by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

I have been treating irritable bowel syndrome, sometimes called spastic colon, since I began practice in the 1980s.  I saw a lot of it when I had a full-time family practice.

Several new treatment drugs have been developed and removed from the market within the past few years, due to bad side effects.  An article in the British Medical Journal shows that really, much has not changed since the 1980s.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Doctors frequently recommend avoiding popcorn, seeds and nuts if you have diverticulosis (pouches in the lower intestine) because they could clog these pockets and increase your risk of bleeding and inflammation. A new JAMA study refutes this. In fact, it finds that these foods may even prevent those complications. How so?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

You’ve trained for years, and now you are peaking at the right time. You warm-up, stretch, massage to avoid injury, and have the best health care crew in the world by your side. Then, you get a queasiness in your stomach, probably butterflies from nervousness. Then it gets worse. You run to the nearest restroom and things start coming out both ends. The vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramping just keep on coming. Some Olympians are getting the Beijing two-step, stomach bug, stomach virus, viral gastroenteritis. Whatever you call it, if you’ve had it, you know that these athletes are in trouble with their peak performance at major risk

What can they do?

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