Gastrointestinal Health: A Self-Help Nutritional Program to Prevent, Cure, or Alleviate Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Ulcers, Heartburn, Gas, Constipation

Recommends proper diet, exercise, and stress management

Chronic gastrointestinal problems--heartburn, gas pain, constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids--afflict 80 million Americans, who usually resort to the medicine cabinet in times of need. But wouldn't it be more logical to treat these disorders through diet, since eating the wrong foods probably caused the trouble? That's the sensible premise of Peikin ( The Feel Full Diet ), who heads the Digestive Disease Servicesic at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The author lays out a "self-help nutritional program"--a high-fiber, low-fat, balanced diet that he claims has provided prompt relief to his own patients suffering from a wide variety of GI maladies. Emphasizing that such a diet needn't be monotonous, the book offers 75 pages of recipes. Elsewhere, Peikin describes in detail the many ills remediable from altered diet, and takes the reader on an instructive tour of the GI tract. We learn that both regular and decaffeinated coffees stimulate unwelcome stomach-acid secretion, that fiber is now thought to aid in ulcer healing and that true food allergies are rare in adults. Also discussed are prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the roles they can play in treating certain conditions.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Peikin, director of Gastrointestinal Nutrition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, states in his introduction that more than 80 million Americans, many between the ages of 25 and 40, suffer from chronic digestive problems. This book addresses the many gastrointestinal (GI) problems in a clear, easy-to-understand style; most importantly, each specific ailment is thoroughly explained, including diagnostic procedures, drug and dietary therapy, and prognosis. Peikin stresses his self-help nutritional program, not necessarily as a cure-all, but as a method of alleviating and reducing many of the symptoms of GI distress. Included are an excellent list of "flag foods," a two-week master diet program, and, best of all, well-written recipes that will appeal to everyone, including those without GI problems. This is highly recommended for its thorough coverage, sound advice, and healthy suggestions.
-Debra Berlanstein, Towson State Univ. Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.