Singles say Valentine's Day stinks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Singles say Valentine's Day stinks



PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - February 14, 2006

Singles say Valentine's Day stinks. And they're right -- but not for the obvious reasons.

Over 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be given to lovers this Valentine's Day, according to the National Confectioners Association.

But for tens of millions of Americans--dieters and diabetics especially--Valentine's Day chocolates have an unpleasant dark side that's among society's last taboos: the odious flatulence that results from gastrointestinal distress.

For many people, a few Hershey's Kisses can lead directly to the ‘Hershey squirts', intense stomach cramping (‘knives'), heartburn, general indigestion, bloating, growling guts, and even dehydration (a result of diarrhea).

Then there's the Valentine's Day restaurant dinner, which makes things worse with alcoholic drinks, fatty main courses, buttery side dishes, and sweet (often chocolatey) desserts.

Interview Bill Downs, one of the world's foremost experts on diet and digestion, and find out how men and women can avoid gassing out their lovers this Valentine's Day.

He can share Cupid's secret formula for having a sweet, romantic Valentine's Day, without overtaxing the GI tract or polluting the body with antacids and other over-the-counter drugs that, for many people, don't even work.

Downs has over twenty years of expertise in diet, digestion, nutrition science, and biological chemistry. He's also published several peer-reviewed studies, and is the author of the Trafon blog (http://www.Trafon.org), the first ‘fart blog' to promote serious discussion about digestive disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, and what people can do about them.

Downs can also discuss:

* The little-known reason why dieters and diabetics suffer from uncontrollable gas far more than the general population

* The most polite way to tell your lover he/she has offensive gas

* Health risks chocolate makers don't want the public to know

* How Americans are the most medicated society on Earth, yet remain the most chronically diseased

* The crucial difference between antibiotics and probiotics that every American should know

* How to survive dinner out without over-stressing the digestive system

* The unalterable biochemical processes that cause indigestion

* How most people can control indigestion, without resorting to over-the-counter medications

* How a multivitamin a day can keep gastrointestinal distress away

* What causes flatulence (farting)

* Why farts are funny to everyone except the person suffering with them

* Why some foods cause GI distress in some people, but not all people