HealthierU | Is Your “Food Baby” Actually Gut Bacteria?

We all know that feeling after a large, delicious meal, where our food baby overtakes our body. You know the one, where you feel extremely bloated, with a swollen gut? If you continuously feel abdominal pain or discomfort, it may be caused by a much deeper gut issue: H. Pylori. H. Pylori is a type of gut bacteria that affects half of the world’s population and can sometimes cause severe health problems, despite not being widely known. In this episode, we talk to someone who was surprised to discover her gut issues were caused by H. Pylori, and learn from gastroenterologist Dr. Donald Pham about how H. Pylori infection is detected and treated. 

This episode was reported and produced by Sofia Mang, a second-year student at Emory University pursuing a degree in Biology and Sociology. Sofia is interested in how human behavior interacts with health and medicine.

Studies referenced in this episode:

• Helicobacter pylori Infection- April 20, 2023
• Gastric cancer prevention by community eradication of Helicobacter pylori: a cluster-randomized controlled trial”- June 25, 2024 
• Diagnosis and treatment patterns among patients with newly diagnosed Helicobacter pylori infection in the United States 2016–2019”- January 25, 2023
• A nanoparticle-based sonodynamic therapy reduces Helicobacter pylori infection in mouse without disrupting gut microbiota”- Jan 29, 2024

About HealthierU:

Produced and hosted by students at Emory University’s Center for the Study of Human Health, HealthierU is a podcast that aims to make sense of the science behind human health. This season, we’re diving into our generation’s burning health questions. Questions like: Is it bad to use the internet to diagnose yourself? Why do so many athletes get eating disorders, and why are they so hard to spot? Is sugar really so dangerous? To find the answers, we’re talking to scientists, nutritionists, counselors, medical professionals and regular folks, every week on HealthierU.

About Emory University's Center for the Study of Human Health:

The Emory Center for the Study of Human Health was developed to expand health knowledge and translate this knowledge to all aspects of life – for the individual and populations as a whole. The Center assembles the extraordinary faculty, researchers and thought leaders from across disciplines, departments, schools and institutions to bring this knowledge to Emory University students and inspire them to become leaders for the next generation in meeting challenges facing human health.

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