Diverticular Disease: Who Says You Can't Eat Nuts? Conflicting advice regarding nuts and diverticular disease ends with results from large study! There is good news for individuals with diverticular disease who are longing to eat garden ripe strawberries and blueberries, munch on popcorn at the movies, and get their share of the healthy oils in [...]
Acupuncture: What the Research Shows While acupuncture (AC) successfully relieves pain in many areas of the body, the clinical evidence for its use in other conditions is mixed. This is partly due to the nature of AC, which makes it challenging to conduct randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, which is the gold standard for evidence-based research. [...]
Product Review Poo~Pourri® a Non-Chemical Aromatherapy Spray Photo: © Poo~Pourri® Poo~Pourri® is the before-you-go® toilet spray taking over North America with its hilarious viral videos featuring a straitlaced and distinguished redhead who has many hysterical catch phrases for poop and how to deal with the ‘scandal left behind’. Yes, it’s a real [...]
A Traditional Chinese Medicine Look at Summer Foods Have you ever thought about looking at foods from a different perspective? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was founded on centuries of observing nature and the human body’s reactions to trying different things, which is the very essence of science. TCM emphasizes the consumption of local, seasonally available [...]
Germs in the Loo Put Down that Lid A new UK study, published in the Journal of Hospital Infection,1 reveals that an open toilet lid during flushing increases the risk of contamination of other areas of the bathroom. The study specifically looked at Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection often spread in [...]
Children with Reflux (GERD) Whether your child is a toddler or a teenager, they will occasionally suffer from diarrhea, upset tummy, excessive burping, abdominal pain, or heartburn. Sometimes stress from a big event in a child’s life – such as the first day of school, exams, or a sporting event – triggers a digestive upset. [...]
Drug Wars There is a war brewing in Canada over intellectual property (IP); other countries have stronger laws to protect inventors’ rights and we need the same safeguards here at home. Intellectual property rights are the cornerstone of innovation. Some Canadian breakthroughs are world-renowned, such as the notorious work of Toronto-based physician-researchers Sir Frederick Banting [...]
Women and Inflammatory Bowel Disease In recognition of International Women’s Day, which is marked each year on March 8th, we present some recent research on the extra challenges faced by women with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Work and Romance A recent study from Sweden found that, compared to men with Crohn’s disease, women with [...]
A Cure for Hepatitis C! Since identifying the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989, scientists have attributed it with causing more than 500,000 deaths worldwide each year. Millions more suffer with chronic symptoms. HCV can damage the liver. Infection begins as acute hepatitis C, and while the virus can run its course through the body [...]
Enemas Enemas have been popular for a long, long time. It makes sense that enemas were used historically; when individuals couldn’t take medicine by mouth, and before intravenous medication was common, there was only one route of administration left available! As humans paid more attention to cleaning themselves, it seemed logical to think that the [...]
January 29, 2020 Gail Attara President & Chief Executive Officer, Gastrointestinal Society President, Canadian Society of Intestinal Research Forced Switching Policies: Will Ontario be Next? Government-led initiatives have never shown us so clearly how invasive their roles can become in the determination of our healthcare treatments. “Life in the hands of your doctor not the [...]
Gastrointestinal Issues Associated with Obesity Obesity is a complex, chronic disease that affects many systems in the body. While discussions around complications associated with obesity tend to focus on conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, obesity can also have a large influence on the development and severity of many digestive conditions. Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) [...]
Brain-Gut Connection and IBS If you’re one of the millions of people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you may be aware that stress and anxiety can deeply affect your gut and sense of wellbeing. IBS is categorized as a disorder of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI),1 which means that there’s a disconnection between how your [...]
IBS and Food Avoidance Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic, functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and/or diarrhea. These symptoms can be persistent and greatly impact quality of life. There are three distinct subtypes: IBS-C, in which the person primarily experiences constipation; IBS-D, in which they primarily experience diarrhea; and [...]
Sonia B. Glover: My Life With Crohn's Unless you experience Crohn’s disease firsthand, you could never imagine what such a debilitating and painful disease can do to a person’s life – physically and emotionally. I could describe my journey living with Crohn’s disease many ways – interesting, painful, heartbreaking, frustrating, draining, embarrassing, eye opening, and [...]
Access Delayed = Access Denied A new report1 from the Fraser Institute exposes what many Canadians are already experiencing first hand: medical wait times are becoming unacceptably long. Its 21st Annual Waiting List Survey revealed that during 2011, wait times in all areas of health care were longer than they have been since they started [...]
Federal Government Announces Requirement for Reporting of Drug Shortages Providing clear and concise information on drug shortages to help ensure the health and safety of Canadians VANCOUVER, BC. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015 – At a media conference in Vancouver today, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Federal Minister of Health announced that the Government of Canada is advancing [...]
The Dangers of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when a large amount of fat – that isn’t associated with heavy alcohol use – accumulates in the liver (5-10% by weight). In its mildest form, this disease doesn’t cause much trouble, presenting with few (if any) symptoms and complications. NAFLD affects [...]
Better Pharmacare Coalition poll reveals British Columbians oppose changes to planned expansion to BC government’s Reference Drug Program Better Pharmacare Coalition eager to work with government to get it right for patients Vancouver, February 9, 2016 – A recent Better Pharmacare Coalition (BPC) poll1 has found that British Columbians oppose expansion of the Ministry of [...]
Gastrointestinal Society joins Canadian Medical Cannabis Council’s Patient Advisory Committee TORONTO (March 13, 2017) - Today, the Canadian Medical Cannabis Council (CMCC) announced that the Gastrointestinal (GI) Society has joined eight other leading patient groups from across Canada, as the newest member of the medical cannabis industry’s first Patient Advisory Committee (PAC). The Committee works [...]
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