Celiac Disease in the United States

Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive condition in which the body’s immune system damages the villi (fingerlike projections) of the small intestine in response to the presence of gluten, found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. This intestinal damage prevents the...

Vitamin D and IBD

  Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is characterized by inflammation of the intestines, and is most notably represented as Crohn’s disease, which usually affects the small intestine, but may affect other areas of the digestive tract, and ulcerative colitis, which...

Alcohol Consumption and Your Gut

  Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is gut condition in which there are abnormally large numbers of gut bacteria in the terminal ileum of the small intestine (the end of the small intestine, just before the colon). SIBO is one form of dysbiosis, or gut...

Belly Fat and Liver Fat Increase Risk of Heart Disease

  Belly fat is usually detectible—people generally have a good idea if they tend to accumulate fat in their midsection, as opposed to their hips and bottom. But how do you know if your liver is fat? Well, abdominal fat and liver fat often go hand in hand. In fact, fat...

Immune Balance—What Does that Mean?

  Guest Blog by Dr. Leonard Smith The immune system is a complex organization of coordinated responses to “foreign” invaders in the body. Foreign invaders include microbes—bacteria, fungus, parasites and viruses—as well as toxins and even food. As a matter of...