Scientists Examine 100 Trillion Microbes in Human Feces

The human large intestine is a 5-foot long, dark, dank and twisting corridor whose repetitive contractions function to squeeze the last remaining drops of water and the final bits of nutrient from feces before expulsion from our bodies.

Bacteria Thrive in Hostile Human Bellies

The harsh acidic environment of your stomach is home to many more bacteria types than previously thought, a new study indicates.
One newly identified creature in your belly is related to a species that's considered one of the hardiest organisms on the planet, a bacterium that eats radioactive wastes for lunch.
The human stomach is a pear-shaped chamber filled with a highly noxious cocktail of hydrochloric acid and protein-cleaving digestive enzymes called peptidases. This gastric soup can have a pH of 1 to 3; the pH scale goes from 1 to 14 with a lower number indicating more acidity.

What Your Dental Health Says About You

Common oral problems have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, premature birth, and more.
It's easy to ignore the effects of poor oral hygiene because they're hidden in your mouth. But gum disease produces a bleeding, infected wound that's the equivalent in size to the palms of both your hands, says Susan Kara bin, (Doctor of Dental Surgery) DDS, a New York periodontist and president of the American Academy of Period ontology.

"If you had an infection that size on your thigh, you'd be hospitalized," Karabin says. "Yet people walk around with this infection in their mouth and ignore it. It's easy to ignore because it doesn't hurt ... but it's a serious infection, and if it were in a more visible place, it would be taken more seriously."

Dental Care for People With Heart Disease

People with heart disease have special needs when it comes to dental care. Here are some tips to consider before going to the dentist if you suffer from one of the following heart conditions.
Dental Care After Heart Attack

Wait a minimum of six months after a heart attack before undergoing any dental treatments. Tell your dentist if you are taking anticoagulants (blood-thinning drugs). These medications could result in excessive bleeding during some oral surgery procedures. Ask your dentist if oxygen and nitroglycerin are available in case a medical emergency should arise during your office visit.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

Healthy SkinHealthy Skin: Six Simple Summer Skin Tips

Beautiful skin is healthy skin. Dr. Susan Evans, a renowned Beverly Hills dermatologist, offers practical advice for all skin types.
With ongoing climate changes (hello, heat wave!) and the ever-present penetrating rays from the sun, how do you take care of your skin?  With so many seasonal variances, is it possible to maintain a healthy year-round glow?
Throughout the year, within my clinical practice, I see a variety of unique seasonal skin concerns. I usually begin with identifying each individual’s skin type and then determine the best approach.
On a recent CNN segment, I talked about the sun and tanning. Sure, everyone wants to look great with healthy glowing radiant skin, especially in the summer. But did you know the majority of all premature aging is due to sun damage?

What is travelers' diarrhea?, the truth about diarrhea.

Travelers’ diarrhea is often used as a generic term  for any illnesses ranging from an upset tummy to  loose stools during or after travel. It could mean just excess gas, or a variety of symptoms that can occur from a change in the types of food or beverages we are used to – or, most commonly, to contamination of food or beverages. And it's not just food and beverages. Touching your mouth or nose with contaminated hands may be all it takes.
How can I prevent travelers' diarrhea?

People often discuss the importance of care in selecting "safe" foods and beverages for consumption. We recommend that foods be freshly cooked and be piping hot; such foods are safer than those on a buffet that have been sitting out for hours. Water should be bottled and sealed, or boiled. Alcohol is OK, but ice cubes are not.

Can medications prevent travelers' diarrhea?

Yes. Pepto-Bismol has been used for a number of years to prevent travelers' diarrhea. Studies show that if adults take the equivalent of two tabs four times a day, it can decrease the incidence of travelers’ diarrhea up to 60%.

Now, many people who take that amount of Pepto-Bismol end up with severe constipation. I take two tabs twice a day when I go into a risky situation. I do believe that it is very helpful, but most recommend if you’re going to do this, that it should just be for short-term -- up to three weeks.

While this helps many people, those allergic to aspirin cannot take it. And if you're taking prescription medications, you should check with your doctor to see if you can take this.

Some swear by probiotics like lactobacillus for preventing travelers' diarrhea. But studies of this strategy in limited numbers of subjects are inconclusive.

And some people are given prophylactic antibiotics, which are very effective in preventing travelers' diarrhea, but the problem there is we don't feel very good about prescribing antibiotics for a number of reasons for someone if they don’t need them. There are issues such as side effects, or of diarrhea caused by the antibiotics themselves, and increased antibiotic resistance in the normal organisms we harbor in our bodies. Rarely, if it is just for a very important weekend, or occasionally for government officials or someone in an athletic competition, we may prescribe preventive antibiotics.

How can a change in diet trigger travelers' diarrhea?

It's due to eating different kinds of foods, such as much more spicy food or more fat than in our normal diets. That is not something we typically pay as much attention to avoiding when we travel, but we have to be wary of these things. Not every change in our bowel habits is due to infection. Infection is the most important cause of travelers' diarrhea and most is caused by bacteria.
Who is most likely to get travelers' diarrhea?

Some people are more susceptible than others, it's not clear why that is. You can be with a group and all consume the same thing, and some get sick while others do not.

There are a host factors involved. Stomach acid is our first defense mechanism against organisms that we ingest. Therefore, those on antacids, or who just have low stomach acid, often get travelers' diarrhea more easily. People who have underlying diseases of the gut, such as Crohn’s disease or AIDS, may be more susceptible to certain types of organisms causing travelers’ diarrhea.
What kinds of infection cause travelers' diarrhea?

