Friday 20 December 2013

Christmas Ulcers

So it’s that time of the year again of festivities, frolicking and overindulging. However all this seasonal gluttony is very taxing on the poor old digestive system. According to the BBC, we Brits go boozing 41 % more in December than any other month in the year. Not only that but the estimated 7000 calories we eat on Christmas day, more than 3 times the recommended daily allowance, can  lead to all sorts of indigestion issues, especially for those who forgo the traditional after lunch walk to stay in and ‘watch’ the Queens speech.
 



 
Don’t blame all gastritis on overindulging though. Scientific research has uncovered many other factors contributing to stomach related issues. One brave Ozzie researcher suspected that the presence of the H.pylori bacterium in the stomach was playing a part in some stomach ulcers. However he had few supporters in his whacky theory and so to prove his point he drank a beaker full of the bacteria and then experience nausea and vomiting for several days. Whilst some would say this is to be expected, having foolishly contaminated himself with bacteria, an endoscopy 10 days later showed that Dr Barry Marshall had in fact given himself gastritis, proving his theory perfectly.
 
 



Therefore if you are one of the 25 % of us who naturally have H.pylori lying in our stomachs be wary of the excesses that Christmas this year will surely offer. And for those other 75 % who are luckily H.pylori free don’t be so cocky; that ibuprofen or paracetamol that cures the after-effects of a heavy night may in fact be just as large a contributing factor.
 
This Christmas special for our blog was written by Becky Geffen

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