Gastroscopy (Upper GI Endoscopy)

Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs)

Among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world, effectively suppressing stomach acid production — but increasingly used chronically for longer than clinical guidelines suggest.

Vitamin B12

The only vitamin the body can store in the liver for years — yet its deficiency is often mistaken for dementia, depression or plain fatigue, because neurological changes can precede any abnormality in a standard blood count by years.

Ferritin

An iron-storage protein whose blood level is the best available indicator of the body's iron stores — though it can be falsely elevated by inflammation, which complicates straightforward interpretation.

Colonoscopy

An endoscopic examination of the entire large intestine that lets doctors find and immediately remove polyps before they can turn into cancer — the only widely available screening test that combines diagnosis and treatment in a single procedure.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

A chronic disease in which stomach contents flow back into the esophagus often and forcefully enough to cause bothersome symptoms (heartburn, regurgitation, cough) or damage the esophageal lining. One bout of heartburn after a big meal isn't yet a disease — GERD is diagnosed only when episodes are recurring and affect quality of life or lead to complications.

VO2 max

The maximum amount of oxygen the body can take up during exercise — one of the strongest, well-documented predictors of lifespan, measurable in a sports diagnostics lab.

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves, not ionizing radiation, to produce images with exceptionally high soft-tissue contrast — brain, spinal cord, joints, and internal organs — at the cost of a much longer scan time than CT.

Mammography

An X-ray examination of the breast that is the primary method for screening detection of breast cancer at an early, asymptomatic stage — the only imaging test with mortality reduction documented in randomized clinical trials.

Helicobacter pylori: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Infection

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that colonizes the stomach of nearly half the world's population, in most cases without symptoms. The problem is that in some infected people it leads to chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, peptic ulcer disease, and, in rare cases, gastric cancer — and rising antibiotic resistance means standard treatment increasingly fails. We check how to recognize an infection, when treatment actually reduces gastric cancer risk, and when antibiotic therapy "just in case" misses the point.

September 10, 2026

Celiac Disease vs. Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity: How Do They Differ and Get Diagnosed?

"Gluten intolerance" is a term that in practice covers two completely different phenomena: celiac disease — an autoimmune condition with a clear diagnostic test, which likely affects over a million undiagnosed people in the US — and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, whose existence as a reaction specifically to gluten was undermined by the same research team's own follow-up study. This is one of the rare cases in medicine where science openly corrected itself within two years.

September 4, 2026

Fructose Intolerance: Symptoms, Breath Test and What to Do After the Result

Bloating, gas and diarrhoea after fruit, apple juice or honey are often labelled 'fructose intolerance'. Behind that label sit two very different conditions: common, usually mild fructose malabsorption in the small intestine, and the extremely rare, genetic and potentially dangerous hereditary fructose intolerance. We explain how they differ, how the hydrogen breath test with fructose works (and why its result must be read with caution), what the research says about dietary management, and when symptoms need prompt medical attention.

October 22, 2026

Bloating After Eating: Causes and How to Work It Out Step by Step

Bloating after eating is among the most common digestive complaints, yet it rarely comes down simply to 'too much gas'. Studies show that in many people the amount of gas in the gut is normal, while it is transported and tolerated worse, and the gut reacts with hypersensitivity. We explain the difference between the feeling of bloating and visible abdominal distension, point out the most common causes (irritable bowel syndrome, carbohydrate intolerances, celiac disease, constipation, SIBO) and show in what order to investigate symptoms so as to avoid unnecessary tests and not miss anything serious.

October 22, 2026

Stopping PPIs: Is Heartburn After Stopping Rebound, and How to Taper Off

Heartburn after stopping a proton pump inhibitor (omeprazole, pantoprazole, esomeprazole) can be a real phenomenon: in a randomised trial in healthy volunteers, after 8 weeks of esomeprazole 44% of people reported acid-related symptoms, compared with 15% in the placebo group. That does not mean the drug is addictive or that it must always be taken for life, however. We explain the difference between transient rebound and a true relapse of reflux disease, what the guidelines say about coming off the drug (gradual reduction, stopping, on-demand dosing), who should not stop a PPI and when symptoms need investigation.

November 3, 2026

Coughing After Eating and Choking: Causes and When to Test Swallowing

An occasional choke is normal, but coughing at every meal, a wet voice after eating, recurrent pneumonia or weight loss are reasons to test swallowing. Swallowing problems affect about 1 in 5 older people living at home, and some aspiration is silent. We explain how to tell dysphagia from reflux and other causes, what studies say about screening tests and swallowing imaging (FEES, videofluoroscopy), and when to see a doctor or speech therapist.

November 3, 2026

Colonoscopy Prep: Low-Residue Diet and How to Take the Bowel Prep

The quality of a colonoscopy depends largely on what happens before it: the diet on the day before and how the bowel prep is taken. European and American guidelines agree that the prep is best split into two doses, that dietary restrictions can be limited to one day, and that a low-fibre diet is an acceptable alternative to clear liquids only. We explain where these recommendations come from, what the meta-analyses show, how low-volume and high-volume preparations differ, how to handle medicines, and what to do when the prep has not worked.

November 3, 2026

Functional Dyspepsia: Upper Abdominal Pain and Fullness Without an Ulcer — Symptoms, Rome IV Criteria and Treatment

Functional dyspepsia is chronic pain, burning, fullness or early satiety in the upper abdomen that is not explained by an ulcer, a tumour or any other disease visible at gastroscopy. It is diagnosed with the Rome IV criteria after organic causes have been excluded, and treated step by step: H. pylori test-and-treat, a proton pump inhibitor, then low-dose tricyclic antidepressants or a prokinetic. We explain what the meta-analyses show, how large the real effect of each approach is and which symptoms need urgent work-up.

October 29, 2026