Foods you eat may cause indegestion

Dear Dr. Gott: I’m a 65-year-old vegetarian. Some fruits and vegetables cause me to have digestive disturbances, such as abdominal discomfort, red rashes on my chest and terrible gas. Do I need gallbladder surgery for correction of this problem?

Dear Reader: In some people, a strict vegetarian diet may lead to indigestion and gas. Ordinarily, this responds to the elimination of edibles that are associated with symptoms (such as beans and cabbage). Also, food allergies may cause maldigestion.

Nonetheless, such symptoms could also be related to gallstones or an inflamed gallbladder. But don’t even consider surgery until tests, such as an ultrasound exam, have proven that the gallbladder is at fault. Remember, too, that there is nonsurgical therapy for gallstones, involving pills or ultrasound. Your doctor can advise you.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Gallbladder Disease.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: My son, 40, has been diagnosed, by an alternative practitioner, with candidiasis. To date, the treatment has been a strict diet to eliminate any foods of a yeasty nature. Do you feel this is appropriate or should the problem be handled in a different manner?

Dear Reader: Chronic candidiasis (infection with the Candida yeast) is considered by many authorities to be a “fad” disease that is used to explain chronic malaise, depression and fatigue in otherwise healthy individuals.

In my experience, the candidiasis diet is difficult for patients to follow because it is so restrictive (no sugar or yeast-containing foods). However, if your son feels better on such a diet, he will not be harmed by following it.

In addition, his practitioner should check him for anemia, an underactive thyroid gland, Lyme disease and other metabolic abnormalities — all of which have been associated with the symptoms I mentioned.

Dear Dr. Gott: I love to eat apples, peanut butter and orange juice. However, according to TV segments, apples are covered with pesticides, peanut butter contains harmful oils and orange juice is laced with contaminated water. Should I continue to consume my favorite foods?

Dear Reader: For heaven’s sake, yes. Everything — and I mean everything — in life carries its own risks. It seems to me that with all the other worries we have, concerns about trace amounts of pesticides, the hazards of peanut oil and the unlikely contamination of orange juice pale into insignificance.

Of course, you should first rinse your apples, moderate your consumption of peanut butter and choose high-quality orange juice — but otherwise, enjoy your favorite foods.