The Sensitive Gut
Dealing With Tummy Troubles Your "gut" is the series of organs — mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon — that transform the food you eat into the nutrients your body needs to live and to thrive.If you've ever had an upset stomach, constipation, heartburn or gas, you know how sensitive the gut can be. These "gut reactions" can be painful, disruptive, and sometimes embarrassing. Yet according to experts at the Harvard Medical School, you can achieve a calmer coexistence with your digestive system by preventing and treating the most common troublemakers, including acid reflux, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea, and excessive gas. Take heartburn, for example. It's the key symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the most common digestive malady. Heartburn can be painful and frightening, especially when it mimics a heart attack, and serious health problems can result if th...