Healthnotes Newswire (June 14, 2007)—While probiotics are usually used to encourage the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine, new research suggests that they can also benefit the stomach, helping people with gastritis and peptic ulcer disease respond better to treatment.
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that can colonize the stomach, leading to gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in some people. Most people with these conditions are infected with H. pylori.
A combination of two antibiotics and an acid blocker—known as triple therapy—is used to treat gastritis and peptic ulcer disease associated with H. pylori infection. This approach, however, leads to side effects, such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, and has only a modest success rate (about 75%), so the search for other treatments continues.
Q: I've had stomach discomfort and diarrhea and suspect I may be allergic to certain types of food. Can you tell me about food allergies and their common symptoms?
