Women may be three times more likely to develop Crohn’s disease if they have used oral contraceptive pills for five years or more, according to data from a Harvard University study.
Disturbance of the gut microbiome, also known as dysbiosis, has a major detrimental effect on human health. As microbiome research continues to explode worldwide, we are learning that microbial dysregulation within the gut is an important contributing factor in a wide range of common disorders.
It’s “the greatest turnaround in science and medicine in the last 150 years,” says Raphael Kellman, MD, of the current microbiome revolution.
As many as one-third of all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), and primary care clinicians can play a key role in identifying and remedying this common but often overlooked comorbidity.
Two new studies indicate that adding oral probiotics to the therapeutic mix boosts the efficacy of conventional drug protocols in eradicating Helicobacter pylori, the most common bacterial pathogen worldwide, and a main driver of peptic ulcers.
Peppermint can help take some of the “irritable” out of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, according to a recent metanalysis of 9 randomized trials.
Historically, medical textbooks have presented Celiac disease patients as small, thin, anemic individuals–a depiction that still dominates many physicians’ views of gluten intolerance and the people who have it.
Medical cannabis, while certainly not a “cure” for Crohn’s disease, produced marked symptom reductions in a small but compelling study of patients who did not obtain relief from steroids and other conventional drugs.
Artificial sweeteners Splenda and Equal may be problematic for people with Crohn’s disease because they appear to promote the growth and adherence of E. coli.
Advances in immunology are translating into an array of new tests that enable clinicians to detect diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, celiac, Crohn’s, and autoimmune thyroid disorders at the earliest stages when they are most responsive to lifestyle-based treatment.
Copyright © 2025 Holistic Primary Care. All Rights Reserved.
