What are the treatment options for digestive diseases?

ROBYNNE CHUTKAN: Lifestyle modifications are the cornerstone of therapy for all our digestive diseases. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Whether we're talking about acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis, we really have to examine what we're eating

and how we're living, our exercise patterns, what we're drinking in order to treat these diseases effectively.

If you take acid reflux, a condition that affects approximately 50 million Americans, for most people, this isn't a condition that just falls out of the sky

into our laps. It's a direct result of what we're doing, too much fatty food late at night, being sedentary,

not getting enough exercise, too much alcohol. The time that we eat and drink is also very important.

The digestive system works in concert with a light dark cycle, the circadian rhythm. And so if you're eating the majority of calories

after dark, which is what most Americans are doing, you're basically dumping that all into a digestive system that's asleep.

That's a set up for acid reflux. Just by calorie shifting and eating a larger breakfast

and lunch, you can dramatically improve your reflux symptoms and potentially get off medications if you're taking them regularly for your acid reflux.