IBD Prevalence and Costs Canada has one of the highest rates of inflammatory bowel disease (primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) in the world, affecting close to 1 in 150 individuals. We have conducted several studies on the unmet needs of those living with IBD and the results show that many individuals are still experiencing [...]
Toxic Relationships Between Your Liver and Herbs Herbal medicines continue to be increasingly popular therapies for many illnesses and conditions. More than two decades ago, we published one of our first articles on herbal medicine in the Inside Tract® newsletter.1 Since then, we have written about herbal supplements, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and other herbal remedies, [...]
Patient-Focused Health Policy We need change There has been a lot of attention lately in the media about the Canada Health Transfer (CHT), which is the mechanism under the Canada Heath Act that ensures that the provinces and territories have sufficient funds to operate healthcare services in their [...]
Product Review Viberzi® for Diarrhea and Pain in IBS-D Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, often debilitating functional gastrointestinal disorder. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, and constipation and/or diarrhea. Diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) occurs when an individual experiences diarrhea frequently, but rarely experiences constipation. In our IBS survey, approximately 35% of those with IBS had [...]
The Inside Affair 2012 A Spectacular Success! In October 2012, more than a hundred individuals, including several staff and Board members, who are dedicated to GI and liver health, gathered at Toronto’s Boiler House restaurant and, by the evening’s end, we raised net funds for the GI Society’s activities of more than $50,000. Unlike a [...]
Evolution of the Human Gut Microbiota Throughout time, we have adopted changes to our diets, environments, and lifestyle behaviours. Do you ever wonder if we’ve experienced major changes to our gut microbiota as well? Using paleomicrobiology, which is the study of ancient microorganisms, researchers have examined Neanderthal feces to further understand the evolution of the [...]
IBD Patient Journey Read the PDF Report Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily involves the digestive tract. There are two main subtypes – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – which differ in the area and extent of inflammation. In Crohn’s disease, inflammation can occur in any [...]
Medication Supply Chain From research on a single drug molecule to clinical trials and a final product ready for patients to use, medicines take a very long time to develop. Studies estimate that this can take about 12 to 15 years, with an average per-drug cost of USD 900 million to 2 billion [...]
Bacteria, Viruses, and Antimicrobial Resistance Bacteria and viruses are extremely small organisms, also known as microorganisms, that can live on our skin, in our body fluids, and throughout our digestive tract. They are different from one another, from their biological makeup, how they develop into an infection or disease (pathogenic), and the types of treatments [...]
Traditional Chinese Medicine Approach to Treating Long COVID This is my personal experience managing patients with long COVID, or post-COVID syndrome, as a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor. As if getting sick with COVID-19 wasn’t bad enough, some people continue to suffer symptoms more than a month after their infection, earning the unwanted label of long-hauler. [...]
