A Gastroenterologist's Guide to Gut Health: Everything You Need to Know About Colonoscopy, Digestive Diseases, and Healthy Eating is the title of the first book by award-winning writer Dr. David Novick. Dr. Novick, a gastroenterologist with decades of clinical and research experience, gives the reader the advice that he gives patients every day. Writing in a clear, conversational, and, yes, easily digestible style, Dr. Novick reviews the common gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, from irritable bowel syndrome to colon cancer, and from hepatitis C to hemorrhoids.

GI disorders are very common:

• Irritable bowel syndrome affects approximately fifty million people in the United States. It is the second most common reason for missed days of work, exceeded only by the common cold.
• About sixty million Americans have heartburn symptoms at times, and fifteen to twenty-five million have them every day.
• More than three million people in the United States are infected with the hepatits C virus, and half do not know that they have it!
• Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in both men and women.

More than fourteen million Americans have colonoscopy annually, either to screen for colon cancer or to evaluate GI symptoms; nevertheless, more than fifty thousand die of colon cancer each year because, in most cases, they did not undergo screening. Dr. Novick strongly advocates for colonoscopy screening by explaining and demystifying the procedure. Photographs of normal and abnormal findings even allow you to see what your gastroenterologist is looking for when performing the examination. If you are unsure about having a colonoscopy when you are healthy, or are unaware of the benefits, risks, and alternatives, this book gives you the information you need to make an informed decision.

Special Features

• A chapter on healthy eating and nutrition
• A chapter on how to get the most out of your visit to the doctor
• Illustrations by artists Ellyn Miller and Shannon Simpson
• A glossary of medical terms
• Frequent boxed text and bulleted lists,including "Take-Home Messages" at the end of each chapter
• Human interest stories illustrating important points in the book
• A bibliography and resource list for further reading

A Gastroenterologist's Guide to Gut Health is accurate and informative. It is the only up to date book on modern gastroenterology written for the general public. It is full of useful and practical advice that will allow you to go to your gastroenterologist's office armed with enough information to ask the right questions, make good decisions, and stay as healthy as possible.

Dr. Novick is represented for this book by Veronica Park of the Corvisiero Literary Agency, 275 Madison Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

Updated May 2021.