Natural Health Journals

By Marc Courtiol
With the typical Western diet being largely unhealthy, the incidences of digestive disorders continue to rise each year. Sometimes, traditional medical treatments do not sufficiently treat, or cure, these disorders. In other cases, people are simply looking for alternative treatments that do not involve taking medication. Acupuncture is an alternative treatment that has [...]

By Marc Courtiol
Ulcers form because the protective lining of your stomach has become eroded. Often times, smaller ulcers can go undetected for many weeks or even months, but larger ulcers generally cause a lot of bleeding, which can be very dangerous to your health.

Candida, or candida albicans is a natural yeast that lives and grows in your gut. It is a single-celled yeast, which is essentially a type of fungus, and it is merely one type of the several hundred different species of microorganisms residing in the gut. Generally, the presence of these microorganisms poses no threat to [...]

By Marc Courtiol
Acid reflux is an unpleasant and painful condition that many people suffer from. It happens when the stomach acids flow back up into the esophagus. Unfortunately, doctors’ prescriptions for it do have long-term side effects that are almost as bad. And since there are several reasons for this flow-back of acid, a one-size-fits-all [...]

By Marc Courtiol
There are a number of reasons why someone might need esophageal surgery. Cancer, esophageal diverticula, GERD, and certain motility disorders are all reasons why this type of surgery might be recommended by your doctor. Regardless of why you or someone you know has to have esophageal surgery, it is important to understand the [...]

Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are medications prescribed by a doctor to control the symptoms of acid reflux disease or peptic ulcer. They work by stopping the stomach from producing acid, thus allowing the ulcer to heal – or in the case of acid reflux, there is less acid available to leak into the esophagus. In [...]

By Cyndra Neal
Antacids are easy to purchase over the counter – and using them is cheaper than going to the doctor for prescription medicine to help with that heartburn problem. But is it wise to simply pop an antacid pill whenever you feel that heartburn problem? There are several things to consider before taking antacids.

By Jamell Andrews
Esophageal cells are different from those that line the stomach. In a normal esophagus, pinkish-white tissues called squamous epithelium line the tube. Barrett’s esophagus is a condition in which the normal tissue lining has been replaced by abnormal red-colored epithelium, which is referred to as specialized intestinal metaplasia. Essentially, these cells are intestinal [...]

Gastroparesis is a rather intimidating sounding name for a condition known as delayed gastric emptying. This is a disorder that causes the stomach to take too much time emptying its contents into the small intestine, and it occurs when the vagus nerve, which controls the speed at which food moves from the stomach into the [...]

By Marc Courtiol
Omeprazole is better known by its brand name of Prilosec. It is used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, as well as duodenal and gastric ulcers.