Gastrointestinal Disease | Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease

Gastrointestinal Diseases:

• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
• Peptic Ulcer Disease
• Barrett's Esophagus
• Hepatitis
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis)
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Hemorrhoids
• Diverticulosis

What is Gastrointestinal Disease?
By: Dr. Anshu Gupta

Also called: Digestive Diseases

When you eat, your body breaks food down to a form it can use to build and nourish cells and provide energy. This process is called digestion.

Your digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube. It runs from your mouth to your anus and includes your esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. Your liver, gallbladder and pancreas are also involved. They produce juices to help digestion.

There are many types of digestive disorders. The symptoms vary widely depending on the problem. In general, you should see your doctor if you have

* Blood in your stool
* Changes in bowel habits
* Severe abdominal pain
* Unintentional weight loss
* Heartburn not relieved by antacids

Gastrointestinal (GI) disease refer to ulcerative disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Stomach acids and some enzymes can damage the lining of the G.I. tract if natural protective factors are not functioning normally.

The GI research strategy focuses on gaining a better understanding of the genetic basis of GI diseases (e.g., Crohn’s disease) and the pathophysiology associated with these diseases, including mucosal barrier function and innate immunity, and on neural control of motility and perception.

GI concentrates on inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as irritable bowel syndrome and gastroparesis.

Symptoms of gastrointestinal disease are indigestion, heartburn, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain that is often worse after eating, and gastrointestinal bleeding (signs of this are vomiting material that looks like coffee-grounds, or having dark stools). Some other symptoms are acid bile reflux in the throat, asthma-like symptoms, often irritable bowel syndrome, chronic poor digestion with sharp abdominal and chest pains, hoarseness and chronic cough.

Causes of gastrointestinal disease are aspirin use, alcohol and tobacco use, poor diet (to many fried, fatty foods, sugar and refined foods), poor food combining, drinking with meals, over eating especially spicy foods, eating to fast or to often, food allergies, candida overgrowth, stress, serious illness.

Various pathogens, which usually get into our body through contaminated food and water, can produce an infection of the gastrointestinal tract. This manifests itself in diarrhea, often accompanied by pains in the stomach, nausea and vomiting. Among the most frequent pathogens at fault are the e-coli bacteria, salmonella and poison from staphylococcus.

Other causes of gastrointestinal disease may be reflux injury (such as bile backing up into the stomach and esophagus, trauma (for example surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, severe vomiting and having swallowed a foreign object), bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections, pernicious anemia and systemic disease for example (Crohn's) disease.