Digestive Diseases Linked to Bacteria in Bowel

ADigestive Diseases such as crohn's disease and colitis can be linked to high levels of bacteria in the gut, according to research at the Charite Homboldt Universitat in Berlin, Germany.

Researchers studied colon tissue from around 300 patients with either crohn#s disease or a variation of colitis. Bacterial content of the tissue was higher with each condition compared with samples taken from healthy individuals. Moreover, bacterial levels increased as the severity of the condition worsened.

Edith Maskell of Bromley Health Management commented: "This is in line with what we would already expect to see. Conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome can often be traced back to food intolerances, which cause excess amounts of bacteria in the gut. There is a growing wealth of evidence which suggests all sorts of diseases are at least worsened by bacterial infections in the bowel".

"While conventional medicine is just switching on this, this has been an approach complementary therapists have adopted for years".

Friday, 24 May 2002