- Women may experience heartburn more than men because a woman’s GI tract is more sensitive than a man’s However, women generally have less damage from acid reflux than men do because the muscles in a woman’s esophagus are stronger, keeping acid and stomach juices out of the esophagus
- Women experience nausea and bloating more frequently than men because their stomachs empty food slower than men’s stomachs.
- For various reasons, women tend to take NSAIDS (anti-inflammatory and pain relieving medication) more often than men. Frequent NSAID intake can cause Gastritis – inflammation of the stomach.
- Gallstones: Women are twice as likely to develop gallstones as men because, like their stomachs, women’s gallbladders empty slower than men’s
- Enzymes: The enzymes found in a woman’s liver and small intestine function slightly different than those found in a man’s This means medications are digested differently and may have different effects on a woman than a man.
- Women have a slower emptying of the large intestine than men.
- Constipation occurs more often in women than men, and tends to get worse with age.
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) occurs 2 to 6 times more often in women than in men.
- Colon cancer is the number 3 cancer for women in the U.S. Women should be advised to follow current guidelines to be screened at age 45-50.
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