Study offers hope for people with IBS

Many celebrities suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and have shared their struggle. They include model and host Tyra Banks, former “Wonder Woman” Lynda Carter and Kurt Cobain, who revealed that he suffered from “constant” digestive pain.

IBS is a set of symptoms that may be related to food choices, not a specific disease, so it often can’t be treated with medication. That’s why folks have been hoping for a blood test to alert them to what foods they’re sensitive to, but there hasn’t been much science to back them up — until now.

In a new study, researchers performed a leukocyte activation test on blood samples from 58 patients with IBS to find out which foods triggered increased immune cell activation. Then they put some of them on diets based on their personal blood test results. After a month, patients on the personally tailored diets had “significantly” less severe symptoms. The researchers concluded that elimination diets guided by the type of blood test done in this study can reduce symptoms!

You also can try a FODMAP elimination diet (it takes out and then reintroduces foods that are fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols). Some studies have shown that eliminating FODMAPS can help alleviate IBS symptoms.

Are people who have frequent sex smarter?

Albert Einstein was many things, but monogamous was not one of them. His marriages and affairs were well-documented in his letters to his various wives and mistresses.

So, did all that sex make him smarter? According to researchers at Coventry University and the University of Oxford in the U.K., the brain-boosting powers of canoodling are particularly potent for older adults.

The researchers had 73 participants ages 50 to 83 answer a series of questions about their sexual health and then take a series of tests that assessed their intelligence. What they found was the more frequent (defined as weekly) sexual activity the person had, the higher they scored on cognitive function tests for verbal fluency and visual-spatial ability. They also had better cardiovascular health.

The theory is that sexual activity enhances dopamine secretion, which is linked to improved working memory and executive function in older adults. We’re sure that physical activity and energetic heart-pumping had something to do with having a sharper brain, too.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare. com.