As a regular reader of the Daily Health eAlert, you will know that we've warned many times against the use of PPIs. Much as the mainstream tells us that these drugs control stomach acid, they cause many other problems because gastric acid plays an important role in nutrition and fighting infections such as pneumonia and gastroenteritis. So, how did we get to the point of medicating infants for symptoms that clearly don't call for drugs? In fact, it's normal for babies to start crying when they have a bit of wind... and as we all know, once you wind them there's almost always a bit of... how shall I put it... spillage? It's certainly NOT acid reflux!

The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — one of Big Pharma's biggest advocates — had actually stepped up to the mark for once, and alerted doctors and patients that a very popular drug can deplete the body of an essential mineral, and that taking it risks patients' health... Prescription strength proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), deplete your body of magnesium! The FDA issued the alert after reviewing more than 50 cases of hypomagnesaemia (low levels of magnesium) in patients taking PPIs over a long period of time — a year or more. However, in some people the deficiency occurred within just three months!

What is Candida, how do you get it and how do you get rid of it naturally? An overgrowth of Candida, a yeast that lives in your gut, can result in a serious condition called candidiasis - which causes a range of symptoms including chronic fatigue, thrush, abdominal bloating, depression and, if left unchecked, can also result in irritable bowel syndrome. If many of the symptoms and factors listed below apply to you, it is likely that you're suffering from candidiasis...

To date, the EFSA has refused almost 90 per cent of all the health claims submitted for natural remedies and supplements...despite the fact that the majority of the rejected claims were all backed by sound scientific studies... Left to the EFSA, our health and wellbeing is certainly not in good hands... so it’s time to make up our own minds. It’s true that a vast amount of probiotic supplements have flooded the market in recent years. All of these boast new, exciting ingredients and bacterial strains to help improve your gut health and strengthen your immunity. The key to making sure that you are taking the best possible probiotic is to find out whether its claimed benefits are backed by ample research.

You’ve seen the television ads, you’ve heard all about their digestive health benefits and many of you have probably taken probiotics (also known as ‘friendly' bacteria) to improve your intestinal health and strengthen your immune system... Many people take them after a course of antibiotics, which deplete levels of 'friendly' bacteria. This begs the question, why are these permanent residents of the human digestive tract getting such a hard time from health authorities like the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)? The EFSA appears to be rejecting almost all the health claims being submitted for probiotic products out of hand...despite the mounting studies confirming their numerous health benefits.

Finally, the medical mainstream is catching on to the fact that antibiotic drugs like penicillin may encourage harmful bacteria and other organisms to grow in the gut, which can trigger these conditions. Antibiotics also destroy ‘good’ bacteria and other tiny organisms known collectively as ‘microflora’.

Gallstones are solid lumps or stones that form in the gallbladder or bile duct. They are formed when some of the chemicals stored in the gallbladder harden into a mass. One large stone may develop, or a lot of tiny ones.

Bile contains cholesterol, bile salts and waste products like bilirubin (a pigment formed from the breakdown of old red blood cells). Gallstones form when these substances are out of balance.

Turmeric contains an active ingredient called curcumin, a spicy yellow pigment that is used both for cooking purposes and as a medicine. Curcumin has the ability to help combat a wide range of diseases with proven benefits in the areas of dementia and memory problems, cancer and heart disease.

Now, a new study conducted at the University of Reading has revealed yet another condition turmeric can help treat: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

A recent study from Cancer Prevention Research shows that daily consumption of broccoli sprouts may cut Helicobacter pylori infections (H. pylori), and offer protection against stomach ulcers, and maybe even certain types of cancer. H. pylori is a bacterium that inhabits various areas of the stomach and duodenum (first section of the small intestine). It causes a chronic low-level inflammation of the stomach lining and is strongly linked to the development of duodenal and gastric ulcers and stomach cancer.

Candida is a friendly yeast that lives in the large bowel, it feeds the good bacteria that help our bodies to stay healthy. If these good bacteria are compromised through the use of antibiotics, oral contraceptives, steroids or prolonged illness or stress, the digestive system becomes unbalanced and an individual can experience an overgrowth of Candida. The overgrowth leads to Candida becoming a parasitic fungus. Using these remedies to cleanse your body from a Candida overgrowth will certainly put you on a road to speedy recovery.