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, joint pains, weight loss, weakness and fatigue. It's caused by inflammation of the small (and sometimes the large) intestine.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I've been diagnosed with a peptic ulcer. What does that mean? And what's the treatment?
DEAR READER: A peptic ulcer is a sore or hole that forms in the lining of the stomach or upper part of the small intestine (called the duodenum). If your ulcer is small, you may have few symptoms. But if the ulcer is deep, it can cause bleeding or serious pain.
DEAR DOCTOR K: Can you describe how food makes its way through our body, from the mouth to the other end?
DEAR READER: This question is fun to answer, because the gut is a marvel of nature's engineering. It's both a food processor and a garbage disposal. First, it works as a food processor, breaking down food and liquids into chemical components that the body can absorb as nutrients. Then, what's left -- the garbage -- is expelled by an efficient disposal system.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I've been coughing for weeks. Why won't this cough go away?
DEAR READER: Every human being coughs, beginning from the first moments after birth. In fact, we probably cough when we're still in the uterus. Why do we cough? The answer probably is that coughing protects our lungs.
DEAR DOCTOR K: My doctor says my stomach pains are caused by gallstones and I need surgery to remove them. Can you describe the surgery?
DEAR READER: Gallstones are small, hard clumps of cholesterol, calcium and various proteins. They form inside the gallbladder, a pouch that collects bile (a fluid containing cholesterol and bile salts that helps with digestion). Bile flows from the liver to the intestine through the bile ducts. When there is too much cholesterol relative to bile salts, the liquid bile hardens into stones.
DEAR READERS: You are sending me lots of great questions. But even though I write six columns a week, I can't answer them all.
Sometimes my answers prompt you to send additional questions -- and comments. Sometimes your comments take issue with something I've said. Periodically, like today and tomorrow, I'll devote the column to the questions and comments you've sent me.
DEAR DOCTOR K: I suffered through years of unexplained gastrointestinal discomfort. My doctor finally diagnosed me with celiac disease. What do I need to know?
DEAR READER: Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that we're just beginning to understand. We've known for a long time that the trigger that sets off symptoms in celiac disease is gluten. Gluten is an umbrella term for the proteins found in wheat, barley and rye.
Sign Up Now ForGet weekly health information and advice from the experts at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Anthony Komaroff is a practicing physician, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Editor in Chief of Harvard Health Publications. Learn more »
Harvard Health Publications is the publishing division of Harvard Medical School, providing the general public with authoritative, trustworthy, and accessible health information. Learn more »
To submit your own health question to Doctor K for consideration in a future column, click here.
The contents displayed within this public group(s), such as text, graphics, and other material ("Content") are intended for educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in a public group(s).
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your healthcare provider or 911 immediately. Any mention of products or services is not meant as a guarantee, endorsement, or recommendation of the products, services, or companies. Reliance on any information provided is solely at your own risk. Please discuss any options with your healthcare provider.
The information you share, including that which might otherwise be Protected Health Information, to this site is by design open to the public and is not a private, secure service. You should think carefully before disclosing any personal information in any public forum. What you have written may be seen, disclosed to, or collected by third parties and may be used by others in ways we are unable to control or predict, including to contact you or otherwise be used for unauthorized or unlawful purposes. As with any public forum on any site, this information may also appear in third-party search engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. Your use of this site is governed by Harvard University and its affiliates Terms of Use located at www.askdoctork.com/privacy-policy and may be amended from time to time.
View LessThe contents displayed within this public group(s), such as text, graphics, and other material ("Content") are intended for educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. . . .
View More
