Читать книгу The Good Gut Guide: Help for IBS, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitis, Food Allergies and Other Gut Problems - Stephanie Zinser - Страница 5

In the last 20 years an increasingly informed public has acquired considerable medical knowledge. This has come through printed media, television and the Internet – and by contact with health care professionals like doctors and nurses.

People working in medicine who understand the need for greater communication often find this terribly rewarding. Taking time to explain, honestly, the good and bad aspects of managing illness should nowadays be an essential part of every consultation between the patient and their doctor.

Everybody, including patients and their relatives, wants to know more about their health. The Good Gut Guide deals with intestinal diseases. Although this may at first seem to be a small part of the totality of medicine, intestinal diseases and problems are in fact very common. For example, Irritable Bowel Syndrome is one of the most frequent reasons for seeing a GP. While the condition is not life-threateningly serious, it accounts for a huge amount of suffering and has economic consequences because of time taken off work. Other intestinal diseases also have a great impact on individuals and society: infections, inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and cancers are all disabling – whether temporarily or more chronically – to millions of people.

Inflammatory bowel diseases affect young people. In some cases they can be very severe but in most, medical and surgical treatment can keep them under control, allowing the patient to lead a normal life. Bowel cancer is the second most common malignancy in our society, yet if diagnosed early it is curable. Polyps can give us early warning. These are tumours in the benign stage, and if removed, there is every chance that their evolution into cancer can be avoided. Indeed, cancer prevention by appropriate screening, increasingly through genetic indicators, offers a real opportunity for doctors to improve the results of cancer treatment.

Anal problems are extremely common. Although not serious, piles, abscesses and ulcers such as fissures can make life miserable for millions of sufferers. Incontinence may make life impossible, confining sufferers to staying at home near the toilet, too fearful to venture out to the shops let alone to social occasions such as parties or family gatherings. The good news is that these diseases are almost always treated successfully.

The Good Gut Guide is an impressive creation. It covers a vast field and includes just about every area that can be related to the intestine. It is accurate, well informed, practical and readable. It gives the medical facts in an authoritative and balanced manner and, at the same time, offers vital advice on the holistic aspects – such as diet and lifestyle – that are not usually available in normal medical books.

It will help patients and anyone else who wants to learn more about intestinal problems and improve their gut health.

PROFESSOR JOHN NICHOLLS