For the most part, we're talking about bacterial infections. Almost 90% of travelers' diarrhea cases are caused by bacteria. The enterotoxigenic E. coli [ETEC, strains of common bacteria that produce a toxin affecting the gut] are most important cause. And then there  are others such as salmonella, shigella, campylobacter, vibrio, and others that are less common.

Travelers' diarrhea may also be caused by viruses, such as norovirus, which is in the news a lot because of how quickly it can spread through a cruise ship.

Parasitic travelers' diarrhea is yet another kind. Giardia intestinalis is the most common of these, but there is a large number of parasites that can cause diarrhea. These are less frequent.
Aside from the obvious, how do you know you're coming down with travelers' diarrhea?

Sometimes it starts with fever and chills. You may get cramps, and then, of course very urgent loose stools in various amounts. Sometimes there is vomiting or bloody diarrhea. With norovirus, onset can be sudden, and vomiting is a much more prominent feature.

For bacterial and viral travelers' diarrhea, the incubation period is typically six to 48 hours after infection.

For protozoan travelers' diarrhea, there is usually more of a gradual onset with a few loose stools  per day and increased gas and nausea. The incubation period can be one to two weeks.
What is the main treatment for travelers' diarrhea?

Hydration is the primary treatment. Often people with a bout of travelers' diarrhea feel so weak. A good deal of  it is due to dehydration. It's not OK just to take a few sips of cola. You need to make the effort to drink a lot of fluid, because often you've lost a lot more than you think. In a lot of cases, just clean water is OK. Better, if you are very dehydrated, is a rehydration solution. Rehydration packets are a great thing to have, especially if you are going to remote areas or places off the usual tourist paths.

What antibiotic should I take for travelers' diarrhea?

It depends. For adults, ciprofloxacin is used most commonly. Sometimes, for those traveling to certain places in Southeast Asia, where bacterial pathogens have increased resistance, some doctors like to prescribe azithromycin. In some cases where you feel that the traveler may likely be exposed to just the coliform pathogens such as E. coli, some prescribe rifaximin.

Of course, antibiotics work only for bacterial causes of travelers' diarrhea. Know that even bacterial travelers' diarrhea usually gets better without antibiotic treatment, although rehydration is always advised and symptoms may take 3 to 5 days or more to subside without treatment.

For those with diarrhea due to parasitic infections, there are agents that are specific for each type of infection. However, for Giardia infections, tinidazole [Tindamax] is often prescribed and is very effective.

All of this advice applies to adults. What about children?

Kids can become dehydrated far quicker than adults. Rehydration solutions are more important for children right from the outset.

Doctors are now becoming more open to prescribing antibiotics that children can take in case they get travelers' diarrhea. Azithromycin can be useful in children. Parents should check with their pediatricians before leaving home.

Nursing mothers should continue to breastfeed. The time to wean a child is not in the middle of travel. Continue even if the mother has diarrhea -- but she must ensure that she is getting plenty of hydration.

Drink Less for Strong Bones: Tips to avoid getting tipsy.

Heavy drinking is a health risk for many reasons, including the effects on bones.

Research shows that chronic heavy alcohol use, especially during adolescence and young adult years, can dramatically affect bone health and increase the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

What do doctors advise? Drink less for strong bones.

Best and Worst Fast-Food Salads

Which salads are highest in calories and fat -– and which are lowest?

When you're looking to order something relatively healthy from a fast-food menu, you probably go for a salad. But did you know some fast-food salads are as high in calories and fat as a double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (740 calories, 42 grams of fat)?

Two key ingredients can make or break your fast food salad: chicken (specifically, whether you choose "grilled" or "crispy" style) and salad dressing. Although some fat helps make salad dressing taste good, many fast-food dressings go too far. A serving of blue cheese dressing at Carl’s Jr., for example, adds 320 calories and 34 grams of fat to your salad.

Alcohol and Your Health: about the impact of drinking on cancer risk, heart health, and more.

When it comes to your health, is it better to drink or not to drink?

It's becoming an even more complicated question, especially in the wake of several recent studies linking even a little drinking of alcohol to a higher risk of cancers.

While the experts disagree on some answers, they do agree that no one who has or had a problem with alcohol dependency should drink, nor should any woman who is pregnant. Here is what else they had to say about alcohol and health:

From a health point of view, what is the best advice you would give about drinking alcohol now?

"There's no one answer; it has to be individualized according to the specific person," says Arthur Klatsky, MD, a former practicing cardiologist and now an investigator for Kaiser Permanente's division of research in Oakland, Calif. He has published numerous studies on alcohol and health, especially heart health.

The research on alcohol's effect on health suggests both harm and benefits, says Gary Rogg, MD, an internal medicine specialist at Montefiore Medical Center and assistant professor and assistant director of the department of internal medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. "The studies show links to breast cancer [and] links to liver cancer [with alcohol intake],'' he says, as well as to other cancers. "If you reduce alcohol intake you can reduce the incidence of head and neck cancer and colorectal cancer. Having said that, there seems to be a benefit with [alcohol] and heart disease."

What is the best advice about drinking alcohol if you only consider alcohol's effect on heart health?

Again, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer, Klatsky says. He gives hypothetical case histories to make the point.

Take a 60-year-old man who has given up smoking but has a family history of heart attacks, a less-than-ideal cholesterol level, and no dependency problems with alcohol. If he likes a glass of wine with dinner, Klatsky says, "this man is better off continuing."