Mayo Clinic on Digestive Health Book

	Preface	v
Chapter 1	Americans and digestion	1
	Lifestyle issues	2
	How digestion works	4
	Keeping your tract on track	11
Chapter 2	Recipe for healthy digestion	13
	Eat fiber	13
	Where to find fiber	15
	A healthy diet	16
	Drink plenty of fluids	18
	Practice good eating habits	19
	Maintain a healthy weight	19
	Get regular exercise	24
	Control stress	26
	Limit alcohol	26
	Avoid tobacco	27
	Use medications cautiously	27
Chapter 3	Gut feelings	29
	Difficulty swallowing	30
	Chest pain and heartburn	32
	Belching, bloating and intestinal gas	33
	Indigestion	37
	Nausea and vomiting	38
	Abdominal pain	39
	Diarrhea and constipation	41
	Bleeding	46
	Weight loss	48
Chapter 4	Diagnostic tests	49
	Blood tests	49
	Urine and stool tests	50
	X-rays	51
	Computerized tomography	54
	Ultrasound	55
	Endoscopy	55
	Endoscopic ultrasound	60
	Ambulatory acid (pH) probe test	60
	Esophageal muscle test	61
	Transit studies	62
Chapter 5	Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)	65
	What's GERD?	65
	Variation in signs and symptoms	67
	Who gets GERD?	68
	Danger of ignoring your symptoms	69
	See your doctor	72
	Treatment begins with self-care	73
	Medications that can help	75
	When surgery may be needed	77
Chapter 6	Ulcers and stomach pain	81
	An open sore	81
	Bacteria a common culprit	83
	Other causes of ulcers	84
	Diagnosing an ulcer	85
	A combination of medications	86
	What you can do	89
	Nonulcer dyspepsia	90
	Plenty of theories, little proof	90
	Lifestyle changes often first step	91
Chapter 7	Irritable bowel syndrome	93
	A functional disorder	94
	Ruling out other conditions	95
	Improving symptoms with diet and exercise	95
	Learning to manage stress	98
	Using over-the-counter medications	99
	Medical treatment for more severe symptoms	101
Chapter 8	Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis	103
	Similar but different	104
	In search of a cause	104
	Troublesome signs and symptoms	105
	Diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease	108
	Helpful medications	109
	Living with your disease	114
	Surgery	117
Chapter 9	Celiac disease	119
	An inherited condition	120
	Varied signs and symptoms	120
	A new way of eating	122
	Reading food labels	125
	Eating out	125
	When diet isn't enough	126
Chapter 10	Diverticular disease	127
	A pressure problem	129
	Accidental discovery	130
	Treatment begins with self-care	131
	When you may need medication or surgery	132
	Are you at higher risk of cancer?	134
Chapter 11	Gallstones	135
	How gallstones form	136
	Three types	137
	The makings of an attack	137
	Are you at risk?	139
	Identifying the stones	140
	Treatment options	142
	Life without a gallbladder	143
Chapter 12	Pancreatitis	145
	Acute vs. chronic	146
	Two causes stand out	147
	Treating acute pancreatitis	149
	Treating chronic pancreatitis	150
	Managing pancreatitis	152
Chapter 13	Liver disease	153
	Hepatitis	153
	Hemochromatosis	162
	Cirrhosis	165
Chapter 14	Cancer	169
	How cancer develops	169
	Cancer of the esophagus	170
	Stomach cancer	173
	Cancer of the small intestine	174
	Gallbladder and bile duct cancers	175
	Liver cancer	176
	Cancer of the pancreas	178
	Cancer of the colon and rectum	179
	Additional resources	185
	Index	189